Mayor Danny Jones was visibly frustrated during City Council's meeting Monday night as two Charleston residents pleaded with council members to pass a bill to ban or restrict the use of fireworks in city limits.
Margaret Chico-Eddy and Robert Breedlove were interrupted by Jones during the public hearing session of the meeting as they each addressed Council.
"Where were you when the Legislature was in session?" Jones asked. "The Legislature did this to you. This is very frustrating because we are not your problem -- we are your friend,"
But their grievances weren't ignored; Jones pledged that the city will address the problem of nuisance fireworks somehow.
"I'm not sure what it will be, and I'm not sure if the Legislature will let us. We'll try," he said.
Chico-Eddy pointed to Martinsburg, where its City Council passed the initial reading of an ordinance recently introduced that would prohibit the discharge of fireworks in city limits.
Breedlove said he worked for eight years as an active duty firefighter, during which time he saw the effects of consumer-grade fireworks. In one incident, he said, a child's hand was blown off. In another, a Roman candle burnt a house down.
The sale and purchase of consumer grade fireworks was legalized during this year's Legislative session.
If Council members introduce a bill to ban or restrict the use of fireworks in city limits, it would first go to the Rules and Ordinance Committee for approval.
"Those people over there have no care about what they do to these cities," Jones said, referring to the Legislature.
City Attorney Paul Ellis said he doesn't think banning firework use in city limits would conflict with state code.
"But as far as enforcing it, that's the really difficult thing," he said. "One of the issues being discussed was maybe amending the noise ordinance to include a time frame for firework use, and having limits on that."
City Council also approved the long-awaited brunch bill with an overwhelming majority Monday evening.
In addition, Council approved an eighth change order to the Civic Center renovation project on Monday that will flood-proof the portion of the center that backs up to the Elk River.
The $54,000 change order would provide for the design of flood-proofing the south wall of the Civic Center from the Little Theater to the Elk River.
It would also enclose the underside of the prefunction area and ballroom, where people were sometimes crawling up into the open space beneath the Civic Center.
"It's basically an open void underneath all that, so we need to enclose it in some way," said City Manager David Molgaard. "The challenge is, it needs to be porous enough for floodwaters to get in there and get back out."
Molgaard said he thinks the enclosure will likely be composed of a gabion basket-type system.
"It's basically a wire mesh with rocks in it that are stacked on each other," he said.
Also on Monday, Council voted to:
- Approve a bill that will reduce the duration of demolition stays for historic buildings from 270 days back to 90 days.
- Convey the Samuel W. Starks House at 413 Shrewsbury St. from the City of Charleston to the Henry Highland Garnet Foundation to allow the foundation to transfer the property directly to the Garnet High School Alumni Association.
- Authorize an agreement with Suttle and Stalnaker in the amount of $58,000 to conduct a single audit for the city for fiscal 2016.
- Authorize an agreement with Spec. Rescue International in the amount of $27,900 to provide up to four FEMA-certified instructors to conduct an 80-hour training class for 30 to 40 firefighters from Charleston and other fire departments in Kanawha County.
- Authorize the issuance of City of Charleston Sewerage System Revenue Bonds in an aggregate principal amount of $18 million to be used for projects on the city's existing sewer system.
- Approve a bid by Finley Fire Equipment in the amount of $38,190 to purchase 11 Scott Spare air cylinders and five Scott air packs for use by the Charleston Fire Department.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.