Even a 12 minute parade costs $3-5K

OKEECHOBEE — Parades cost the city of Okeechobee between $3,000 and $5,000 no matter how long they are. The last parade, the Speckled Perch, lasted  12 minutes.

The Okeechobee City Council discussed parades and their cost to the city during the March 19 meeting.

City administrator Gary Ritter said when you consider the cost of salaries for law enforcement, public works and city staff, it could even cost more. Even though the city does not put on the parades, they are responsible for coordinating traffic, barricades, staff and at least 20 police officers and 10 public works employees are involved. “This does not even take into account the permitting process we have to go into with FDOT now,” said Ritter.”

Ritter asked the council if they would decide if they wanted to be a part of the parades. If so, he would arrange for them to have some type of ride.

Councilman Bob Jarriel said the city owned an old firetruck and he thought they should use it in the parades. Just because they no longer have a fire department now does not cancel out the fact that they had one for a hundred years. “If somebody is offended by that then I’m sorry. It’s part of our history.” Jarriel was told the truck needed some minor repairs but should be able to be used for parades.

After some discussion, the council decided they would participate in all but the homecoming parade when they were able to do so.

City Clerk Lane Gamiotea said there is a resolution involving four parades, Homecoming, Speckled Perch, Christmas and Labor Day. These parades do not have to be approved by the city council.

“The last parade was 12 minutes, and I’m not sure we should spend $5,000 for a 12-minute parade,” said Jarriel. “I’m sot sure I’m in favor of that.” He expressed concern that someone might come in wanting to start a new parade which would also cost the city thousands of dollars.

Police Chief Donald Hagan said the resolution in question specifically named only four parades. Any new parades would have to come before the city council and the sponsors could be told they would have to foot the costs. Mayor Watford agreed that is correct.

“This has been brought up many times over the years,” said the mayor. “Especially the cost of the parades. That’s why that resolution was passed that way. Because theses have been our historic parades and have been, for lack of a better word, grandfathered in.” He explained that historically they felt the city should continue to pay for certain parades although it is disappointing when there is not much participation.

“I’m sure most people don’t realize how much it costs to have a parade,” said the mayor.

Vice Mayor Monica Clark said the City of Clewiston has its homecoming parade on the football field. Mayor Watford said he did not want to be the one to make that suggestion to the high school.

One citizen suggested having contests for the best floats to increase participation in the parades. She said everyone likes competition.

One thing everyone agrees on, $5,000 is a lot of money to spend on a parade that lasts 12 minutes.