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March 11, 2009
The Big Bang: Fireworks to Return Comments (22)
Once again, we are caught in another typical Vienna quandary: do we cheer or run for cover?!
Fireworks Will Be Back at Vienna's 4th of July Celebration
by Brian Trompeter
Wednesday, March 11, 2009Vienna officials next week will move ahead with plans to bring fireworks back to the town’s Fourth of July celebration, albeit at a new location.
After meeting with southwest Vienna residents on Feb. 17 and receiving mostly positive responses, Vienna Town Council members indicated at a March 9 work session that they would like to hold a fireworks show at Southside Park.
Town officials scrapped fireworks altogether and held a laser show at last year’s Fourth of July celebration. The move was prompted by a 2007 fireworks malfunction at Waters Field, which injured 11 spectators.
In previous years, the town paid about $10,000 for its fireworks display. That figure shot up to $22,000 for last year’s fireworks display.
Town officials issued a request for proposal to fireworks vendors, but received no responses. After a purchasing agent followed up, Melrose Pyrotechnics Inc. offered to do a show for a minimum of $15,000.
That offer was above the town’s suggested limit of $12,500, but would include $10 million worth of liability insurance, which is $2.5 million more than the town usually stipulates, said Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Salgado.
Melrose Pyrotechnics will do Langley High School’s show and two displays in Loudoun County this year, Salgado said. The company’s 25-minute display in Vienna would be triggered electronically, rather than manually by crews wielding flares, she said.
Some council members were hesitant to spring for the extra money for the show, given tight budget circumstances. Others were eager to bring back pyrotechnics.
“I want fireworks, one way or the other,” said Mayor M. Jane Seeman. “It’s a tradition.”
Salgado said the Parks and Recreation Department already realized some savings after it opted to cancel a performance by B2B, a Jimmy Buffett cover band. The band then agreed to perform at half-price, saving the town $2,250, she said.
Town officials also might allow the fireworks to be sponsored in part by a local business or community group. Although the display would not be renamed in honor of the sponsor, the donating group’s name would be listed on a banner over Maple Avenue and in the town’s print and Web-site publications.
The Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that Southside Park is an acceptable site for a fireworks display, Salgado said. The park offers double the distance needed for spectator safety, she said.
The town may close off portions of Patrick and George streets and Ross Drive to allow pedestrians safer entry and exit.
Vienna will continue to hold Fourth of July festivities during the day near the Vienna Community Center. Town officials considered providing shuttle-bus service to ferry spectators to Southside Park, but discarded that idea to save money.
Town officials also must receive permission from Vienna Little League leaders to have spectators watch the fireworks from Yeonas Park, which is adjacent to Southside Park. Vienna officials said they did not expect much opposition to the proposal because the baseball group would be allowed to sell concessions at the event.
The council will revisit the fireworks issue at its March 16 meeting.
January 29, 2009
Fourth of July Fireworks to Return? Comments (1)
Questions Remain Before Fireworks Make Return to Vienna
by BRIAN TROMPETER, Staff Writer
Vienna officials hope to bring fireworks back to the town’s annual Fourth of July celebration, but may hold the display at a different site from the usual Waters Field.
Town Council members hashed over the pros and cons of two possible sites during a Jan. 12 work session.
Town officials, stunned by a fireworks malfunction in 2007 that injured 11 people, held a laser light show at last year’s July 4 event.
Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Salgado said she had not received much public feedback, pro or con, concerning the laser show. Town officials are considering fireworks again because they are cheaper than a laser display, which last year cost about $20,000, she said.
The prospective new fireworks site that garnered the most enthusiasm from the Town Council was Southside Park, which offers suitable safety zones for spectators. In order for this site to work, Vienna Little League would have to grant the town permission to seat spectators on its fields next to the park.
Previous Vienna fireworks shows have featured up to 4-inch-diameter shells, but site constraints and new federal fireworks regulations would permit only 3-inch shells at Southside Park, Salgado said.
Town officials are trying to set up an informational meeting in February with the site’s surrounding neighbors.
The Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office has approved Southside Park as a fireworks site, but still would supervise the show and demand a detailed pyrotechnic list from whichever vendor is chosen, Salgado said.
Vienna officials also are consulting with town police about parking arrangements and traffic flow if the event were held at Southside Park. Portions of Ross Drive, S.W., may be closed during the show, and shuttle buses may be used to transport spectators to the site, officials said.
If Southside Park is chosen for the fireworks show, a police officer would have to be stationed on Interstate 66 to report if smoke from the display drifts over the highway, Salgado said.
Town officials briefly considered holding the fireworks show at James Madison High School, but decided the site was too cramped and had the additional complication of an artificial-turf athletic field, which might be damaged by the pyrotechnics.
Vienna officials also ruled out Nottoway Park, located just west of the town’s border, because the site has only one road for ingress and egress.
As they have in previous years, town officials plan to ask Westwood Country Club to let the public watch its fireworks display. The country club shoots fireworks over its golf course, which provides a safety buffer adequate for massive 7- and 8-inch shells, Salgado said.
Country club officials in the past have declined to allow non-members onto the club’s grounds to view the display. Vienna officials may propose closing a section of nearby Maple Avenue so the public could watch the display from the road.
Mayor M. Jane Seeman questioned whether the town should pick up any of the show’s cost, given the unorthodox seating arrangements.
“We’d be paying for it and we’d have to sit on the street? Excuse me?” Seeman asked.
Whichever fireworks location is chosen, Vienna still will hold other Fourth of July events throughout the day at Waters Field, said Vienna Town Manager John Schoeberlein.
