Had been removed from March 12 agenda at request of events committee
Application lists 1,500 attendees despite group reporting 3,000 last year
City police estimate $12,420 in staffing costs for parade of 1,500
Queer Northshore say they paid only $5,500 last year
MANDEVILLE — The Queer Northshore Pride Northshore parade and the Old Mandeville Business Association’s Girod Street Stroll are scheduled to come before the Mandeville City Council for approval at its March 26 meeting, after both items were removed from the March 12 agenda for further review.
The two event permits were pulled from the earlier agenda at the request of the city administration because the city’s events committee had not yet completed its review of the applications, according to Council Chairman Jason Zuckerman. At the time, officials indicated the items would likely return on a future agenda once that review was complete.
Unlike the March 12 agenda, where both permits were initially placed on the consent agenda, the events now appear as separate items under new business — meaning they are expected to be discussed and voted on individually rather than approved as part of a single, routine vote.
The 2026 Pride Northshore parade is among the first major non-Mardi Gras parade events to come before the Mandeville City Council under new rules adopted in January through Ordinance 25-34.
Organizers have requested the longer of two routes permitted under the new rules, starting at the south end of Marigny Avenue, heading west on Lakeshore Drive, then turning north onto Girod Street and ending at the Mandeville Trailhead.
The organization’s application lists an expected attendance of 1,500 people, according to the agenda packet for Thursday’s meeting. However, Queer Northshore previously stated on its website that the 2025 Pride Northshore event attracted more than 3,000 attendees, and other media coverage similarly reported turnout in that range.
Documents included with the council agenda show a police cost estimate of $12,420 associated with the parade if 1,500 is the approved attendance estimate.
Total costs likely higher when other services included
During the Jan. 8 meeting when Ordinance 25-34 was adopted, Layla Hekmatdoost told the Mandeville City Council that the organization had previously paid about $5,500 in city-related costs for the Pride Northshore event.
If the Mandeville Police Department cost estimate cited in the agenda holds, the total municipal cost for a 1,500-attendee event could range from $15,000 to $17,000, depending on whether the organizer is required to provide EMS, first aid, sanitation and cleanup, or instead pay the city to provide those services. Those details are expected to be addressed during Thursday’s council meeting.
That would represent more than triple the amount Queer Northshore said it previously paid for the event, though the city has not yet publicly itemized the full breakdown of non-police service costs for this year’s parade.
Some council members could also question whether the 1,500-person attendance estimate is too low, a concern that could potentially jeopardize approval of the permit.
The police estimate included in the agenda packet presumably accounts only for law enforcement staffing.
According to documents typically included with special event applications, approval by the Mandeville City Council requires the event organizer to pay the estimated cost of city services no later than 30 days before the event — which, for a May 30 event, would be April 30. That form is included in the Old Mandeville Business Association’s Girod Street Stroll application packet for the March 26 meeting but is not included in the Pride Northshore parade packet. However, council meeting packets are informational only and may contain omissions or inaccuracies that are later corrected before or during the meeting.
Even if approved Thursday, questions remain about the full cost of city services required for the event, particularly non-police expenses that have not yet been publicly disclosed in the agenda materials.
Those figures could ultimately determine how closely the new ordinance aligns with the council’s stated goal of ensuring that large public events cover the municipal costs they generate.
New ordinance reshaped event approvals
Under Ordinance 25-34 adopted earlier this year, the city implemented a new cost-estimation process tied to expected attendance levels. The policy was adopted following public pressure from residents who raised concerns about the city subsidizing large lakefront events without clear accounting of municipal costs.
City officials said the changes were intended to create a more transparent and consistent system for estimating the public-safety and operational expenses associated with parades and festivals.
The March 26 City Council meeting will be held at City Hall at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers.
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