At last night’s Mayor & Council meeting, the governing body approved $10,000 for the annual Independence Day fireworks. The event will again be held at the Roselle Park High School (RPHS) Herm Shaw field on Saturday night, July 6th after night fall.
This year, Independence Day will land on a Thursday and council felt that there would be greater attendance if were held on a weekend.
Additionally, Second Ward Councilwoman Charlene Storey commented on a Facebook post by way of further explanation,”The company that has done the fireworks for the past couple of years, to great acclaim, was not available this year because they were hired to do a major show. Timing wasn’t an issue; they just weren’t going to be available, period.”
The councilwoman also said that the governing body opted to use the same company, D&M Fireworks, instead of others who charged a comparable rate because of their satisfaction with last year’s show. According to the councilwoman, D&M Fireworks offered a discount if another day was chosen. Mrs. Storey stated that she was open to having another company provide the fireworks show on Independence Day but added, “I can’t say I was an enthusiastic supporter of that idea, since when spending so much money, I certainly wanted to see us get the best fireworks that we could.”
During the meeting, there was a clarification that the fireworks were not going to be taken out of the current year’s operating budget but out of a trust – which included donations – of $17,000.
A rain date for the fireworks was set for Tuesday, August 6th – National Night Out.