Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bridgeport Daze straddles weekends, COVID phases, and controversy

Last-minute plans fall short

Posted

BRIDGEPORT -- The city’s most popular - and lately, most controversial - celebration squeezed in another last-minute festival that began on its traditional first weekend of June, skipped the remainder of the month and concluded on Sunday, July 4. Along the way it claimed the unique distinction hereabouts of being the only event to begin on Phase 3 of Governor Inslee’s WA Healthy: Roadmap to Recovery plan and end in the fully reopen phase. It also generated some controversy within city government that may find the city council considering a remedy for greater control over event deadlines before Bridgeport Daze springs to life again next June.
The Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce had not met since the last Bridgeport Daze was held in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the city to cancel the event in 2020. To properly hold Bridgeport Daze 2021 the Chamber needed to:
● appear before the city council to request approval to hold the event,
● secure adequate insurance coverage,
● obtain the necessary city permit,
● file an approved street closure plan with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT),
● include WSDOT on its insurance policy,
● submit a crowd COVID safety plan, an added requirement under the state’s pandemic mandate,
● enlist sufficient volunteers to guarantee traffic control.
The latter requirement came from the city after traffic control personnel manning street detours at the 2019 Bridgeport Daze were endangered by drivers who failed to observe barricades and closed streets.
With three days remaining until event weekend and several requirements - WSDOT street approval, COVID safety plan, lack of volunteers – still undone, former chamber president and current councilman Zeke Martinez advised Mayor Janet Conklin that this year’s Bridgeport Daze had been cancelled and posted a message on his Facebook account to that effect.
Conklin said she was surprised by the decision to cancel and supported efforts to try to pull the event together.
“The chamber always waits until the last minute to get this done,” said Conklin.
Normally city involvement in an event like Bridgeport Daze is mandatory since the city provides the insurance coverage, the porta-potties, trash removal, barricade placement, personnel, and other expenses many of which go unnoticed.
While Conklin and other city officials proceeded under the impression that Bridgeport Daze 2021 was a no-go, others in the community had different ideas. When Saturday morning, June 5, rolled around the cobbled-together event cut loose, and celebrants had a good time. At the time the state was operating under Phase 3 restrictions outlined in the Roadmap to Recovery and preparing to fully reopen on June 30.
Conklin said she only became aware of the unauthorized festivities when she drove through town Saturday morning. The mayor added that high among her many concerns were crowd safety and violations of state mandates.
Some organizers criticized the mayor for approving the annual Hooked on Kids Fishing Derby on June 12 and blamed her for not doing the same for Bridgeport Daze.
“The nasty emails I got kind of indicated that we did not want to work with them but that’s just far from the truth,” said Conklin. “I thought it would be a pretty good thing coming out of COVID and letting people get out and move around. We got tagged big time after the parade.”
Conklin encouraged organizers to celebrate July 4 by completing Bridgeport Daze on that weekend. Another parade was held Sunday evening after the state officially reopened at the end of June.
Pulling together the popular event mere days before it occurs is nothing new to the city. In 2016 Bridgeport Daze was cancelled by the city citing lack of community interest. Then a group of citizens appealed to the mid-May city council meeting to reconsider since city sponsorship and insurance were critical for the event to happen. The council agreed on the condition that event organizers designated individuals to be in charge and keep the mayor and council informed of progress.
“We’re going to discuss this in a future council meeting,” said Conklin of city event organization, “and come up with an ordinance or resolution that they are going to have to have all of their paperwork completed within a certain amount of time or they cannot have it.”
“Ed (Conklin) was born and raised here, and I’ve been here for almost all my life,” said Conklin. “I want what’s best for Bridgeport.”
She said her biggest disappointment is that as mayor she would like changes to happen overnight, but people do not realize how slow government works and how the process often ties the hands of city officials who are trying to get things done.
“I’ve tried to get citizens involved and I keep trying to get the point across that you don’t have a city without people getting involved and not just when you’re upset,” Conklin said.




 

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