Resident Asks City Council To Do Something About Fireworks
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
After a lengthy discussion on an electronic meeting policy, the Warsaw City Council heard a request from a city employee and resident to do something about the fireworks.
And it’s not the first time Eric Hoffhien brought the issue before the Council. A veteran who served in Afghanistan and has PTSD, he and his wife brought their concern with fireworks going off excessively and late at night to the Council in July 2020. The Council said it would look into the matter then.
At this week’s meeting, Hoffhien said, “I and my wife came before you last year in discussion about fireworks usage in the city limits. I know we are getting close to that time of year, again. Fireworks already started. I know that the discussion last year was the city attorney was going to look into what restrictions could possibly be made, what couldn’t be made. But in doing some homework, I have found that the city already has an ordinance, section 54-31, subsection 1.”
He said the ordinance talks to loud, continuing noises generally. “The making of or continually or causing or aiding to be made or continued any loud unnecessary or unusual noises whatsoever, which, either annoy, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety of others unless the making of continuing of the same is necessary for protection and preservation of property or the health, safety of life or limb of some person.”
Hoffhien, a street department employee, said the way he interpreted that was that the city already has a bit of an ordinance in place that would address the fireworks, but the language isn’t there.
“If you look at what the state law has, June 29 through July 3, fireworks are permitted 5 p.m. to two hours past sunset. That is state, that can not be adjusted. Independence Day, 10 a.m. to midnight. Again, that can’t be adjusted. July 5 through 9th, it goes back to the 5 p.m. to two hours past sunset. And then New Year’s Eve, we have 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. That is what the state law says,” he said.
In the state, Hoffhien said it says “most days, not holidays,” and the state suggests 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. But it has an asterisk which says check with local officials as local ordinances may further restrict usage.
“So it is within the power of the Council to restrict the use of fireworks in city limits, outside of the days the state says are protected,” he said. “I think it would be beneficial to the community that we don’t have the loud noise, throughout the year, at odd hours. We’ve got children that live in this town.”
One of his neighbors has a 6-month-old child and fireworks are already going off at the home of another neighbor.
“I’m not trying to take away anyone’s fun. But we have a responsibility to our neighbors to be responsible and respectful to those neighbors. So I’m just asking you guys to potentially take this back up and look into it,” Hoffhien said, adding that he thinks the city’s noise ordinance would already cover it.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the Council wouldn’t deliberate on it at that meeting, but he would direct city attorney Scott Reust to send a letter to the Council president, Jack Wilhite, giving him options. The options could be through the noise ordinance or the state fireworks law, Thallemer said.
“I’m not going to try to interpret that. I don’t think we can sit up here and do that,” he said. “This has been brought up to us before. It is a decision the Council can make, but I think the important thing is for the Council president to know what the parameters are for the Council, if they wish to restrict or somehow impact these rules we’ll make that known, and then the Council can make that decision when they’re ready to pursue this.”
Hoffhien said there are neighboring communities that have put in these restrictions to limit the disturbance in the city limits. A Warsaw address does not mean a person lives in the city limits, he said.
Councilwoman Diane Quance thanked Hoffhien for reminding the Council about the issue.
The resolution the Council did spend considerable time on and approved establishes the policy by which members of the Common Council may participate by electronic means of communication.
Thallemer said the resolution comes from a resolution Association of Indiana Municipalities (AIM) put out after reviewing the code changes by the state legislature regarding electronic meetings.
“We are currently still under the emergency order so we’re still allowed to do these meetings, but when that ends, we’re going to need this policy in place, and that’s what this resolution represents. It establishes a policy where the Council can participate by electronic means of communication,” he said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s emergency order expires July 1.
Thallemer said the resolution allows the Council to adopt a more restrictive policy than was presented. The Council discussed some potential changes to it, but approved it 6-1 with the notion that changes to it may be forthcoming and further discussed. Wilhite voted against it because he did not like that a member may not attend more than 50% of the meetings in a calendar year by an electronic means of communication. Wilhite thought a smaller percentage, like 25%, was better.
