County executive team, equity commission unveil Justice Project web pages and newsletter plan; committee gives outreach suggestions

Riley Sweeney, policy and communications specialist in the Whatcom County executive’s office, and Miriam Garmoko, executive director of the Welcome Racial Equity Commission, presented coordinated communications and a community‑facing web page for the county’s Justice Project at the JPop meeting on June 26.

Sweeney said the county will create a Justice Project landing page, launch a monthly newsletter timed to major project milestones (the first will be tied to the design‑build consultant announcement), increase social media activity and point residents to IPRTF and JPop meetings for in‑person discussion. "I don't know if you've heard, but we're building a jail and a behavioral care center, and people wanna know about it," he said, asking committee members how the county should reach different audiences.

The nut graf: Presenters showed two complementary approaches — an executive‑office landing page and a racial‑equity commission community page — and the committee offered practical outreach suggestions to broaden reach and improve accessibility.

Miriam described a Welcome Racial Equity Commission page already live that provides a concise timeline, "how to get involved" buttons, and a public comment option; she asked JPop members to share the page link with their networks to increase visibility and to surface community speakers with lived experience. Committee members recommended specific tactics: link from the county jail roster to contextual information; run usability sessions at the Bellingham Public Library; promote at farmer’s markets and National Night Out events; use Reddit (Bellingham subreddit) and Nextdoor to reach local audiences; include infographics and small video explainers; and place signage and digital displays in courthouse spaces and jury areas.

Sheriff Tanksley and others emphasized the value of concise summaries and infographics and urged frequent, consistent updates on an accessible landing page. Peter recommended doing usability testing at the public library to gather diverse feedback. Several members noted that jail booking and roster pages are high‑traffic county resources and suggested linking from those pages to the Justice Project landing page to reach people already seeking information.

Ending: Riley asked committee members for ongoing input and offered his county email (rSweeney@WhatcomCounty.us) for suggestions. Miriam asked board members to help publicize the equity commission’s page and to route community input through the new web tools.