Sunset finalizes Fun Days plans; council debates fireworks setup, parade routing and public-safety staffing

SUNSET, July 1, 2025 — Sunset officials spent the council's work session finalizing details for the city's Fun Days weekend, discussing parade routes, car show placement, vendor access, public-safety staffing and fireworks logistics as the city adapts the event to a smaller park footprint.

Staff briefed the council on parade staging and end points, car show logistics, vendor placement and the timing needed to set up a permitted fireworks display. Chief Jamieson said the department will add extra patrols for the weekend, including DUI shifts and enforcement around fireworks on July 4, and encouraged residents to report concerns.

Why it matters: Fun Days is the city's largest annual public event and draws residents and visitors for multiple days of activities. Changes to site layout and a permitted fireworks display create operational, parking and safety considerations for vendors, participants and nearby residents.

Key operational details and planning moves

Parade and line-up: Staff reported 23 entries on the parade sign-up form and said the lineup will be numerically assigned in advance to ease morning congestion. Organizers discussed moving the parade endpoint to a private residence area where a councilmember volunteered to host post-parade refreshments.

Car show and festival layout: The city's car-show lead reported 54 confirmed cars and 17 motorcycles for the show (71 total confirmed). Officials agreed to a double-line layout for vehicles with 11-foot spaces between lines to allow pedestrian walkways. Staff will use a measuring wheel and mark spots ahead of the event to ensure spacing. Trailed-in show vehicles were asked to arrive early to avoid grass damage.

Vendors, deposits and event space: Staff said the city's usual room deposit is $2.50 and that a carpet-cleaning charge of about $600 is listed separately in facility rules. Event-space deep-cleaning in the cleaning-service proposals was described as $100 per deep clean; councilmembers discussed whether the city should charge event hosts for deep cleans triggered by a user's activity.

Police, safety and crowd management: Police Chief Jamieson told the council the department will focus on parade-route patrols, code enforcement around the route to improve appearance, DUI enforcement shifts and extra patrols during fireworks. "This week we're gonna focus on the parade route on code enforcement... And then this weekend, we'll do extra correction patrol, DUI shifts, alcohol enforcement, and just extra patrol for the fireworks for the fourth of July," he said.

Fireworks and fallout zone debate: The council reviewed maps showing a setup zone and a fallout zone for the hired fireworks vendor. Staff and the fireworks contractor discussed setup timelines: pyrotechnicians said they need access by mid-afternoon to deploy equipment, with vendors and some public areas required to be cleared in advance. Council discussions covered trade-offs between allowing a larger fireworks show (which requires more setup space and an earlier full-park restriction) and minimizing disruption to vendors and attendees. Staff and the contractor agreed to work on a reconfiguration that would shift stage and vendor placement to reduce the number of vendors that must clear the fallout area.

Public concerns and mitigation steps

Several councilmembers and staff acknowledged public concerns about safety at large events following incidents elsewhere. The police chief and council agreed to increase visible patrols and coordinate with neighboring agencies if needed. Staff also said they will notify parade and car-show participants by email of final numbering and staging locations and will mark lineup spaces on the street the day before the parade.

Other event items

The council also confirmed logistics for the skate competition, movie screening (movie choice "Wild Robot" selected by one vote), DJ coverage for music and fireworks music coordination, and the breakfast and volunteer staffing plans for the morning activities. Staff noted the parks budget includes money for benches and improvements and that the skate park work is expected to be complete prior to the event.

Ending

Organizers will reconvene to walk the park and finalize measurements, staff will send updated maps and emails to vendors and participants, and police will evaluate staffing throughout the event to adjust for crowd size and late-evening activity.