Ouray businesses and residents will have to hold their collective breath awhile longer until city officials decide whether the Fourth of July parade will go on as usual.
City officials will announce by noon Wednesday whether the parade is a go based on feedback from Ouray County Sheriff Justin Perry on whether the department can provide adequate law enforcement. If an answer is not available by noon, the noon announcement will state when a decision will be made.
The July 3 fundraising concert and the July 4 kids’ games, both in Fellin Park, will occur as usual, the counciil decided, because they considered the law enforcement resources needed for those activities to be minimal.
The water fights at the intersection of Main Avenue and Sixth Street have been canceled in order to keep water reserves at the highest level possible. City officials announced Sunday they had canceled the nighttime fireworks display due to dangerous fire conditions.
The Ouray City Council at a special meeting Tuesday acknowledged how important Fourth of July festivities are to businesses in Ouray that are struggling because of the lack of tourism after a warm winter. However, councilors said they wanted to ensure the Ouray Fire Department and the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office are up to the task of hosting events and keeping people safe.
They also said they want to keep tourists to a minimum, especially with part of U.S. Highway 550 closed and County Road 17, which is also Oak Street, currently being used as the detour into and out of Ouray. It’s a narrow, dirt road not designed for heavy traffic.
Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Schiffer said it is important for city officials to make a decision soon.
“The longer we don’t have that answer, the longer it is front of mind for everyone,” Schiffer said. “I support activities if we can do them safely and if the sheriff’s office can provide law enforcement. … I just want to make sure our community is safe and that we don’t overtax the sheriff’s office.”
Since the city council conducted a special meeting Tuesday, no public comment was allowed. More than 75 people attended the online meeting.
Firefighters ready for the holiday
Fire Chief Adam Kunz said the city’s firefighters are ready and able to get back to doing what they do each year for the holiday.
“I think the Fourth of July would be a big breath for everybody,” he said, adding that he supports holding the concert and the kids’ games. He said local firefighters are exhausted after fighting the Gold Mountain Fire, but they are ready to have some fun.
Kunz said he spoke with the federal Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team, which is now in charge of fighting the Gold Mountain Fire, and they had no problem with Ouray firefighters’ involvement with the Fourth of July events.
With an incident management team, most of Ouray’s firefighters are no longer fighting the wildfire, so they are available to answer local calls and organize holiday festivities.
Providing law enforcement
“Our final decision from my perspective on the parade is totally dependent on the amount of coverage the sheriff’s office can provide,” City Administrator Michelle Metteer said. “I don’t want to risk the lives of thousands of people without some assurance from our sheriff’s office that they can provide law enforcement.”
She suggested that if the parade is not held on the Fourth of July, it could be postponed until later in the year to celebrate Ouray’s sesquicentennial.
Councilors agreed that hiring the Citadel Security Group to provide all security for the holiday festivities was not adequate. Citadel provided some additional security last year, along with a short-staffed Ouray Police Department. This service largely consisted of helping to control traffic, monitoring parking problems and keeping crowds out of the street during the parade. The contracted security officers do not have police powers, they are not sworn officers and cannot make arrests or investigate crimes.
The city effectively disbanded its police department earlier this year and pulled its lone remaining sworn officer off the street in January, relying fully on the sheriff’s office for contracted police services.
“For me, I’m really concerned if the sheriff has the capacity to do law enforcement to monitor these events,” Schiffer said. “That would make me feel much more comfortable moving forward. I am not comfortable with Citadel doing the law enforcement.”
Keeping tourism to a minimum
Metteer said the city will not advertise to bring the usual thousands of tourists to Ouray. Last year, the city estimated more than 19,000 people visited Ouray during the holiday, according to data gathered from cell phones.
Kunz said he understands city officials’ wish to have a scaled-down celebration, so the message could be, “If you’re in town, please join us for the celebration,” not “Come and join us.”
“We can’t force people to stay out,” Kunz said. “We can’t close a road and not let them in. If you don’t want the crowd to come in, then not having these events is the way to do it.”
Kunz said he wanted the public to know that the city council makes decisions on whether to have Fourth of July events, not firefighters.
“We don’t want to take the blame,” he said.
Summer tourism is critical to the bottom line of local businesses. Some businesses have taken to social media in the last couple of days, emphasizing that the fire is moving north away from the city and encouraging tourists to visit.
Councilor Jenny Hart said it is important to balance supporting businesses with safety.
“This is a really hard year for everyone,” she said. “Our business community needs every dollar spent. We need to work together and support each other and have a smaller version of events.”
Mayor Michael Underwood said the city was in a delicate situation.
“We are at the edge of a 8,300-acre fire,” he said, referring to the fire’s size on Monday night. It had grown to an estimated 15,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, according to InciWeb. “There’s a certain amount of risk involved in acting like we are out of the danger zone.”
