Flash, boom

City looks at allowing fireworks for weddings, and other private events

NEWS EDITOR

Private fireworks displays may become a reality in the city of Medford.

City code currently limits fireworks displays to community-wide events. That may soon change as aldermen expressed support for allowing smaller displays for special functions on a permit basis.

At Tuesday’s city council committee of the whole meeting, city coordinator Joe Harris said the city has been getting requests for the displays particularly with the Bailiwick event venue being part of the city. He said people have asked about having fireworks during wedding ceremonies there.

Harris said he wanted to bring it to the council to gauge their interest before doing work to get the ordinance changed. “This is just to get the lay of the land before we pursue it further,” Harris said. Alderman Greg Knight said he would be against allowing displays at people’s homes because of the potential negative impacts to neighbors from debris as well as liability and disruption to pets. However, he said he could see that with the Bailiwick next to Black River Golf Course would have less of a negative impact.

Alderman Chrissy Weix said she would like to see people have to get a permit including who is responsible, showing they had insurance if something went wrong, and where they planned to have it at.

“There are a lot of communities that do this,” Bub said, agreeing with the idea of developing a permit and having restrictions so that debris doesn’t end up in people’s backyards. He also suggested that people would have to hire someone who is trained in pyrotechnics to do the displays. He noted there are local companies that do this work and it would be a way to boost those businesses.

Knight said he would like to see some restrictions such as on the size of the shells used and areas where they would not be allowed and proof of liability insurance from those hired.

Mayor Mike Wellner also supported the idea and said they would work to get sample ordinances from other communities to see what kind of regulations other places had.

Weix also noted that they needed to adhere to the noise rules in the city. “I don’t want to be woken up at 3 a.m. with the fireworks,” she said.

City staff will research and bring back a draft ordinance for the city council to review.

While supportive of opening the door on private fireworks displays, aldermen were more cautious about opening the city pool to private rental events.

Harris told aldermen that last summer he had received a request from a group to hold a private fundraising event at the pool. That request had been withdrawn by the group, but he wanted to come to the city council to gauge their interest in if they should allow it. “We are trying to get ahead of the curve on this one,” he said.

Weix expressed concern that if the city started closing the pool for private rentals in the evening, they may end up closed more than they are open in the summer.

Knight raised concerns about the desire to have alcohol at the event and potential risks involved. “What if someone throws up in the pool, who cleans it?” he asked. Other questions were raised about lifeguards.

Harris explained that the group has sought to only use the shallow end of the pool and that while some people would be wading, they would be able to use far fewer lifeguards. He said the rent would pay for the lifeguards.

Bub noted other communities allow rental of their pools. “I am not quite as enthusiastic,” Bub said, adding he would like to see more information as to what other communities charge and what restrictions they have in place. “I would like to have more information before I jump into the pool,” he said.

Knight was concerned about shutting the public out of the pool. “A party in a park doesn’t shut off a park to anyone else wanting to use it,” he said.

Weix agreed noting that there were several other parks around the city for people to visit, there was only one city pool. Alderman Dave Brandner suggested they designate certain days of the week the pool could be rented or limit the total number on a first-come firstserved basis.

Wellner noted this was the first request the city had received that he is aware of. He said he doubted they would get many requests.

Bub suggested talking with other cities about how they handle pool rentals and bring it back to the council. Other aldermen agreed and tabled the topic for more information.

Click and Collect

Those shopping for beer and liquor at Black River Spirits in Medford could soon get curbside service.

Council members gave preliminary approval to amending the premise license for the liquor store that is owned by the Medford Cooperative, to include designated spaces in the parking lot. This will allow customers to place an order online with the store and then pick it up when they arrive at the store. The customer would still have to show proof of being over 21 when picking up and paying for the purchases.

City Clerk Ashley Lemke explained that this was similar to what the city approved for Walmart several months ago. With the recommendation from the committee of the whole it will go on for final approval at the city council meeting.

In other business, aldermen:

_ Recommended approval of an updated election day contingency plan. Lemke explained this is the emergency action plan for if something goes wrong or there is an emergency situation at the polling place. She said the plan was first developed in 2018 and they made formatting changes to make it easier for poll workers to navigate the plan.

_ Began the review process for updating the city’s employee handbook. The handbooks were created following the elimination of many of the city’s collective bargaining agreements about a decade ago. Lemke noted the handbook is very large and department heads are working to go through it and streamline it to make it more usable and easier to understand. While some changes are just editorial in nature, others would refl ect a change in policy and need specific council action. One such change proposed was to allow employees who choose not to take the city’s health insurance continue to be eligible to receive the Health Savings Account benefit provided they can show proof they have a highdeductible health insurance plan. Aldermen voted to approve that language change. Another recommendation was also approved to streamline post-employment accounting by doing a single lump sum payout for accrued sick leave for employees with more than 20 years of service. Previously the former employee would have to file a claim for it each year to be reimbursed for medical insurance expenses.

_ Recommended approval of the purchase of a new police interceptor squad from Medford Motors for a base cost of $33,722 minus a trade of $14,000 for a net cost of $19,722. The final cost is dependent on the condition of the used squad at the time of the trade. The city is moving ahead with the purchase now because it is expected to take 30 weeks for the delivery of the new vehicle due to production delays and also locks the price in for the city. This will replace a 2018 squad.