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Enumclaw council approves $15,000 trial for July 4 parade safety
Summary
The Enumclaw City Council approved up to $15,000 to fund temporary safety measures for the July 4 parade on a trial basis, after staff outlined barricade rental and staffing needs and council discussed logistics and impacts to downtown businesses.
The Enumclaw City Council on May 26 approved up to $15,000 to fund temporary safety infrastructure for the July 4 parade on a trial basis.
Councilmember Martineau, who presented the request, said the city convened a meeting with Enumclaw Police Department, event-planning staff, public works and the Chamber of Commerce to assess parade safety needs as attendance is expected to rise with America’s 250th celebrations and other concurrent events. “The request is for funding of safety of $15,000 per parade, which includes $8,000 to go towards temporary barriers and the balance of the $15,000 for additional staffing,” Martineau said.
City staff told council the barricade rental estimate was approximately $16,000 before applying government-contract pricing; after that discount staff received a lower quote. Staff described logistics for delivering and deploying 2,000 linear feet per side for a full route, said rental setups take three to four days and noted barricade deployment may require closing portions of Cole Street for staging. Staff also said plastic, lighter-weight alternatives may be available but lacked firm pricing.
Council members discussed options to limit business impacts and staging burdens: narrowing barricade placement to high-probability incident areas, supplementing equipment with additional paid security staff and evaluating renting versus purchasing in the future. One councilmember suggested trying a reduced deployment for July and then reassessing for the December holiday parade.
An amendment to the original funding request set the appropriation at up to $15,000 for the July 4 parade on a trial basis, to be used for additional traffic and crowd-safety measures as determined by administration in consultation with the police department and Chamber of Commerce. That amendment passed, and the final motion passed on a roll/voice vote (the amendment passed by voice and the final appropriation was adopted). The administration will coordinate logistics with the Chamber and businesses and return to council with lessons learned after the trial deployment.
Council did not commit to purchasing permanent barricades at this time; staff said rental will allow the city to evaluate needs before a capital purchase.
