Council approves temporary tennis-only sign and $15,000 trial parade safety funding

Councilmembers debated neighborhood complaints about noise, parking and public urination at Rainier Trails Park and voted to place a temporary sign encouraging tennis-only use while directing pickleball players to the newly resurfaced courts at Dwight Garrett.

Councilmember Smith (speaker 5), who moved the motion, said the sign would be informational and acknowledged enforcement limits. The mayor summarized the intent: staff could produce temporary signage that “encourages you to go play… This should be used for tennis only” and make the sign direct players to alternate courts. Council instructed staff to evaluate the sign wording and to re-evaluate the temporary measure after a month.

On parade safety, Councilmember Martineau (speaker 4) presented a funding request after a meeting with EPD, Chamber and events staff, proposing $15,000 per parade to cover barricade rentals (quoted at about $8,000) and additional contracted staffing. Staff described logistics for rented barricades, storage and deployment and said government pricing reduced rental estimates. After discussion about business parking impacts and deployment logistics, council amended the original motion to appropriate up to $15,000 for the July 4 parade on a trial basis for administration-determined safety measures; that amendment passed, and the amended motion passed 5–1.

Councilmembers emphasized the trial nature of the funding and asked staff and the Chamber to coordinate on logistics, timing and communications with downtown businesses before deployment.