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The county weighs issues of community concerns, official support and overall sensibility in the fireworks debate.
By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2003
At least twice a year, they explode all over Pinellas County, and in neighborhoods where they're most popular, it seems there's little middle ground.
Either you enjoy fireworks as a festive symbol of freedom or you guard your roof with a hose, sedate your pets and grumble about disrespect for the law.
So whether to crack down on illegal fireworks isn't an easy question for Pinellas County commissioners.
Commissioner John Morroni isn't sure which way to vote. He's asked friends and constituents what they think wherever he goes.
"People are all over the board," Morroni said. "They have mixed feelings on Americanism vs., you know, blowing your fingers off."
But Morroni is sure of one thing: He'll vote in favor Tuesday of moving ahead with a public hearing on the proposed ordinance.
"I haven't made up my mind, and even if I had, I still think it is healthy to have a hearing on an issue where everybody has an opinion," he said.
Whether other commissioners will agree remains to be seen.
A "yes" vote Tuesday is only to hold a hearing, not pass the ordinance. But a "no" vote would kill the plan.
So far, only two commissioners, Ken Welch and Karen Seel, publicly support the proposal. Three others are undecided or ready to vote against holding a hearing. A final commissioner, Barbara Sheen Todd, couldn't be reached Friday.
State law bans the sale of most fireworks but for a few exceptions, such as mining or using them to scare birds at a farm or fish hatchery. But fireworks stores sell them all over Pinellas, and most other Florida counties, by asking customers to sign a form saying they are complying with the law.
Most people either don't know or don't care what they're signing and set off the fireworks illegally.
Welch started the push for a crackdown last July. The proposed ordinance would crack down on sellers, not users. It would require that fireworks stores keep records showing that their customers provided proof they had authority to use the fireworks under one of the legal exceptions. They could be fined and shut down for not having such records.
The proposal wouldn't affect public fireworks displays.
Local firefighters, law enforcement officials, and prosecutors have backed the ordinance. So have city commissioners and mayors, including those in Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Seminole.
But the fireworks industry has campaigned against it. They've encouraged customers to sign petitions and call commissioners. Local fireworks stores and their lobbyist, Todd Pressman, also have contributed in the past year to the campaigns of Morroni, Commissioner Susan Latvala, and Todd and that of her daughter, Tiffany Todd, in her bid for the school board.
However, the impact of those dollars isn't clear. Morroni, for instance, will vote against the industry Tuesday. No stores donated to Commissioner Calvin Harris, but he's the strongest opponent of the proposal.
"We're becoming the police for everything," Harris complained. "You can't trim (mangrove) hedges. You can't use fireworks. You can't play stereos. Living is supposed to be fun. You can't regulate everything."
Commissioner Bob Stewart also said he's leaning against the ordinance and hasn't decided how to vote on the public hearing.
Latvala said the donations to her campaign, made over a year ago, before the proposed ordinance, won't make a difference to her vote. Still, she said, she has "agonized" over what to do. She doesn't like the blatant flaunting of the law. But a Pinellas-only crackdown will mean users drive to Pasco or Hillsborough, and fireworks stores sprout just across the county line, she said.
The real solution is to close the loophole in the state statute, Latvala said.
"I want to hear (Ken Welch) say he'll fight for it as hard statewide as he has on a local level," she said.
If he says so, would she support the hearing Tuesday? "I might do it then," she said.
So will Welch lobby state lawmakers? "Absolutely," he said.
The state law, Welch added, is a farce: "It's clear the emperor has no clothes," he said. "My main issue is getting fireworks out of the hands of amateurs and out of our residential neighborhoods."