By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
By a 9 to 1 vote, the Jack-sonville City Council on Thursday adopted a new fireworks ordinance that allows restricted use of fireworks with a permit and increases fines for use outside of the times that the ordinance allows.
Alderman Mike Traylor was the lone dissenter.
He believed the new ordinance would not accomplish the council’s goals of reducing police calls. Over the July 4th holiday, the 911 center had so many calls that it crashed the system.
“How does this stop the calls?” Traylor asked.
Even after Alderman Reedie Ray, who was the chairman of a committee that met six times on the issue, went over the ordinance and said police won’t have to respond to calls from areas with permits. Traylor re-mained unconvinced.
Alderman Marshall Smith admitted that there would be just as many calls the first year, but as residents became more familiar with the rules, there would be fewer calls.
Ray told the council that the committee didn’t want to completely say no to fireworks, which the old ordinance did. “It’s like the fire chief says, fireworks are as American as baseball and apple pie,” Ray said.
“We now allow a certain period for their use,” Ray continued, adding that he wanted a “show of force.”
Code officers, auxiliary officers, police placed around the city, especially in areas where the 911 center received the most complaint calls. “But it didn’t get in,” Ray said.
What is included are higher fines and more parent responsibilities for children shooting off fireworks. Fines can now be as high as $750 plus court costs. “This gives us more control,” Ray said.
When asked how many citations had been issued in the past, City Attorney Robert Bamburg said he could count the number of citations on one hand.
He said this Fourth of July only one citation was issued but the person was found not guilty because the old ordinance was not clear about the parent’s role.
“This version holds the parent much more responsible,” said Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The new law does let “any private land owner or organization to provide a July Fourth fireworks display from 6 to 11 p.m.” provide the landowner or organization has obtained approval and permits for each display from the city and state fire marshals.
The permits will be free.
However, those seeking permission to discharge fireworks must also provide payment or make other assurances for security, traffic control and timely trash cleanup.
The fire and police departments also need 72 hours notice.
Outside of the permitted use, the ordinance prohibits any person from discharging, exploding, firing, manufacturing, possessing, selling or allowing to be discharged, exploded, fired, manufactured, possessed or sold any “bombs, firecrackers, Roman candles, squids, torpedoes, or other such items containing powder or combustible or explosive material” within city limits.
It goes on to state that “no parent or guardian of a minor shall furnish money or a thing of value to a minor for the purchase of fireworks or encourage, act in conjunction with or in any manner aid, allow, instigate, or permit a minor to buy, discharge, explode, fire, manufacture, possess, receive, sell, transport, or use fireworks” within the city limits.
A parent can be found guilty of this section even if the child is not found guilty of using fireworks.
Even though the ordinance restricts the use of fireworks and increases the fines, it does allow the sale of fireworks within the city by the one fireworks company that was annexed into the city when the property along Hwy. 67/167 south of Cabot was added.
The ordinance grandfathers the business in, but it will not apply if the business is sold, transferred or moved.
Both the mayor and police chief had said that they would have liked to have the city set certain days and times for fireworks to help stop police from being inundated with phone calls every Fourth of July and Christmas Eve.
“I’d like our officers to be working really crime and not having to chase down these calls,” Mayor Gary Fletcher previously told the committee and council.
Police Chief Gary Sipes agreed, adding that whenever a complaint call comes in, the department responds but by the time the patrols get to a site of a fireworks call, the kids or adults shooting off the fireworks are usually gone.
He said even though his department received close to 200 calls this past Fourth of July, there were no arrests.
Fire Chief John Vanderhoof said fire damage and injuries from fireworks over the years had been minimal.
He told the committee in one of its meetings, that the only serious fire incident he could recall was when a young boy set off large fireworks in his bedroom. “Other than that it’s just been a few grass fires,” he said.
The ordinance will take effect in 30 days.
