Port sky to bloom, boom after all
The Coast Guard reverses course and says weekly Tampa fireworks are okay if sponsors provide extra security.
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published June 7, 2005
TAMPA - Tampa's port might be safe from some things that go boom in the night.
Two weeks after saying weekly fireworks displays at the Channel District posed an unacceptable risk of a terrorist attack, Coast Guard officials decided Monday the shows can go on if sponsors provide extra security.
An association of downtown Tampa merchants asked to put on an outdoor festival with fireworks on the water on Friday evenings from June through August. They hope the events will draw big crowds during the slowest season for restaurants, shops and attractions.
Local Coast Guard officials and the district headquarters in Miami initially rejected the request. The events would create "a repetitive and predictable diversion terrorists could exploit to mask their activities," wrote Capt. Mike Farley, the Coast Guard's top safety official at the port.
The Downtown Tampa Attractions Association appealed to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. On Monday, officials at the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami decided the fireworks could proceed with beefed up security.
"We're making an effort to be accommodating and look at measures that could mitigate the risk," said Capt. Mark O'Malley, chief of marine safety at the district. The specifics will be left up to Farley.
Troy Manthey, president of the attractions association, said he hoped the Friday festivals, dubbed "Rockin' on the Riverwalk," could begin as soon as next week.
"We're very happy," said Manthey, chief executive of Yacht StarShip Dining Cruises. "We have a reasonable shot at breaking even this summer. It could make the difference for a lot of (businesses)."
The association pays for the two Tampa police vessels that keep recreational boaters away from the fireworks barge and at least three off-duty officers on the wharf behind the Channelside entertainment complex, he said.
The group had proposed additional security, Manthey said, "and we hope it will be acceptable so we can move forward."
In an interview last week, Farley said his biggest concern was that the fireworks could create cover for terrorists to go after industrial areas of the port away from the crowds. He didn't identify possible targets, but emergency officials have previously stated concerns about tanks of toxic anhydrous ammonia at the port.
The Coast Guard believes large crowds at the events also could be a tempting target for terrorists, O'Malley said. Manthey has asked about other big spectator events, such as Tampa Bay Lightning games at the St. Pete Times Forum a few blocks from Channelside.
"Hockey games we don't control," O'Malley said. "We have to control things in our jurisdiction - the port is it."
Other agencies will be consulted about the fireworks shows, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Tampa Port Authority, which controls the wharf behind Channelside that is closed except for a few special events.
"The U.S. Coast Guard regularly asks for the port's input ... and any concerns of the port would be taken into consideration," said Steven Valley, a port authority spokesman. "The Port of Tampa will abide by the Coast Guard's decision."
--Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.