Council directs staff to move Cherry Festival to city-owned 30-acre site at Beaumont & Cougar

Beaumont — The Beaumont City Council voted Tuesday to relocate the Cherry Festival to a city-owned 30-acre site at Beaumont and Cougar, directing staff to work with the Cherries of the Past Foundation on MOU revisions and site planning.

Staff analysis and cost estimates

Staff presented a planning-level cost breakdown for preparing the vacant 30-acre city parcel for a temporary festival. The report identified perimeter and interior temporary fencing, temporary lighting, portable restrooms and handwashing stations, event security, supplemental police and fire overtime, shuttle and transit services, contracted weed abatement, temporary water service and potential temporary shade structures. With a 10% contingency, staff presented a planning-level total of $412,766.

Gus (staff presenter) noted that some costs (for example, the fence, certain staffing or weed abatement) could be taken on by the festival foundation or covered through sponsorships. The Cherries of the Past Foundation outlined line items the foundation would support; staff said city-budgeted items of about $219,000 are already identified in current appropriations and that the foundation’s available budget stood at $142,500, creating an estimated planning gap of roughly $122,000 (potentially reducible to about $70,000 with sponsorships or foundation adjustments).

Operational and safety considerations

Staff explained the plan includes scheduling festival activities after 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday to reduce conflicts with a middle school across Cougar, and preliminary public-safety reviews by police and fire found no insurmountable issues but noted further DRC/site-plan review would be required. Staff also addressed weather, soil condition and carnival-rides concerns: staff reported a sample treatment of portions of the site and said carnival operators typically conduct site inspections to determine ride feasibility.

Council debate and decision

Council members compared the projected city cost of moving the festival (planning-level $412,766) with the 2025 city-supported cost for the Noble Creek site (about $259,000, which included a $100,000 entertainment subsidy). Several council members and the foundation representative discussed duplicative line items and agreed further fine-tuning of which costs each party would cover is needed.

A councilmember moved to relocate the Cherry Festival to the city-owned site at Beaumont and Cougar; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous roll call. Council directed staff to return with amendments to the MOU and final site plans as part of the DRC review process.

What comes next

Staff will continue site-plan refinement, coordinate DRC review and work with the Cherries of the Past Foundation to identify sponsorship and cost-sharing options. Any changes to the MOU or requests for additional city funding will return to council for approval.