No recession here: City budgets $47,000 for July 4th festivities and fireworks
The annual Fourth of July fireworks display at Lakewood Park is a fantastic community tradition and a great source of civic pride. We are very fortunate to have it.
Our sister inner-ring suburb to the east, Cleveland Heights, hasn’t had a municipal fireworks show in well over a decade. Parma and Euclid canceled their displays this year because the expense could not be justified amidst the worst economy in decades. It doesn’t look good when you lay-off dozens of people and slash city services, and then drop thousands of dollars on a half-hour noise and light show. People begin to question your priorities.
When you get right down to it, cities, including Lakewood, shouldn’t be blowing tax dollars on non-essential activities. Really, these events ought to be underwritten by area businesses and individuals, similar to what the city of Hudson does:
“Most of the area community fireworks shows have traditionally been funded out of city budgets, which we all know are under strain these days,” said Bill Sedlacek, Hudson Community Foundation board member and chairperson of the fireworks committee. “The Hudson Independence Day fireworks are totally dependent on donations from residents and the business community, without which there would be no fireworks show in Hudson.”
Yes, Hudson is a wealthy community, but all things considered, the Lakewood community – particularly the business community – ought to be capable of providing ample funding for a quality holiday entertainment experience.
The city received a $25,000 donation for fireworks from Ice Land USA as part of the management deal for Winterhurst Ice Rink in 2008. The next year, July Fourth donations totaled just $300.
What’s it cost?
The city has a budget this year of $46,000 for Fourth of July events, with roughly $10,000 designated for salaries and labor, and $33,000 for fireworks, according to information provided by the finance department (see .PDF). (And as a quick aside, at no point during the 2010 budget discussions did anyone ever breathe so much as a whisper about this money.)
The fireworks
The city put out a request for proposal (RFP) in April inviting fireworks display exhibitors to submit responses for a 25 to 30 minute display with a $33,000 budget limitation. The RFP stated the show “must be designed to provide a full range of color, sizes, and patterns so that there are not ‘dead moments’ in the sky.” (see .PDF)
Four companies submitted responses: Mad Bomber Fireworks (.PDF) of Kingsbury, IN; Pyrotecnico (.PDF) of New Castle, PA; Wolverine Fireworks Display (.PDF) of Kawkawlin, MI; and Zambelli Fireworks (.PDF) of New Castle, PA.
Each of their display proposals contained fireworks programs with the same basic elements: opening barrage, main body, pre-finale, and grand finale. The firework shells range between 2 and 6 inches in diameter.
Fire Chief Lawrence Mroz reviewed the bids and found that they all met licensing, permit and safety requirements. Based upon company size, experience, and shell diameter size, he felt the best two proposals were from Pyrotecnico and Zambelli.
The city awarded the event to Pyrotecnico. Compared to the other bids, they did not offer the greatest number of overall shells, but did have the largest total number of 5 and 6 inch diameter fireworks with 647. The next largest total was Zambelli with 416. Check out the comparison sheet here. (.PDF)
Here’s what you can expect to see at tonight’s Fourth of July fireworks display:
| Pyrotecnico | |||||||
| Opening Barrage | Shells | Main Body |
Shells | Pre-Finale | Shells | Grand Finale |
Shells |
| 360 | 2 inch |
185 | 3 inch |
360 | 2 inch |
300 | 2 inch |
| 160 | 3 inch |
280 | 4 inch |
200 | 3 inch |
600 | 3 inch |
| 72 | 4 inch |
240 | 5 inch |
36 | 4 inch |
108 | 4 inch |
| 15 | 5 inch |
200 | 6 inch |
20 | 5 inch |
60 | 5 inch |
| 8 | 6 inch |
40 | 6 inch |
||||
| 615 | Total shells |
905 | Total shells |
616 | Total shells |
1,168 | Total shells |
| 3,304 | Grand total shells |
||||||
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