Fireworks were a hot topic during Tuesday's town council meeting, and it will likely reappear in the coming months.
After some discussion, council decided to form a committee, composed of two council members and a member of the police department, to make recommendations to improve the town's current fireworks ordinance. Council members say there is problems with compliance, and the ordinance is not strong enough to provide proper enforcement.
Council heard from Thomas Sample, a concerned resident who said fireworks shot during Christmas Eve lasted until 1:40 a.m. and were so loud his minister at St. Paul United Methodist Church had to pause at certain points during the service.
"I have never thought of Christmas as a real fireworks celebration holiday," he said. "I've always thought of it more as a religious holiday." In addition to noise, Sample brought up safety, fire and litter problems associated with fireworks. He also brought information, obtained through research, of other South Carolina towns' fireworks ordinance, and asked them to pass an ordinance with "some teeth to it."
His pleas to council did not go unnoticed, as most members expressed a desire for a tougher fireworks ordinance, some suggestions more harsh than others. "Personally, I would like to see it stopped, the fireworks all together," Councilwoman Anissa Turner said. "We can't stop the selling of it, but we can stop the shooting of it. And not only because of the noise issues, but because of the safety issues as well." Turner said her children, ages four and six, were awoken by fireworks on Christmas Eve at 12:30 a.m. She mentioned many houses in her ward were close together, and if one caught on fire, it could catch others close by on fire, as well.
Councilman Paul Bartley agreed that a tougher ordinance should be made, but did not agree with completely with Turner. "I don't really want to see us go that far (banning fireworks), in my personal opinion," he said. "I think we can come up with an ordinance that is more enforceable and calm down the situation. And there are a lot of good points made. Maybe we can start with those and work to what's best."
Other solutions were offered by Councilman Obie Combs, who suggested requiring permits or designating an area in town to shoot fireworks at specified times. "I see some areas we need to improve on," he said. "The ordinance we have now, I think will be fine if we go back and add some more to it."
Saluda's current ordinance allows for legal fireworks to be shot within city limits as long as they do not infringe on others safety and do not violate noise ordinances. Police Chief Michael Clancey said fireworks were a problem Christmas Eve because of being understaffed that night. He added there wasn't as big of a problem on New Year's Eve, because extra officers were working.
Council agreed the appointed committee will make its recommendations at next month's meeting, giving council an opportunity to explore all options before making a decision. "People probably won't be shooting fireworks again until the Fourth of July, and we shouldn't have a problem with this until then," Mayor Frank Addy said. "So, we have a little bit of time to work on it. Let's come up with ideas and bring it back up at the next meeting. Then we can put some teeth in it, and solve it from there."