LAKEPORT – Citing concerns about fire danger and safety for children, the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday voted down applications by four local nonprofits seeking to sell fireworks during the July 4 holiday.
The Lake County Channel Cats, Miss Lake County Scholarship Program, the Clear Lake High School Boosters and the Terrace School Parent Teacher Organization applied to the city to once again sell safe and sane fireworks, which the groups say is a major fundraiser for them during the year.
The applications went to various city department heads, with interim City Manager and Police Chief Kevin Burke suggesting that a detailed review by Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells due to drought concerns was in order.
Wells did review the four groups' requests, and denied all of them based on the state's drought declaration and his district's economic constraints.
The nonprofit groups and about 60 supporters packed the council chambers Tuesday to ask the council to approve the applications despite Wells' stance.
The city of Lakeport is the only place in Lake County where safe and sane fireworks can be purchased during the July 4 holiday. Last summer, Wells asked for a temporary suspension of fireworks sales because of the catastrophic fire season. At that time, all of the groups voluntarily agreed not to sell the fireworks because of those concerns.
On Tuesday, Dennis Revell – whose company, Revell Communications, is the public relations arm for American Promotional Events Inc./TNT Fireworks, the state's leading wholesale distributor of state fire marshal-approved fireworks – appeared before the council Tuesday to argue against the proposed denial.
Revell said 113 communities in 28 counties across Northern California allow the use of fireworks. He said the groups had supported the temporary suspension last summer, but he emphasized that none of the fires that raged across the state in the summer of 2008 resulted from safe and sane fireworks. Revell also argued that the state's water situation is not as grim as some previous drought years.
The groups are all struggling to raise funds, said Revell, which is becoming tougher because of the present economy. “It's basically a perfect storm for these nonprofits organizations.”
The safe and sane fireworks industry helped craft SB 39 to stop illegal fireworks, said Revell. He recommended the city allow the fireworks sales this year, but suggested they codify a restriction that fireworks only can be sold for four days rather than the six currently allowed for under city code. In addition, he suggested prohibiting use between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. during the four-day use period, and assessing fines as high as $1,000 for improper firework usage.
Wells said the governor's Feb. 27 drought declaration resulted from three years of below-average rainfall. That, added to the economic constraints faced by the district, led him to deny the fireworks applications.
He said he didn't have the staff to deal with potential fire situations. Wells also had letters of support from fellow Lake County fire chiefs.
“Fireworks do not stop at the city boundaries,” said Wells, adding that the sales affect everyone in the county.
Lakeport Fire Capt. Bob Holbrook told the council that fire officials were obligated to bring their concerns forward.
“We realize that this is a touchy situation and topic but it's our responsibility as the fire department to protect the lives and property of the people we serve,” he said. “If we did not do that we would not be performing our responsibilities.”
Holbrook emphasized the potential for danger to life and property that fireworks – even state-approved ones – pose.
Nationwide, fireworks are responsible for $20 million in property damage and 10,000 injuries during the July 4 holiday, Holbrook said. The average age of those going to emergency rooms is between 10 and 14.
Most of Lake's neighboring counties have accepted full bans, and some partial firework bans, Holbrook said, adding that they wanted to see Lake County added to that list of those with full bans in place.
Holbrook said the district didn't have the funding to put more people on duty during the July 4 holiday, when the city is crowded with visitors.
Because of district constraints around the county, Holbrook said they can't rely on mutual aid as they normally would during the summer holiday. “We're going to be pretty much on our own.”
Holbrook showed a short video about a family whose 3-year-old child was hit in the head by a firework and died the next day.
Councilman Bob Rumfelt asked Wells about various fire scenarios and how much it costs to suppress a grass fire of a few acres – a few thousand dollars, including $750 an hour for a fire engine, said Wells – up to tens of thousands of dollars for larger wildland fires.
At the beginning of public comment, City Attorney Steve Brookes went before the council as a board member of the Kelseyville Fire District, where a fireworks ban is in place. It makes sense for that area, said Brookes, because of the wildland areas and fire danger.
“I can see both sides,” said Brookes, who spoke in favor of letting the groups sell fireworks in Lakeport.
Groups struggle to find alternative fundraisers
Tom Jordan, president of the Clear Lake High School Boosters, acknowledged the council was facing a tremendous challenge. “To me, the issue is risk versus benefit.”
He suggested there is an economic benefit for both the city and the groups.
Last year, when the nonprofits agreed not to sell fireworks, they walked door-to-door to seek donations and raised a total of $600 – a fraction of the $15,000 to $18,000 each group raises annually through fireworks sales, Jordan said.
“We don't know of an alternative fundraiser,” he said.
Maile Field, the parent of two Channel Cats, said she was impressed by the competence of local fire officials. At the same time, however, she was offended by the emotional plea of the video Holbrook showed.
There's nothing worse than losing a child, said Field. “Statistically, we're saving more lives by teaching our kids to swim.”
Field said the club teaches 80 children to swim each year. Fireworks sales support those activities and bring money into the community. She urged everyone in the room to have a can do attitude and think of ways to help the fire department to make the sales happen.
Rob Alves, treasurer of the Terrace School Parent Teacher Organization, said the group is now being called on to fund some very basic educational needs because of the schools' budget challenges.
“We'd love to have something else to do to raise the kind of money we need to raise,” he said.
Several young Channel Cats also spoke to the council of how important the club is to them, not just for learning to swim and competing in swim meets, but getting to meet other children.
During the meeting it also was pointed out that the Lakeport Unified School District will no longer help pay a third of the funds for the Westshore Pool, which the Channel Cats will have to find a way to offset. Pool supporters also noted that people must be 21 or older to purchase the fireworks.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington attended the meeting and spoke, pointing out there were good arguments on both sides.
“The pendulum has swung pretty hard toward public safety and the prohibition against fireworks,” he said.
He said the bigger debate is whether or not it makes sense to ban fireworks, and he also took umbrage with the video Holbrook showed, saying it had nothing to do with the principal issue – drought – that the fire district had cited in denying the applications. The video would be more applicable in a larger debate about using fireworks.
He stated there are more drownings in Clear Lake and water bodies in surrounding areas than injuries resulting from fireworks. Farrington suggested the council designate certain areas where the fireworks can be used, such as the old Nylander's shopping center on High Street and Vista Point Shopping Center on Lakeport Boulevard, both of which have a lot of asphalt and water access.
Rumfelt suggested to Farrington that they work together on a property tax assessment to help make grants to schools and recreational groups. Farrington said the county has looked at reviving its recreation district but polls suggest that there isn't the support for it, largely because of the economy.
Bonnie Bonnett of the Clear Lake High School Boosters said she's been selling fireworks since her son was 8 years old, and the nonprofits that sell the fireworks have had a good working relationship with local officials.
She was concerned about all the fear she was hearing about fireworks. There were better choices than banning fireworks, and she embraced the ideas of stiffer fines and other solutions. Bonnett said the boosters gave $8,000 to help cover school transportation needs this year.
Revell suggested that the council could add a value-added tax to fireworks to help pay for police and fire services. He added that the child profiled in the video Lakeport Fire showed was hit by a kind of firework that is illegal in California.
Rumfelt asked Burke about the situation on a typical July 4 holiday. “Fourth of July is hands down the busiest night of the year for the police department,” Burke said, explaining that it's the only night of the year that every staff member – including him – is on duty.
Because of dealing with a full city, he said his staff wouldn't have time to enforce new fine ordinances. Usually, they simply confiscate illegal fireworks and move on.
Mayor Ron Bertsch and Councilman Roy Parmentier both were concerned about the potential for injuries from fireworks.
Council member Suzanne Lyons, however, said she didn't know where all the fear came from, pointing out that Christmas trees are responsible for home fires each year.
“I am just wondering how this became this amazingly terrifying proposition,” said Lyons, said added that she likes fireworks. “It kind of escapes me.”
Rumfelt said he's also enjoyed fireworks over the years, and he struggled with solutions to help the groups find alternative funding sources.
Lakeport resident Melissa Fulton asked the council to postpone a decision on the applications, pointing out that the nonprofits have struggled for a year to replace the fireworks funding. “They've not been able to do that.”
Rumfelt said the fireworks issue hadn't arisen overnight. He said he's talked to many people about fireworks, many of them opposing the sales.
Fulton argued that it would be fairer to the organizations involved to table the decision.
After about two hours, the council closed the public discussion, at which time Rumfelt moved to deny the applications, which Parmentier seconded. The council voted 3-1 to deny the applications, with Lyons voting no. Councilman Jim Irwin was absent from the meeting.
Brookes said the groups can reapply to sell fireworks.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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