Bellevue Human Services Commission Meeting – March 3, 2026
Bellevue Human Services Commission Meeting – March 3, 2026
Date Discrepancy: The provided meeting date is March 3, 2026, but the official meeting minutes list the meeting as occurring on Monday, March 2, 2026. The following summary reflects the content of the March 2 minutes and transcript.
The Bellevue Human Services Commission convened in a hybrid format to hear public comments, receive updates from city council and staff, discuss proposed bylaw changes, and host a panel on challenges facing immigrant and refugee communities. The meeting included the approval of prior minutes, a presentation on bylaw updates required by recent city ordinances, and an in-depth discussion with three service providers about rising needs, enforcement fears, and service gaps.
Consent Calendar
- The draft minutes from the February 2, 2026, meeting were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Katie Telters (Northwest Education Access) described her organization’s work supporting non-traditional students (ages 16–29) in King, Pierce, and South Snohomish counties. She noted that many clients are immigrants, refugees, or were unhoused, and expressed appreciation for the commission’s time.
- Alex Zimmerman spoke for nearly five minutes, leveling strong criticism at the city. He stated that city rules restricting his ability to speak at meetings violate the Constitution and compared city officials to “Nazi fascists” and “Gestapo.” He also reported being arrested seven times by Bellevue Police, with all prior cases dismissed, and voiced support for a “new American revolution.” His comments were a position of opposition to city policies and enforcement.
Communication from City Council, Boards, and Commissions
- Councilmember Robinson thanked the commission for its effective communication with the council. She reported that the council’s recent retreat was positive and that they are focusing on nimble response to emerging needs. She noted increased city revenue from a major building sale and missing middle housing permits. She also highlighted the launch of Startup 425’s first bilingual program (in partnership with Centro Cultural Mexicano) and encouraged directing nonprofits to small business support resources.
Staff and Commissioner Reports
- Staff announcements: A class from Big Picture School (Bellevue School District) will present testimony on human services funding on March 9 at 10:15 AM, and all commissioners are invited. The next regular meeting will include adopting an agenda as a new practice per the city attorney’s guidance. Two new members were introduced: Cameron (interim support for Human Services Division) and Major Dave Sanabria (new ex-officio member from Bellevue Police Investigations Division).
- Funding process: Christy presented two off-cycle RFPs (teen after-school support, $86,000; and convening) funded by Parks and Community Services. Three applications were received for the after-school support. Commissioners were asked to review materials and provide funding recommendations by April 6. A schedule of upcoming meetings was distributed (March 16 special meeting for equity training, April 6 and 20 for RFP decisions, May 4 public hearing, July deliberations).
Discussion Items
a) Direction for Bylaws Update
- Assistant City Attorney Karen Fu presented proposed bylaw updates to comply with two recent city ordinances:
- Ordinance 6864 extends the exclusion period for disruptive meeting conduct from 60 to 180 days and clarifies the appeal process.
- Ordinance 6865 limits board/commission service to two consecutive terms (with a two-year cooling-off period before reapplying) and updates term limit language.
- Additional minor changes include correcting dates, adding agenda approval of minutes, and removing gendered pronouns.
- The commission must now give direction; final adoption requires a two-thirds vote at the next regular meeting. Commissioners asked about the consequence of non-approval (Fu noted they would be out of conformance but code still applies). No formal vote was taken; direction was provided to bring the bylaws back for a vote.
b) Current Challenges in Human Services for Immigrants and Refugees
- A panel of three experts presented and answered questions:
- Mohammed Ugas (East African Community Services, programs director) – described services (youth mentorship, early learning, family stability) and noted that staff are overburdened and underfunded. He highlighted that policy shifts force organizations to pivot from program delivery to emergency crisis response (rental assistance, food). He also noted that participants are increasingly reluctant to share personal data, complicating reporting requirements.
- Monique Martinez (For Tomorrow, executive director) – described culturally responsive mental health, housing stability, legal aid, and a safe parking program. She shared a detailed story of a former safe parking client who was detained by immigration enforcement on 148th Avenue, transferred to Texas and Arizona, and lost his vehicle. She emphasized that such enforcement erodes community trust in all institutions, including local police.
- Sarah Peterson (Washington Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, director) – noted her office invested over $100 million in 2025 across 100+ organizations. She discussed that federal funding is stable through FY 2027 but demand has grown 400–500% since 2021. She highlighted the need for partnership with ethnic community-based organizations and for providing mental health support for frontline workers.
- Common themes: All panelists reported increased fear in immigrant/refugee communities, rising discrimination, burnout among providers, and the challenge of meeting evolving needs with limited and rigid funding. They called for greater collaboration between state, county, and city governments, protection of community data, and policies like safe zones. Monique Martinez specifically suggested cities could declare “sensitive locations” to provide safe zones as some states have explored. Commissioner Singh, an immigrant himself, added that newcomers need education on civic responsibility and that funding must be used wisely.
Key Outcomes
- Bylaws update: Direction was given to bring proposed bylaws for a final vote at the next regular meeting (requires two-thirds approval).
- Funding timeline: Commissioners received materials for the $86,000 teen after-school support RFP and will deliberate on April 6. The convening RFP will be reviewed on April 20.
- Next meeting: A special meeting (equity and funding training) will be held on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Room 1E-120 with no remote option.
- Future meetings: Regular meetings scheduled for April 6, April 20, May 4 (public hearing), and July (deliberations).
- Panel engagement: Commissioners expressed gratitude and noted the importance of collaboration. The commission will continue to consider service needs for immigrants and refugees as part of the upcoming funding cycle.
Meeting Transcript
Come to provide public comments and listen to the meeting in person or on Zoom. I am now going to call roll. Commissioners, please say here after I call your name. Vice Chair Hayes. Commissioner Singh. Commissioner Perlman. Here. Commissioner Rashid. No, not here. And Commissioner Gonzalez. There is one set of minutes to approve this evening. Please take a moment to review the February 2nd minutes in front of you. What should we chair? Do you want to mark that we're here also? Is that part of the roll call or not? Okay. Great to see you. Thanks. Any discussion on the February 2nd minutes. Is there a motion to approve? So move. I second. All those in favor say aye. Oh say nay. Your INA. Um minutes are approved. Okay. At this time we are taking oral communication. Staff will call the names of people in the order they have signed up, either online or in person. Members of the public may speak during one of tonight's oral communications for up to three minutes per person or agency program. After everyone who has signed up to speak has been called, staff will ask if there is anyone else that would like to speak. Staff, can you please call speakers for oral communication? Thank you, Chair. Our first speaker for oral communications is Katie Telters from Northwest Education Access. Hi everybody, this is very exciting. This is the first time I've done this. So my name is Katie Childers and I work with Northwest Education Access. So we're an organization. We were founded in 2002. Our founder was working with volunteering with young people who were experiencing homelessness in the university district in Seattle and helping them get their GEDs and found that they were really smart, really interesting, like had all these qualities that were really valuable in higher education, and was telling them that they should go to college. And they were like, What are you talking about, lady? And she was like, no, no, I'm sure there's an organization out there, and there wasn't. So most college access organizations, and this is across the country, um, work with students who are in traditional high schools and help them go directly to post-secondary. Um if you didn't finish high school or you have a gap, you can't go back to high school to receive those services. So we're one of few organizations in the country that serve those students. And when I say post-secondary, I'm talking the whole gamut. So like technical degrees, we have students who get their PhDs, everything between apprenticeships, all of the things. So we serve about 1200 students a year throughout King County, Pierce County, and South Snohomish County, and we work with young people for a very long period of time from when they're starting to think about going to school all the way until they finish. So really have a long-term um relationship with them. Um so we work with 16 to 29, non-traditional education pathway, a lot of them have been unhoused, our parenting, immigrants, refugees, first and second generation.
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