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Wheeling Puts More Pop Into Fireworks Code

Photo by Eric Ayres Councilman Dave Palmer casts an electronic vote during Tuesday night's Wheeling City Council meeting, when a majority of members passed an amendment to the city's fireworks ordinance. The amendment raises fines to $500 and gives police authority to cite violators, as enforcement in the original code fell under the umbrella of the fire department.

WHEELING – Following an explosive debate Tuesday night, Wheeling City Council in a majority vote strengthened its code prohibiting the use or possession of fireworks.

The ordinance ultimately passed 5-1, with Councilman Ben Seidler dissenting. Seidler had moved to bring the matter before the Public Safety Committee of Council for further discussion, but a majority of council members voted against that motion.

When the legislation was introduced two weeks ago, Councilman Jerry Sklavounakis publicly spoke out against it, questioning how it suddenly appeared before council without discussion on the committee level and opposing the notion of leveling a $500 fine against anyone who possesses fireworks, which are legally sold in and around the city. Sklavounakis, however, was not present during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

A public hearing was held at the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, and only two people spoke during the hearing to support the strengthening of the city’s fireworks code. Those two people were Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger and Wheeling Fire Chief Larry Helms.

“Every year, we are inundated with phone calls and complaints about fireworks going off in the city of Wheeling,” Schwertfeger said.

The city’s fireworks ordinance was put in place in 1981, but the police chief noted that in 2016, the fireworks code for the State of West Virginia changed to permit fireworks, which led to complications. The city’s original ordinance prohibits fireworks and levels a fine against those cited for any violation. Yet Schwertfeger said a $100 fine – or $200 penalty including the fine and court costs – has not been enough to deter people from breaking the law.

“Our recommendation is that we increase the fine, primarily, and also to have some better enforcement and seizure rules in the ordinance, basically allowing a police officer to seize fireworks if someone is involved in the act of discharging fireworks,” Schwertfeger said. “The current ordinance only allows the fire department to do that.”

Although the new ordinance, and even the original ordinance, prohibits possessing fireworks, Schwertfeger said the police department had no intention of issuing citations for people purchasing or transporting fireworks.

Helms noted that setting off fireworks in the city is a fire danger with homes and buildings so close together without a safe distance in all directions.

“Our urban area – and even our rural areas – are so condensed that we don’t have any separation for these type of fireworks,” Helms said, noting that people often complain of finding remnants of areal fireworks on their roofs around the Fourth of July. “We’re just looking out for the safety of all of our folks, and that’s our goal.”

Licensed professionals can receive permits through the city with approval from the police and fire chief to display fireworks on public property during special events, Helms noted.

Seidler said he agreed that discharging fireworks within the city limits should continue to be illegal, noting that fireworks are traumatic to animals and people with post traumatic stress disorder. Yet he questioned the new legislation’s language and timing, urging council to iron out wrinkles in committee.

“I think my concern is that we should not pick and choose which ordinances we want to railroad directly through council,” said Seidler, who chairs the Public Safety Committee of Council.

“If we feel we can make this ordinance better in the future, then let’s do so,” said Councilman Dave Palmer, who introduced the legislation. “But there’s no reason to stop what we’re doing right now.”

Mayor Glenn Elliott proposed a compromise by passing the ordinance now and tweaking the language following discussion at a future committee meeting. Officials also proposed to have the current legislation passed with an amendment to have it “sunset” in the future.

A majority of council members agreed to pass the ordinance and have it sunset on Oct. 1, with the intent to later discuss the ordinance’s language.

“I would just say that we’ve set an incredible precedent on picking and choosing which items we send to committee before we bring them to council,” Seidler said before voting against the ordinance. “I’m not against anything that I’ve heard tonight. … I’m just saying this deserves a deep dive with a larger audience.”

Palmer noted that the amendment to the fireworks ordinance ultimately is for the safety of the citizens of the city.

“A study conducted by West Virginia University has shown a 40% rise in injuries since state law was changed in 2016 to permit the sale of fireworks,” Palmer said. “Our citizens should enjoy the freedom of sitting in their homes without the fear of fireworks endangering their lives and their property.”

Professional, licensed fireworks displays are being offered at five different times and areas in Ohio County alone during the Fourth of July weekend, Palmer noted.

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