Politics & Government

Fireworks Ordinance Calls for Eight Fireworks Stands in Dixon

The Dixon City Council adopted a fireworks ordinance that calls for eight fireworks stands in Dixon, permit and application fees of $175

By Sarah Herrera
Dixon Patch Correspondent

The Dixon City Council voted Tuesday night to pass an ordinance that would adopt a two-year trial program for the use and sales of Safe-and-Sane fireworks in Dixon.

Dixon Fire Chief Aaron McAlister wrote the ordinance after researching similar ordinances in nearby communities of West Sacramento, Winters and Woodland; meeting with representatives from the fireworks companies TNT Fireworks and Phantom Fireworks; and conducting a community forum with Dixon residents. The original ordinance included permit and application fees of $275 and a recommendation of four booths in the community, one booth per 5,000 residents or fraction thereof.

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the adopted ordinance, the city will open up a lottery to nonprofit organizations to apply for a booth and allow up to eight firework stands in the community. Organizations would pay a $175 permit and application fee to participate. The fees are needed for the fire department to manage the program by issuing permits and conducting inspections at the fireworks stands. The cost of enforcing the use of illegal fireworks was also a concern, McAlister said.  The use of fireworks in city parks will not be allowed under the ordinance.

In addition, the ordinance will not require the nonprofit agencies to craft a financial report to the city, as Chief McAlister originally suggested. The City Council agreed that the tax filings that nonprofit groups are required by law to prepare were enough to satisfy the requirement. Also, the council voted to exclude a penalty structure for the use of dangerous, or illegal fireworks, in Dixon but could re-visit the ordinance as early as the second year of the two-year trial period to institute fines allowed under SB 839.

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Councilmen Thom Bogue, Dane Besneatte and Vice Mayor Michael Ceremello raised concerns about the number of booths that the ordinance permitted during the two-year trial period. Councilman Rick Fuller, who was not at the meeting, voiced his concerns about the number of booths through City Manager Nancy Huston and said there should be no more than three booths allowed. Bogue said there should be no limits but would go on to agree on the eight booths suggested by Vice Mayor Ceremello.

Bogue said it’s unfair to guarantee nonprofit organizations the maximum amount of profit and limiting the lottery to just nonprofits is unfair competition.

“A lot of time is required to staff the booth, so there needs to be a return in investment which is why you would want to limit the amount of booths,” McAlister said.

Besneatte said that nonprofit groups that participate in the first year of the pilot program should not be allowed to enter the lottery again in the second year. However, McAlister said that the ordinance did not prohibit a group from entering the lottery both years.

“We heard from the community,” McAlister said. “We thought that a lot of people would be partnering to do this and as a partner that would exclude them from being a partner the following year.”

Chief McAlister said some communities like West Sacramento have categories for their lotteries like youth groups, churches and sports teams since they have a larger number of nonprofit groups in their community. However, since Dixon is a smaller community the lottery would be open to all nonprofit organizations.

Not all city council members agreed with the new ordinance.  Council Member Rick Fuller did not support it because he had safety concerns. Mayor Jack Batchelor, who was in Washington D.C. on official business, attempted to join the meeting by telephone but a 90-second delay in the Granicus service that the city uses to stream its meetings online made it unfeasible.

Batchelor casted one of the two nay votes, along with Fuller, when it came time for the council to decide on lifting the ban on Safe-and-Sane fireworks instituted in the ‘70s.

The program will provide a way for selected non-profit organizations to raise funds for annual programs and events that are offered to the community. 

Nick Gilbert, the account manager for Phantom Fireworks, said there are 20 to 25 organizations in Dixon that are interested in the program.

Jill Orr, president of the Downtown Dixon Business Association, said the profits her organization could earn from fireworks sales would help with community events like Grillin’ and Chillin’ and the Christmas Tree Lighting Festival.  Orr was also concerned that a larger number of booths, in addition to permit fees, could make it harder to earn profits.

“Nobody will make any money. People don’t understand that with fireworks you buy the packages,” said Orr. “So you are going to have this expense whether you sell them all or not.”

Orr said that allowing Safe-and-Sane fireworks in Dixon would also help create some of the same memorable experiences she had as a child.

“I was born and raised in Dixon. I want the fireworks to come back. It was a fun time to remember when I was a child growing up. We made homemade ice cream and had a barbeque in the backyard and my dad lit off the fireworks,” Orr said. “It was special and I will always remember that. So for me it’s kind of like going back to the times when I was a child.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Dixon