Jacksonville eyes July 4 fireworks vote
By Greg Rayburn/Staff Writer
Monday, November 28, 2011 4:06 PM CST
The Jacksonville City Council voted 7-1 on Thursday to permit and regulate fireworks usage on July 4 starting in 2012.
Alderman Mike Traylor opposed the measure.
The council approved amending a city ordinance that banned the use of fireworks inside the Jacksonville city limits. A city fireworks committee chaired by Alderman Reedie Ray had recommended the change.
“The committee met six times,” Ray said. “We didn’t want to say no to fireworks.”
He cited comments made earlier by Jacksonville fire Chief John Vanderhoof, who Ray said told him that it is difficult to keep people from using fireworks during the Independence Day holiday.
Fireworks will be allowed from 6-11 p.m. on the Fourth of July. While state law allows them to be used during the New Year’s Day holiday season where they are not banned, Jacksonville will continue its New Year’s ban.
“Fireworks are as American as apple pie,” Ray said. “Parents are going to buy fireworks for their children.”
If it were to remain outlawed in town, some parents would travel distances as far as the state of Missouri to get their kids fireworks, he added.
Traylor asked questions about the ordinance’s projected effectiveness in solving the problem of keeping myriad calls from overloading emergency dispatchers during July 4.
“I don’t see what will be very different than what we have now,” he said.
Traylor said he does not see the new ordinance eliminating calls to the Police Department.
Ray said the new ordinance will be an improvement over the old one. He pointed out that fireworks users in town will need to get a permit from the city, and that information will be given to Police Department and emergency dispatchers. City safety forces then will know which sites have been approved for fireworks usage. When callers complaining about fireworks displays phone city dispatchers, 911 crews will be able to check that area to see if someone has obtained a permit.
In addition, the ordinance will help the police by designating a certain time frame in which people may use fireworks. Anyone who gets a permit also will be agreeing to clean up whatever mess he makes on the site, according to Ray.
Ray said the new ordinance increases fines for violations to $250.
City Attorney Robert Bamburg said violators typically were fined $25 plus court costs under the city’s old ordinance. He said enforcement did not translate into much court action in Jacksonville.
“There was just one citation in 2011 and that one person was found not guilty,” he said. “In my time frame doing this, I could count on one hand how many we prosecuted under this [old] ordinance.”
Alderman Marshall Smith said he believes the city may experience some enforcement issues the first year the ordinance takes effect. But once people get used to the change, he said, the enforcement will be smoother.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said he believes the new ordinance will be more effective because it will hold parents accountable for the actions of their children.
