Kosse Neighborhood Fired Up about Fireworks

Concerns about usage of loud, powerful fireworks were voiced in Kosse’s July City Council meeting, and the discussion continued on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
Having added the Fireworks Ordinance that is currently in place to the agenda for discussion and possible action, the council allowed all citizens in attendance for the meeting a chance to express their experiences and opinions.
Trish Roy and other ladies from the south end of the Narcissus, Myrtle, and Mignonette blocks (Kathy Moorehead, Earleene Milligan, and Linda Sims) stated that they had nothing against regular fireworks, but took issue with loud, booming, cannon-like explosions that “pounded” their windows and rattled their walls with no warning.
“In our neighborhood, when this situation first started, I lived the farthest away from the rest of these people and I didn’t say anything at first because I figured two old, retired people here, we don’t have to go to work the next morning,” Roy said. “And then I found out how it was bothering everybody else. It sounds like an explosion, and I’m the farthest one away, but we’re all getting our walls pounded, our windows pounded, if I’m sitting in the truck, the truck is getting pounded. We’re not standing right there watching exactly what it is, but we know what we’re dealing with. This is something different and the problem is more than just the volume.”
Jarrod Eno, who lives in that neighborhood and also orchestrates the city’s annual July 4 Fireworks Show, was not explicitly named as the culprit but spoke his opinion on the matter.
“The police came to my house twice and inspected the fireworks,” Eno said, turning to Chief of Police Brett New, who nodded in confirmation. “It’s all consumer fireworks; all the fireworks set off at my house, any of you can go and buy from a fireworks stand. You can get a $19, 500-gram firework, or you can get a $190, 500-gram firework, and they are very different.”
Other citizens were also vocally in support of fireworks usage, including Brian and Dawn Valentine as self-proclaimed patriotic individuals. Mr. Valentine pointed out that fireworks manufacturers have “specs” and laws they have to follow regarding power and noise.
Council members chimed in to defend the ordinance that they worked hard to revamp in 2020. The ordinance states that fireworks are allowed to be set off inside the city limits from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm 10 days prior to and one day after the listed holidays (New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day, Kosse Homecoming, July 4, Veterans Day and Christmas), excluding commercial fireworks, which are not permitted for residential usage.
“This city ordinance was adopted August 11, 2020 and it says no commercial (fireworks) except for the city function, so I don’t know what else we can do,” Councilmember Todd Freeman said. “You can’t buy commercial-grade fireworks without a license, so whatever they’re selling over the counter is legal by state law. The windows shake in houses when they launch a rocket at SpaceX 50 miles away.”
Valls stated that he’s heard the booms, and they are loud, but there are no fireworks laws on decibels or house-shaking, and confirmed with Roy that the shaking has not physically inflicted damage on her home.
Back and forth between Roy and the Council continued, and Kelli Eno was adamant that the council will not infringe on people’s rights by telling people who legally buy fireworks that they can’t shoot them.
Ultimately, the council took no action on the existing Fireworks Ordinance and it remains in effect as established in 2020.
In other business, Valls summarized the proposed tax rate for 2024-2025.
“Coming out of the budget workshop, the proposal we have is to maintain the tax rate that we had last year of $0.55/$100 valuation,” Valls said. “Inflation is hitting us pretty hard, and we’ve made a number of cutbacks on contract labor and administrative assistance to keep it there, so that’s what we propose.”
The proposed tax rate was approved unanimously with no fanfare.
Similarly, the proposed 2024-2025 fiscal year budgets for water and sewer and the general fund, and the consent agenda were easily approved.
Because Public Works Director Charles Dickerson was on leave for vacation, City Secretary Christina Lockhart stated that the boil order is still in effect, and she will post notices in town and on Facebook once the boil order is lifted.
For the Police Department report, New stated that at his request for help purchasing new vests for his two police officers, the Limestone County Crimestoppers group offered to provide $2,000 for the protective gear. He also stated that the passenger side rear bumper of the Dodge police truck has been damaged/dented and asked that if anyone has information or knowledge of how it occurred or who the responsible party is, to please contact him.
For the Community Center Report, Valls stated that the AC repair has been completed and the 70 water-damaged ceiling tiles have been replaced.
Kosse Fire Chief Kendall Funderburk stated that the drawings for the new fire station have been completed by the architects and have been sent to the USDA for approval, which can take up to two weeks. The Fire Department hopes to then put the building contract out for bids very soon.
The Public Hearing for the tax rate and budget will be held at the next regular Kosse Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 pm.