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Fireworks decision was a real dud
Each Fourth of July, our neighbors gather in our cul de sac and view the fireworks from our upper decks. The attendance is rather large, featuring kids, adults and canines.
Grills are running full tilt in a scene right out of a Hillshire Farms commercial.
In years past, we could see the pyrotechnics from at least locales — Kill Devil Hills, Manteo and Nags Head.
The invasion of pine trees throughout Jockey’s Ridge Park, which my house borders, and Nags Head Woods eventually blocked any view of Manteo’s awesome show. So last year we were down to just Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills.
This year, they are all gone save for Manteo. And good luck trying to get there and find parking for that event, now that it’s the sole venue on the Dare County beaches for this special holiday. Even Hatteras Island has nixed its show.
What happened to the other displays? Some communities are citing new state regulations created in the aftermath of last year’s explosion in Ocracoke that killed four employees of a fireworks company unloading a truck. They are also blaming the costs of the programs, which include not only hiring professional companies to put on the shows, but overtime for police and other public safety personnel earning overtime. With tight budgets and a poor economy, the argument carried the day this year.
To all of which, I say phooey! Even before the Ocracoke incident, debate was taking place in Nags Head about the costs of the program. And earlier this year, the Kelly’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade route was shortened considerably, ostensibly to better control traffic. In reality, the cost of extra police pay was the culprit.
Somehow, Manteo and Currituck County, which puts on a show in Corolla, found the money, and both apparently had no problem meeting the tighter state regulations. And, according to a story in the Voice, the combined cost to Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head was a mere $45,000; the combined budgets of the two towns exceeds $26 million.
Many of our visitors plan vacations around these fireworks displays, and locals also look forward to them. Given all of the money our visitors and out-of-town property owners drop into local tax coffers, surely we can afford $45,000 for a once-a-year event to give something back to our residents and our tourists.
Between the Kelly’s parade and now the Fourth of July, I think a phrase more often associated with Christmas is in order . . . Bah, Humbug! Let’s hope our leaders rediscover an appreciation for fun when 2011 rolls around.
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Agnes says:
Well said!
Marshall says:
here’s my exchange w/ mayor Bob Oakes on said subject:
“Can you tell us why we aren’t having fireworks in Nags Head this year?
Thanks,
Scott Marshall”
“Dear Scott,
Our board made a budget decision last year that with a difficult budget and uncertain revenues, we needed to separate the luxuries from the necessities. Fireworks, at about $25,000 for 20 minutes, was seen as a luxury.
We have gotten a lot of public comment on the lack of fireworks, so I’m sure it will be reviewed in the future. Please offer your opinion to the board if you would like.
Warm regards,
Bob”
“So let me get this right, and please correct me if I’m wrong.
After the voters overwhelmingly rejected beach nourishment, it is being done anyway? And our taxes are being raised for this? How much is the estimated figures?
But, we’re not having fireworks?
How long has it been since we haven’t had them?
Is this the first 4th of July with you serving as mayor?
Thank you for answering these questions so I can be sure.
And in my opinion, luxury and necessity is defined by who one is.
40 something years here and now absolutely no fireworks in Nags Head. Personal ones banned. No public ones.
Unbelievable.
“Keeping w/ the Old Nags Head theme”… uh huh.”
Bob Neiderlander says:
Perhaps KDH and NH will be embarased enough to maybe consider having a fireworks display, say for Labor Day. That could bring people back.
DP says:
The editorial missed the mark. The issue was separation standards developed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The towns could have had a million dollars to spend, but they cannot make the island wide enough to qualify for a permit. Ease up, Russ. Do you really think these folks who serve on our Boards conspired to make the new rules come out of Raleigh? By the way…these shows should be paid for and put on by the Tourist Bureau.
ekim says:
This is a mirror of our federal government today. Kill the small businesses. What they don’t realize is you also kill tax revenue. It’s not just that we don’t have fireworks; think of all of the pissed off tourists that won’t return to spend their money here next year.
Whatever lame excuses the towns and Dare County came up with, they will pay the price in reduced tax revenues because people will go elsewhere for the 4th of July. Do the towns and counties realize this is the biggest money making holiday of the year for small businesses (that pay lots of taxes) and the biggest TAX generating holiday of the year for the Outer Banks?
Are they really that ignorant? Local government officials are biting the hand that feeds them. The tax-paying citizens of the towns and county need to elect officials with the interest of all of the people, not just the ones that are employed by local government.
Marshall says:
DP, read my post of what Mayor Bob Oakes stated was the reason for not having them.
Did you hear your reason from someone else? Or did you just pull it out of…
Russ Lay says:
DP–I have to disagree and you’ll need to show me the regs. I read them and they say nothing about the width of the island, they refer to the training and “permitting” of employees. Are you telling me Corolla “fits” and Kitty Hawk or KDH doesn’t? KDH is easily as wide as Corolla. Further, not one town cited your “fact” as a rationale. Budget was primary and cited by both Nags Head and KDH.
charlie says:
On a positive side… Where would be a good location for the Tourism Bureau to sponsor WEEKLY fireworks during the summer?
PB says:
The separation issue has been there for years, that’s why KDH no longer does the fireworks from the beach but now on the end of the Avalon Pier. the regs did change and required that fire personnel be on site when the fireworks were unloaded and set up. Also, a perimeter had to be maintained around the truck and site. The new regs would have caused the pier to be shut down both Saturday and Sunday which the owner did not want to do. Also, the beach would have had to be closed off a distance north and south of the pier. We made the decision to cancel the fireworks in KDH a month before hand, and unfortunately the regs were put on hold too late for us to reschedule the show. That’s when the money was moved from the budget, the regs caused it not trying to save for the budget. Also, the pier is the only spot in KDH that we can set off fireworks, we looked for other places and none exist. If anyone doubts this statement, call Fife Chief Penland to verify.
DP says:
Russ see PB..he says it better than I did but I know several firefighters and they all say it was a permit and explosives safety issue. No conspiracy or callousness or failure to reckognize the importance of fireworks on the 4th of July. And by the way…if you went down to the beach there were PLENTY of fireworks.
ekim says:
PB, blow that smoke up someone else’s skirt. The pier isn’t the only place the works could be done. You could have used one of the big empty school parking lots or the post office parking lot or the section of beach in front of Black Pelican or the boat ramp off of K.H. landing, and on and on.
Stewie says:
What’s the Tea Party crowd stance on publicly funded fireworks displays?
Necessary government expenditure or optional frill (nice to have but still undeniably a frill)?
Will tourists quit coming to the OBX if there are no July 4th fireworks? Does anyone seriously believe that a fireworks display is what draws the tourists here????
DP says:
Exactly right Stewie…they have the funding source for promoting tourism at the Tourist Bureau, that money comes directly from hotel occupancy taxes. I don’t know what happened to ekim but look..can you see folks flocking to Kitty Hawk Landing for a Boom-Boom Zambelli show, if that were even possible, which it is not. Nope, the editorial comment and others are wrong on this one. The July 4th Fireworks shows on the OBX beaches, the professional ones, are nice. Our leaders need to put thier heads together and find a safe way to do them and the smart way to fund them. They made the only choice they had this year, so beating them up for doing so serves no purpose except allowing for those like ekim to vent. Feel better now?
Russ Lay says:
DP–I see PB’s response, but the town’s own website indicates costs and new regulations were part of the problem. Nags Head cited costs. The issue of separation relative to the launching of fireworks has been in the code since 2000, and is easily available on the net. The state fire marshal’s web site reported the primary changes involved training and certifications, which we cited in our article. While the media can report the news, we can’t read minds. The state web site, referencing “new regulations” in the aftermath of Ocracoke’s tragedy says nothing about increased buffers for the unloading of fireworks nor separation in the launching of the display works. Relative to the latter, it refers to a national code specification that has been in force for 10 years. The explanation given here by PB would have been useful information to place on the web site, and a simple follow up explaining why Manteo and Corolla can do it while KDH cannot would also be useful.
Finally, there is nothing to prevent the two towns from collaborating (NH and KDH) and I think a site might have been found to bring some fireworks to the beach.
Shannon says:
Us locals pay the same taxes as the tourists – only we do it year round.
Next year, the town should look at what is likely a very inflated Dare County tourist board budget and get the funds from there. $25,000 amounts to about five 4/C ads in a magazine.
If we’re going to sell the “all american, family vacation” then we should deliver. Fireworks may not be the draw initially, but now that they know that we don’t have any – it could sway their decision on where to vacation on the 4th next year.
Tim says:
We cannot drive on the beach, we cannot maintain our beaches, we cannot build bridges where needed, we cannot see fireworks. REGULATIONS Let’s have someone study it for 10 or 15 years.
UncleKB says:
1- re Tourist Board…In 1999 I asked for TB dollars to help pay for fireworks. I was told TB $$$ were not available for “in season” events. I guess they were trying to bolster off season rentals.
2- separation buffers have not changed since we started shooting fireworks in 1997… 70 feet per mortar inch…6′ bombs= 420′radius of buffer. Bigger mortars = more buffer. The Avon pier is the only place on land we can shoot. A barge show may be doable. Barges are not commonplace down on Hatteras, tugboats either.
3- We had instructors flying in from Tenn and a OSFM rep coming from Raliegh to administer the test to 30 volunteers from Avon and Hatteras in May…NPS would not allow the live fire test portion of the certification. Logistics would not allow us to test fire 2 hours away from the siminar site (Avon)
4- The fundraising effort takes 4 months. I have done the majority of the fundraising since 2000. I was willing to raise the $$$ in 6 weeks if the testing would have happened. We have never had any “tax” dollars. We have begged for every dollar.
5- Typically fireworks crews are 4/5 people. They setup for several days prior to the show. We need 20 people as we can’t shut the pier down for more than one day. Hiring a crew from elsewhere doesnt work as it takes many hands to complete the work in one day.
We worked HARD from Feb 22 until We canceled everything on May 2 to make the show happen. Around every corner was another hurdle. I admit I grew weary. Hurdle after hurdle…
NOW FOR NEXT YEAR…
I still need to certify 20 people. I wonder what it will cost to send these people to Newbern for a 2 day class. Lodging, travel, food…
I may just rent a room in Manteo….
(flame suit on…fire at will)
Bobby says:
Our visiting neighbors were told by their rental companies that the Outer Banks were having fireworks, in Manteo and Corolla. Since they had not visited they had no idea the distance and the fact that they would not be able to see them. I told them about our annual renegade fireworks. And to their delight we had quite a show. Someone just north of us had quite a display. Maybe the pier? But it was not the show everyone wanted and was part of the attraction for coming this week.
KHer says:
Does anybody really think the vacationers come here just to see the fireworks? Sure, it’s a disappointment, but my guess is the fireworks are the icing on the cake.
And I don’t believe the new state regs had anything at all to do with not having a show. Manteo had there’s and frankly did not comply with the new regulations. But the state gave an exemption and a year of grace to everyone in regards to the new law.
Fireworks are not a right, they’re a luxury, albeit an expected one. Let’s hope the economy turns around and they can return.
And I totally agree with letting the tourist bureau fund the shows if its that big of a deal to the tourists.
Chuck Ball says:
What a bunch of whiners! Our economy is in free fall, some of our sons and daughters are being killed and maimed in countries that will never be democracies and do not want us there, oil is on its way to our shores and we are whining about fireworks? If you want to honor America, salute the flag and say a prayer for our country.
blackbeard's delight says:
Funding and making the fireworks display a reality would have been a public relations boon for the Visitors bureau. It would have at long lasts demonstrated something tangible positive to the area community. All the other stuff they (the visitors bureau) talk about seems to come across as hocus pocus. The visitors bureau needs to realize who really comes down to the beach and what they like to do. They don’t want culture shoved down their throats. They want fun. They want fireworks on the fourth of July because fireworks are fun.
kend says:
Fireworks from a barge in the ocean and/or sound would resolve many of the problems. The Tourist Bureau should help with the expense. Manteo collects donations from businesses to help offset the expense as well. A joint venture for NH/KDH/KH would also help!
KHer says:
I’m told that Nags Head has approached Manteo about doing a joint fireworks effort, probably from a barge in the sound. But Manteo said, “No thanks.”
(Guess they enjoy burning the marsh over there every year!)
Gail M.Jones says:
Chuck Ball…I totally agree with you and the real reason behind celebrating the 4th of July. I cannot believe tourists come here and spend all that money to stay a week soley for a one-hour display of fireworks. I’d rather my tax dollars go for the real reason the tourist come here the other fifteen weeks of the season …taking care of our beaches. If they want fireworks, then come to Sea Gull Dr. The trash cans were full of fireworks debris and at no cost to the town.
D. Arrowood says:
Amen Chuck Ball!!!!! We all need to re-evaulate our priorities.