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Fireworks ordinance left unchanged
Published 4/7/2010 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
City commissioners have agreed to leave Garden City's fireworks ordinance as it currently stands and directed law enforcement to continue addressing the discharge of illicit aerial fireworks on a complaint basis during and around Fourth of July festivities.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Kensi Mader stocks one of the shelves with fireworks last summer as her family prepares to open its fireworks stand for the day at 2965 E. Mary St.
Discussion of making amendments to the fireworks ordinance — each year the city waives a local ordinance prohibiting the use of non-aerial fireworks from 10 a.m. to midnight July 3 through 5 — grew out of a desire for the city to capitalize on fees and sales tax revenue if fireworks sales were allowed within city limits and the gap city officials recognize exists between the rules and reality, they've said.
Fire officials also have said the ordinances are widely violated around the patriotic holiday, difficult to enforce, and resulting fires haven't been a major threat or concern during the last several years, despite the heavy use of illicit aerial fireworks that residents purchase from neighboring counties.
About a decade ago, the city began waiving its fireworks ordinance around July 4, according to Fire Chief Allen Shelton, who said the move has greatly reduced the number of fireworks-related fires in the county.
Shelton said today he would have liked to see the city commission expand the ordinance waiver from June 27 to July 5 to match both looser statewide discharge regulations and the dates non-aerial fireworks sales are allowed in Finney County.
"I agreed with Commissioner (John) Doll that we either abandon them totally, or we make the change that the ordinance better meets what's going on," Shelton said. "We've had considerable discussion about allowing fireworks and working with the community to make sure it's a good and safe event."
City commissioners who were considering expanding the waiver and possibly allowing residents to discharge aerial fireworks and sell them in the city, too, said at their Tuesday afternoon public meeting that they would not move forward with either option based on input from both residents and area fireworks vendors. Garden City resident Jennifer Kemp-Espinosa, whose family has been running a fireworks stand in the county for more than 30 years, advocated against any changes. Kemp-Espinosa has said she feels family-run fireworks businesses in the county would not be able to compete if the market were opened to corporate businesses in town.
Garden City resident Greg Mader, also a fireworks vendor, agreed.
"Bringing (fireworks sales) into the city is cutting the little man out," Mader said today.
The fireworks vendor added that he would like to see the county allow aerial fireworks sales, however, because the move would help family-run fireworks businesses such as his, and area residents already travel to other counties to purchase them.
Both fire and police officials agreed Tuesday that the discharge of aerial fireworks in the city is a rampant but not very dangerous problem and agreed with commissioners to continue enforcing the ordinance on a complaint basis.
Garden City Police Chief James Hawkins said Tuesday his officers make about 100 to 150 visits to residents each year during the time the ordinance is waived, based on noise and other complaints, sometimes confiscating aerial fireworks and requesting voluntary compliance on the part of residents. The GCPD only issues about 15 fireworks related citations each year, the chief added, often when officers must make a second visit to a residence.
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