After three readings of the ordinance and much discussion surrounding the amendment, the Alliance City Council voted 4-1 to approve extending the dates that fireworks may be sold and discharged.
The council opened the discussion to public comment, though there was no one there to speak in favor or against the amendment.
Discussion from the council on the topic at the most recent city council meeting kicked off with a motion from Mayor Earl Jones to only extend the sale and discharge period to only six days instead of seven.
“I feel like the reason to bring this back is because it was too drastic,” said Councilwoman Tearza Mashburn referring to the amendment passed by the previous city council, which changed the period from 10 days to July 1-4.
Councilwoman Mara Andersen said she has received a lot of comments from the public regarding the amendment.
“Overall, the people are really passionate about the number of days when they have approached me,” Andersen said. “So, I think the only we can do at this point, I guess, I speak for myself, a conservative choice of seven days is making compromise and is a step to recognize that everyone seems to support a reduction in days.”
Councilman Brian Mischnick explained that he has struggled with this decision, though he sympathizes with those who suffer from PTSD and other conditions.
“Right off the bat, I just feel like the city has a history of being overly restrictive, and I’d really rather err on the side of a 30 percent reduction to seven days and evaluate from there, rather than a drastic change,” said Mischnick.
Jones said that he wishes that the city could designate a specific area for discharging fireworks for a longer period of time. He said it would promote safety from fire danger and limit the effects of fireworks on other citizens.
“I really feel like that would have accomplished everything that everybody wanted,” Jones said. “I really think if we’re going to talk about this again, the approach we should take is to find a place.”
Councilman John McGhehey said that designating a specific area to discharge fireworks could be problematic for youth with transportation issues. Jones said that young people are not allowed to set off fireworks without supervision.
“At a certain age, they are, and if they don’t have to mobility,” said McGhehey.
Jones said that Alliance is a small enough community that it is walkable, suggesting that an area such as the former K-Mart parking lot be designated as the discharge location.
Andersen expressed gratitude for the people who reached out to share their thoughts on the issue, noting that the discussion, while an emotional one, was productive. McGhehey emphasized that he appreciates that the discussions were respectfully conducted.
“There really isn’t one solution to satisfy everybody, so that’s why I really think, for me personally it is the first step in the right direction,” said Andersen.
Jones explained that, based on discussions with other communities, other towns may be addressing this issue in the near future as well. Jones’ motion to amend the ordinance to six days failed due to a lack of a second. Mashburn made the motion to approve the third reading of the amendment, setting the sale and discharge period to seven days, and Andersen seconded the motion. The motion passed with a 4-1 vote, with Jones providing the dissenting vote.