Edmonds committee agrees to forward Fourth of July, Porch Fest and Block Party agreements after city will recover event costs

The Edmonds City Council Committee B on Tuesday agreed to forward special-event agreements for the Fourth of July parade and race, PorchFest and the Edmonds Block Party to the council consent agenda after staff said the city will require promoters to cover direct event costs this year.

Shannon Parr, deputy director, Parks Department, told the committee that the city classifies large festivals under special-event contracts because they “have significant or potential for significant economic impact, but also potential for disruption in traffic or people’s typical flow throughout the city.” She said the contracts authorize the mayor to sign agreements with event promoters.

Parr said the contracts account for use of right-of-way and, for the race, City Park. She told the committee that the city will “recover all direct costs related to these special events.” Parr detailed the staff time that the city expects to provide for the events: an estimated 32 hours of work by the streets division to deploy and remove signage and barricades and two hours of parks work to provide extra restroom and trash service downtown.

The councilmembers emphasized that the parade permit itself carries no fee under city code. “There is no parade permit fee,” Parr said, explaining that parade permits are issued through the police department but are not charged under the municipal code; other fees (police, streets, parks, park rental where applicable) remain in the contract and will be invoiced to promoters.

Councilmembers said they regretted the need to recover fees this year but supported forwarding the agreements. Councilmember Olson said she found the $1,920 estimate for 32 hours of streets work (billed at $60 per hour) reasonable and unlikely to be a barrier for the community partner organizing events. Committee members signaled consensus to send the agreements to the consent agenda.

Because the committee did not take a formal roll-call vote on the floor, the item was recorded as consensus to forward; the contracts and invoices will be included with the consent agenda materials for the full council to approve.

Looking ahead, Parr said the agreements include specific invoices showing which fees are applied and that any decision to waive fees would be at the mayor’s discretion. Committee members indicated they expected to review the consent materials when they appear and to pull items for fuller discussion if needed.