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Colfax council authorizes WinterFest spending, approves $5,000 interfund loan
Summary
The Colfax City Council voted to authorize up to $16,000 from the WinterFest fund for the December event, approved a $5,000 interfund loan from the economic development/community events fund to cover interim expenses, and agreed to a $600 donation from that fund.
The Colfax City Council voted to authorize up to $16,000 from a dedicated WinterFest fund for the December WinterFest celebration and approved a short-term $5,000 interfund loan to cover immediate expenses, council members said during the Nov. meeting. The council also agreed to make a $600 donation from the city's economic development/community events account to the WinterFest fund.
Council debate focused on whether fireworks—a roughly $12,000 line item in the event budget—should remain part of the program. Staff presented a budget that estimates total expenses just under $16,000, including porta-potties, insurance, graphics and fireworks. Council members and public speakers offered differing views: some residents called fireworks a major draw that brings visitors and downtown traffic, while others urged rethinking the $12,000 cost in favor of lower-cost attractions.
The motion approved three related actions: authorize the city manager to spend up to $16,000 from the WinterFest fund; establish an interfund loan of $5,000 from fund 8263 (economic development/community events) to the WinterFest fund, to be repaid from event proceeds by January if possible; and donate $600 from fund 8263 to cover the remaining shortfall. Councilors made the motion, it was seconded and the clerk conducted a roll-call vote; the motion passed.
Public commenters pressed for transparency on actual cash received versus verbal commitments. Erin Newington of the Historic Colfax Downtown Association urged the council to prioritize alternatives to expensive fireworks, saying, “Is a $13,000 fireworks investment really going to give us the return on investment that we need for our city?” Several other community speakers said fireworks drew thousands of visitors last year and supported keeping them.
Staff said 29 vendors had paid or signed up and that verbal sponsorship commitments totaled about $10,000; some donations were in the office awaiting processing. Staff and council agreed to track receipts and return to council if the interfund loan could not be repaid by January.
The vote allows staff to proceed with logistics and vendor management for WinterFest under the approved spending cap. Council asked staff to provide updated accounting at the next meeting.
