Lake Stevens staff to return March 31 with detailed AquaFest request after cost‑saving talks

Lake Stevens Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Garceau told the City Council on March 24 that AquaFest organizers and staff have worked to reduce city costs for the event and will bring a detailed request to council on March 31 with items that require council approval.

Garceau said staff had split previous event support into straight time and overtime in the city’s records for the first time, and that items requiring council consent will include consumables, dumpster rentals and overtime for staff. “What we’ll have on next week’s agenda, March 31, is the actual detail of what AquaFest is requesting and support from the city,” Garceau said.

Garceau outlined several potential cost‑reductions the groups discussed, including securing a volunteer “green team” to manage trash (which could reduce parks/public works overtime), having AquaFest order additional cones to avoid rental charges to the city, shortening the children’s parade route to reduce closures and police staffing, and using portable toilets in place of flushing restrooms if necessary. She said the Kiwanis beer garden remains a reimbursable contracted policing service separate from AquaFest’s core public police support.

Council members expressed procedural concerns about how the in‑kind donation policy change was implemented. One council member requested that any policy changes affecting council duties be brought back as formal action items so the public can comment. Another sought clarity on whether requested items are already covered in the 2026 budget; staff said overtime is tracked in separate line items across departments and that the parks budget itself was not reduced from 2025 to 2026.

Garceau said staff had already removed some costs (for example, city rental of cones) after AquaFest indicated it would include those in its equipment rentals, yielding a $900 savings the city previously incurred. She asked the council to consider whether to approve the requested items as a whole at the next meeting or to send staff back to further reduce the list.

Council members asked staff to present a line‑by‑line packet, clearly indicating which items are required for the event to proceed and which are optional, and to include any budget code or fund line where the costs would be charged.