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

The Enumclaw City Council voted 5–1 on May 26 to appropriate up to $15,000 for additional traffic- and crowd-safety measures for the city’s July 4 parade as a one-time trial.

Councilmember Martineau proposed initially that the city provide $30,000 to the Chamber of Commerce to secure temporary barricades and staffing for two parades, saying the request would “help protect its citizens, visitors, volunteers [and] participants” as attendance grows and public-safety staffing is stretched. Staff told the council that the barricade rental quote was roughly $8,000 per parade and that moving from rental to government-contract pricing substantially reduced the estimate. The vendor estimate referenced about 4,000 linear feet of barricade coverage for the route.

During debate, council members and staff raised practical concerns about storage, deployment windows, lost on‑street parking for businesses and who would move the rented panels. Parks staff said some rented barricades require two crew members to move and that deployment could require early-morning or overnight work and possibly overtime pay. Councilmember (speaker 3) successfully moved to amend the original request to a one-parade trial capped at $15,000 “for the 4th of July parade on a trial basis for additional security measures as deemed appropriate by administration and [the] police department and Chamber of Commerce.”

Mayor (speaker 1) called for the vote on the amended motion; the ayes carried and the amendment — and the motion as amended — passed 5–1. Staff said administration would plan logistics and work with the Chamber, police and local businesses before deployment.

Next steps: administration will use the trial appropriation to secure barricades and staffing arrangements for the July 4 parade, then report back to council on outcomes and costs before any funding for additional events is approved.