Council allocates up to $15,000 for July 4 parade safety in trial appropriation

Enumclaw — The City Council approved an appropriation of up to $15,000 to support additional parade safety measures for the July 4 parade on a trial basis.

Councilmember Martineau (speaker 4) presented a funding request after a meeting with Enumclaw Police (EPD), event planners and the Chamber of Commerce. She said the original request was $15,000 per parade (two parades), including about $8,000 estimated for rented temporary barriers and the balance for additional staffing. "The request is for funding of safety of $15,000 per parade, which includes $8,000 to go towards temporary barriers," she said (speaker 4).

Staff described logistics and cost estimates from a staging company, including a quoted 4,000 linear feet of barricades (2,000 per side) and a multi‑day deployment window; staff also reported that government pricing reduced a vendor quote by roughly half. Council discussed impacts to downtown parking, the need for crew time to deploy and remove barricades, and alternative lower‑cost plastic barricade options that staff had not yet priced.

A councilmember moved to amend the original motion to appropriate up to $15,000 for the July 4 parade as a one‑time trial to be managed by administration, police and the Chamber; the amendment passed. The final motion carried on a recorded voice vote with a reported tally of 5–1 in favor.

Council instructed administration to coordinate deployment logistics with businesses, PD and public works and to return with an after‑action review to evaluate whether additional funding or permanent purchases are warranted.