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University Place council studies city events; parade candy, pacing and insurance draw scrutiny
Summary
At a long study session the council discussed event budgets, risk management and parade safety after last year's Duck Days issues; the city and insurer recommended stricter controls on parade staging and vendor contracts while council members asked for clearer policy on acceptable risk and a fast-track follow-up before this year's events.
Council members and staff spent most of a March 17 study session reviewing University Place's 2025 lineup of city-sponsored events, their budgeted costs and risk-management practices after concerns raised following last year's Duck Days parade.
Lisa Plutoric, director of administrative services, told the council the city budgeted $273,000 for 11 events in 2025 and estimated roughly 878 staff hours to support them. "The total budgeted cost for events for 2025 is $273,000," she said, and noted Winterfest was elevated this year partly because $50,000 of the line item is for a new tree purchase.
Farrah DeRosier and Drew Bryant from the Washington Cities Insurance Authority urged stronger vendor contracting and careful choice of event activities. "If you can hire someone to handle the entire event for you, and the city can contractually transfer the risk, that would be ideal," DeRosier said. She and Bryant urged organizers to…
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