HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-26-21 Public Comment - H. McFadden - FireworksFrom:Hugh McFadden
To:Agenda
Subject:Please enforce fireworks law
Date:Monday, July 26, 2021 11:44:29 PM
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City Commission, Manager, and Fire Chief:
July 4 last year was intolerable. For 5 nights, we were treated to illegal fireworks for hours.
We could not sleep. One dog spent the nights in the bathtub shaking, with a dose oflorazepam that would put a 200 lb man to sleep in minutes.
Our ordinance specifies the size of fireworks that can be used. See BMC 18.05040(E). Small
Class C fireworks that do not make loud noise. What was blowing up on our street was notClass C stuff.
No fireworks at all are allowed within 300 feet of parkland, or on city streets. None. Zero.
Not just legal ones, none of which are ever in sight.
In the New Hyalite View Subdivision, every lot is within 300 feet of parkland. In fact, Ibelieve that nearly every lot touches parkland. That means that there should be no fireworks
in this subdivision, none, zero.
So why is it that we must either spend a lot of money to leave town and go somewhere quiet,or be assaulted intolerably for nearly a week? Why do you not enforce our ordinance? Why
have an ordinance if you won’t enforce it? We called the police one year. A nice young mancame and shined us on. Apparently the word at roll call was to jolly people along and not
enforce the law. You have a lot of laws I don’t like. Can I break them with impunity?
Don’t misunderstand. I like fireworks in the right place at the right time. I fire an anvil andblow 3’ logs apart with black powder. But I do these things where others will not hear them
unless they choose to attend.
If we don’t get rain on the 3rd and 4th, the fire danger will be high. If it is, I hope you havethe judgment and courage to forbid fireworks in town and actually enforce the order. I hope
the county has the huevos to ban them county-wide. Just isn’t worth it. A few years ago wehad a fire in the parkland near our house. Commissioners came out, said “tut tut” and
vanished without addressing the problem. Let’s not have another.
Yours
H McFaddenBozeman