Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
Print
E-Mail
tool name
closeWednesday, Jul. 08, 2009
Richland council says fireworks policy is prudent
By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer
The Richland City Council on Tuesday accepted a report on municipal fireworks costs as evidence that the city's fireworks law is prudent.
Richland is the only one of the Tri-Cities that allows fireworks to be set off within the city limits by private residents, provided the fireworks are hand-held sparklers or ones that stay on the ground.
Like the other cities, Richland prohibits aerial fireworks. And the city's number of fires caused by fireworks this year was about the same as the other cities, Fire Chief Grant Baynes reported.
"We don't see anything that shows there's a significant difference in the activity among the various Tri-Cities and rural areas here," Mayor John Fox said. "Illegal fireworks are easy to obtain nearby, and to attempt to enforce a ban ... would require several times as many police and fire personnel as we have available to us."
The Richland Fire Department from June 30 to July 5 responded to five fires caused by fireworks, four of which were attributed to illegal aerial fireworks, Baynes said. Fireworks caused three fires in Kennewick, five in Benton Fire District 1, two in Benton Fire District 4 and about eight in Pasco, though four of those reportedly were caused by the same juvenile, he said.
In Richland, the total property damage caused by the fires was estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000, including damage to a home's roof and a Dumpster. About 10 acres burned in a brush fire near Meadow Hills Drive.
The city spent about $2,500 fighting those fires and assisting Benton Fire District 1 with a fire near Olympia Street and Highway 397. The city also spent about $1,500 cleaning up fireworks scraps and other debris that people left in parks, said Parks and Recreation Director Doug Strong.
Also Tuesday:
w The city council approved moving an art sculpture depicting children reading from John Dam Plaza to a location near the Richland Public Library, which will reopen next week after a renovation and expansion.
HAPO Community Credit Union in 1993 donated the bronze sculpture, called Storytime, by artist Gary Price. HAPO requested the move and offered to clean and restore the artwork and provide $2,500 toward a replacement artwork for John Dam Plaza.
w The council rejected a new policy on stormwater discharges, reversing its decision from three weeks ago when it approved the first reading of the ordinance. Councilman Bob Thompson swayed the majority with a speech pointing out perceived constitutional and legal flaws with the proposed policy.
w Joe Chapman: 582-1512; jchapman@tricityherald.com
@Nyx.CommentBody@