Tonight the city council will consider banning all fireworks for
the rest of the year, an emergency move that requires a super
majority. That could be a tall order because the mayor is out of
town, two council members have vowed to oppose the step, and a
chorus of community groups say the prohibition will leave them
financially crippled in the name of public safety.
Tonight the city council will consider banning all fireworks for the rest of the year, a move some community groups say will leave them financially crippled in the name of public safety.
In light of the Hummingbird and Whitehurst fires and tinder-box conditions surrounding Gilroy, Councilman Peter Arellano recommended the potential prohibition to his colleagues Sunday evening. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Dillon called the special meeting Monday, and enacting the emergency ordinance will require five out of seven votes, according to the city charter. Councilmen Dion Bracco and Craig Gartman said they would oppose the move, and the mayor is out of town.
“I just don’t know how the votes will go … But because of the fires this weekend and the extreme fire danger that’s still around, I think we should do this,” said Dillon, adding that firefighters deserve a rest.
Pinheiro signed off on the meeting over the phone, Dillon said, but Pinheiro added in an e-mail from The Azores, Portgual, that he would not lean either way until he heard what staff had to say. Pinheiro will return July 1, and he considered attending the meeting via telephone, but the logistics of complying with California’s open government requirements by posting agenda notices in a public place somewhere in the Portuguese archipelago 24 hours before the meeting in Gilroy became too cumbersome, said City Clerk Shawna Freels. It will be 2:30 a.m. in The Azores when the meeting takes place here tonight, but the mayor said he will be watching over the Web.
That leaves six council members to consider the proposed ban, which includes the “safe and sane” variety of fireworks – sparklers and tame pyrotechnics that never leave the ground – and comes a week before 16 churches, schools and other community groups plan to raise valuable, some say necessary, money by selling the traditional Fourth of July amusements.
“This is pretty much our only fund-raiser, and it pays for camps, pads, helmet repairs, clinics, almost everything,” said Gilroy High School Quarterback Club President Ed Jensen, who added that the team takes in about $15,000 to $20,000 from its essential booth. “I understand people’s concerns, but this football program depends on this. If we knew about (the ban) earlier, we could have planned for this, but to all of a sudden drop this on us, that would be devastating.”
Gilroy Little League relied on its First Street booth last year to raise funds for new bleachers at the city’s sports complex. Victory Outreach Church, in Gilroy, relies on its booth for programs that help youth and adults with alcohol and drug addictions. And the city’s Community Services Adaptive Recreation program has raised about $9,000 a year to sponsor events for mentally and physically handicapped people, according to Sandra Sammut, the city’s recreation supervisor.
But a fire could affect everybody, according to some council members.
Councilmen Bracco and Gartman vowed to oppose the “reactionary” ban because they said it is an overreaction to the weekend fires sparked by lightning, not humans. And Gilroy – the only city in Santa Clara County to allow any form of fireworks – already outlaws high-flying explosives such as bottle rockets, M-80s and Roman candles, which cause the majority of fire-related problems around Independence Day, they said.
“Illegal fireworks are causing the vast majority of these problems, not the safe and sane kind, so why punish organizations that use them for fund raisers and also those people who are responsible consumers?” said Gartman, referring partially to an illegal firework that landed on the roof and nearly burned down the El Toro Way home of Jess and Dolores Perez July 4, 2003.
“There are a number of reasons why (recent fires) have occurred, and to take something that has been going on for decades in this community and suddenly say we need to stop this activity because it possibly could cause an incident – I just don’t follow the logic,” Gartman said. Bracco added that even safe and sane fireworks are not allowed in hazardous fire areas in west Gilroy, including lands west of Santa Teresa Boulevard along Hecker Pass Highway, off Mantelli Drive, west of Rancho Hills Drive and in Eagle Ridge. Councilwoman Cat Tucker could not be reached for comment.
As a Burchell Road resident in that area northwest of Gilroy, Ken Pauley lives near dry, crispy grass and combustible manzanita bushes, and he supports the ban.
“Yes, the firework (booths) bring help to nonprofits, but is this worth the possible disaster that could come from the use of fireworks? I’m sure the nonprofits would find alternative sources for this revenue,” Pauley wrote. “Please, be proactive on this topic, ban the sales of fireworks before a major disaster occurs. It simply is not worth the risk to property and lives.”
Gartman recommended, instead, sending out notices that advocate responsibility and common sense along with the fire marshal’s annual warnings. Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Marshall advocated the interdiction and recommended residents just view the city’s professional show that will end after this year due to budget cuts. But Gilroy Fire Department Chief Dale Foster acknowledged the proximity to America’s birthday and said the council would decide what is best tonight.
“Is the atmosphere around us worse than years before? It would appear so. Is banning safe and sane a good idea? I don’t know,” Foster said. “Perhaps we should increase the fees charged to folks selling them.”
Foster did not know how much those fees are, but last year the city issued 42 administrative citations – seven of which it later reversed – for illegal fireworks that police and firefighters issued July 4. Residents are charged $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $750 for the thirds. Police also arrested 18 people last year for illegal fireworks possession, a misdemeanor that requires officers to prove exactly who owns the explosives. So far nobody has been cited or arrested this year, Foster said.
Special council meeting
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight
Where: City Hall, 7351 Rosanna St.
