Council approves $15,000 trial for July 4 parade safety measures

The Enumclaw City Council voted to authorize up to $15,000 on a trial basis to support additional traffic-safety infrastructure and staffing for the July 4 parade.

A council member presenting staff and chamber recommendations said the request is "for funding of safety of $15,000 per parade, which includes $8,000 to go towards temporary barriers" and the balance to hire additional staffing to supplement police resources.

Staff described logistics and cost estimates: initial quotes for aluminum barricades covered about 4,000 linear feet (2,000 feet per side of Cole Street) and included setup and teardown time that could require multi-day street closures or overtime. Staff reported they had obtained a government-contract price that reduced the expected rental quote by about half but warned the deployment would take planning and could affect downtown parking and businesses.

Council discussed alternatives — renting initially to trial the approach, buying plastic barricades to reduce labor and damage risk, or targeted barricading at known high-probability incident areas — and emphasized coordinating with police, public works and the chamber. One council member proposed trimming the original request to a single-parade trial and amending the motion accordingly.

The council approved an amendment and then passed the motion 5–1 to appropriate up to $15,000 for safety measures for the July 4 parade; administration, police and the chamber will determine specific use of funds and proceed with the logistical plan.

The funding is a trial; staff will return to council with lessons learned and recommended next steps for the December parade and future events.