Scappoose community groups, city staff push for new snowflake lights and bigger 'Whoville' festival

Scappoose — At a Feb. 18 City Council work session, Public Works Director Dave Soukout and representatives of the community club and historical society outlined plans to expand downtown holiday lighting, replace aging pole decorations with LED snowflake displays and coordinate the growing "Whoville" festival with other city events.

"We wanted to take this opportunity . . . just to follow-up on Christmas while it's still fresh in everybody's mind," Public Works Director Dave Soukout said, summarizing the staff presentation and the goals for longer-term planning.

The discussion centered on replacing the city's decades-old street-pole decorations, many of which no longer light, and expanding park activities during the winter season. Catherine, speaking for the community club, said the club currently maintains roughly 14 displays in Heritage Park and along downtown corridors and is refurbishing items to LED. "This year . . . we're going to have quite a number of new displays," she said, adding the group recently formed a 501(c)(3) called Scappoose Community Connection to accept tax-deductible donations.

Community Connections of Oregon coordinator Angela Wayman, who said her group coordinates the Christmas parade, told the council it could help raise sponsorships and organize a market or other weekend events to expand the festival footprint. "We're a 501(c)(3) . . . we do the Christmas parades," Wayman said, and offered to work with other local groups on logistics and fundraising.

City and community members discussed product options and costs. Vendors presented multiple snowflake designs and product lines; the group discussed 3-foot and 4-foot fixtures and a 4-foot "spiral" snowflake that appeared in the brochure. Price examples given during the meeting ranged from roughly $330–$504 for smaller patterns and about $3.30–$4.80 per unit on some sale examples; separate references in the meeting put typical retail examples near $350–$470 for 3- to 4-foot units and repeated references to roughly $400 per fixture. One attendee said the vendor's standard Christmas sale ends March 31 but that the company would consider extensions on a case-by-case basis. Mounting brackets were included in vendor pricing, the community club said.

Participants voiced a preference for a snowflake theme because it is neutral, visually cohesive and can be used through the winter season. Council members and staff expressed support for collecting pricing and budgeting options; Soukout said he would return with quotes and proposed budget language. Council discussion included the idea of splitting purchases across budget years or pursuing economic-development or grant funds; one council member suggested the city could fund fixtures that mount to street poles while the community group continues to maintain park displays.

Attendees noted constraints and dependencies. Several speakers said the older pole fixtures have lasted for decades but many no longer light. Staff said the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) poles along the highway lack power, limiting the city's ability to place electrically lit fixtures on that corridor. The community club said it is pursuing a potential PUD grant to add power to the north welcome island so it could host permanent lighting.

Event coordination was also a central topic. Whoville at the Watts House has grown rapidly, organizers said, from roughly 100 visitors years ago to several thousand last season, and the Historical Society and other groups want to align schedules, markets and a tree-lighting. The groups discussed holding a joint opening night over the Thanksgiving weekend (the date discussed was Nov. 30 in the meeting), coordinating parades, markets and school choir participation, and using indoor school facilities to host markets if tent costs are prohibitive. One vendor cost noted for a 40-by-140-foot tent was about $3,650 per week.

No formal motions or votes were recorded at the work session. Instead, staff were directed to gather firm quotes, produce a short follow-up presentation with price comparisons for selected 4-foot diamond and spiral snowflake options, and identify potential funding sources (city general fund, economic-development funds, grant opportunities and CEP nonprofit program support). Council members expressed preliminary support for the snowflake theme and asked staff and community groups to return with more precise cost and procurement options.

Next steps include a staff report with vendor quotes and budget scenarios, follow-up coordination meetings among the community club, Historical Society, Community Connections of Oregon and city staff, and a potential budget request in the coming fiscal cycle.