By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
For the past three years, commissioners have suspended the city’s current fireworks ordinance over the Fourth of July holiday due to the regional drought.
In a normal year, the city of Hays allows fireworks to be discharged only on July 2, 3 and 4 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. Commissioners chose to continue the ban this year at the May 22 meeting. After the city of Hays received several inches of rain throughout the month of June, commissioners revisited the issue at last week’s meeting.
Despite pleas from vendors and residents, commissioners chose to keep the ban in place and again discussed the issue at their last work session.
“The county has kept the ban in place and the cities of Ellis and Victoria have done the same thing,” said Commissioner Eber Phelps. “So when we look at Hays and the county, I think enforcement becomes an issue … consistency is what I’m leaning toward.”
Mayor Henry Schwaller also spoke about the relationship with the county.
“If we’re not all in it together, then we suddenly have boundaries that we don’t want,” Schwaller said at the work session.
The issue was revisited Thursday at the commission’s regular meeting when two residents brought up the issue.
Veteran and Purple Heart recipient Darrell Lorick said the ban is a “slap in the face for protecting the country.”
“Now we’ve had all this rain but we can’t observe the fourth of July the way it should be observed?” he said. “From what I’m reading, the commission is allowing the Wild West Fest to shoot off fireworks. Why are you exempting them?”
Phelps affirmed his stance on the enforcement issues due to the county’s ban.
“I personally felt that it was going to be a difficult issue with enforcement where people would possibly think that they were in the city limits and they weren’t,” Phelps said. “Likewise, some people may misinterpret it by assuming it is OK to discharge fireworks everywhere.”
Commissioner Shaun Musil said he took “a lot of criticism” throughout the week after stating that he was in favor of rescinding the ban. He also said the ordinance “needs some clarification” concerning when a ban is put into place.
“I think it would be a lot safer if we allowed them because of all the rain, but that’s just my opinion. There’s five of us here,” Musil said. “To me, we just look silly not allowing them this year.”
Commissioner Ron Mellick talked about a conflict a couple of years ago when the city chose to ban them in late June. Mellick said several vendors “came crying” to the commission stating they had lost money due to the fact they had already bought their supply. The commission decided to move the decision back by a month so that vendors knew whether or not to buy fireworks for their stands.
“Perhaps we should’ve waited until the meeting before the Fourth of July to decide,” Mellick said. “But then again, everybody said that they had to get their tent, help and supplies, and they would be happy if we would make the decision earlier.”
“Now we’ve gotten some rain and people are saying that we ought to let them do it. We can’t do both,” Mellick said. “That’s a real dilemma there. I’m sticking with where we’re at.”
Commissioner Kent Steward said the city doesn’t want to “send mixed messages” to residents about the drought.
“I don’t think fireworks would pose a danger now,” Steward said. “However, I do have a problem with lifting the ban when we’re still in the drought. If you walked up to people randomly on the street right now in Hays and asked them if we we’re in a drought, I think they would say no because of all of this rain. It really concerns me that we would be sending a confusing message if we lifted the ban.
“Fireworks are important and a great way to celebrate our independence … but it’s far more important that we keep people in a mindset of conserving. We have had a lot of rain, but we are not out of the drought.”