While the Fourth of July is still several months and holidays away, Sequim city councilors recently agreed not to dedicate funds in the 2017-18 budget for a potentially new celebration on the Fourth.
“We’re not saying we don’t have an interest in a community celebration,” said Deputy Mayor Ted Miller at the Sept. 25 Sequim City Council meeting. “We just don’t want tax dollars to pay for it.”
City Manager Charlie Bush proposed a new celebration following one of the city’s student liaisons Haelee Andres’ suggestion for a Fourth of July celebration without fireworks.
City staff proposed $20,000 in next year’s budget with $10,000 coming from community donations. However, city councilors unanimously agreed not to go forward with any celebration with or without fireworks on the Fourth.
“I know $20,000 in this big budget is small but the people in Sequim voted down fireworks,” said City Councilor Pam Leonard-Ray.
“We went ahead with a decision of the majority of the public and then we’re still saying we’ll penalize residents of the city by taking $20,000 and putting towards a celebration.”
Leonard-Ray listed other expenditures in the proposed budget the city has already commited to such as for Service Fest with Habitat for Humanity for Clallam County and the International Grassroots Summit with the Shiso City Association.
Follow-up
Talks about a Fourth of July celebration stem from last year when city residents voted 65.6 percent in favor of of an advisory vote for city councilors to create a policy to ban shooting fireworks within the city limits starting in the summer of 2018. City Councilors unanimously agreed on the ban last November.
As part of the discussions, city staff recommended investigating costs and logistics for a public fireworks display somewhere in the city for the Fourth of July.
At the July 24 city council meeting, city councilors agreed not to pursue a public fireworks display.
Assistant City Manager Joe Irvin said it’d cost the city $15,000-$30,000 to do a fireworks show compared to other cities.
Bush said he had heard sentiment from residents asking for a display. However, Miller said he spoke to some constituents who weren’t opposed to a public display but preferred it be paid for by private businesses and/or nonprofits.
City Councilor Pam Leonard-Ray said people may not be opposed to a display but she was “disturbed” to see one of the proposed sites was Sequim High School.
Bush said the high school was one of many possible locations for its ample parking and minimal impact on neighbors opposed to Carrie Blake Park.
City Councilor Candace Pratt also opposed a display at the school because it’s close to the city’s lifestyle district where many retirees and senior citizens live.
Pratt also opposed an idea to move a fireworks display to another night so as not to compete with Port Angeles’ Fourth of July display.
“As far having a different night as PA, we’d get a lot of push back,” Pratt said. “(Lifestyle district residents) already have to get through Fourth of July with their pets, but then to do another night, we don’t want to go there.”
City Councilor Bob Lake said he was “happy to do nothing”
“If the community has a lot of interest then they can demonstrate that,” he said. “To initiate it is not something we need to do.”
Customarily, residents were allowed to shoot fireworks for the Fourth of July from June 28-July 5. Up to four licensed retailers will continue to be allowed to sell legal fireworks in that time period in city limits next year.
Residents found illegally shooting fireworks could face a gross misdemeanor fine up to $5,000 or up to 364 days in jail.
For more information on fireworks policies, contact the City of Sequim, 152 W. Cedar St., at 360-683-3311 or visit www.sequimwa.gov.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
