Voters have opportunity to ban fireworks

At the last City Council meeting I was encouraged to hear that a ban on fireworks will be brought to the Kent voters in November.

I urge residents in Kent to vote to ban fireworks in the city.

The Fourth of July Splash event at Lake Meridian would still continue where families can gather to enjoy fireworks safely. This past July 4, 50 officers were assigned to fireworks patrols, costing the city $12,400 in overtime costs; 246 complaint calls were received compared to 145 from the previous year.

Hats off to (City Councilman) Jim Berrios who rode with the Kent Police officers on the evening of July 4 to witness first hand the response calls. Many of the violators cited were not Kent residents. Since many of our surrounding cities have banned fireworks, these people are now coming to Kent parties to shoot off their fireworks.

The bottom line is this. We are not the small city that we were 30 years ago; our population has grown from 45,000 to 125,000. Many new neighborhoods that have recently or are currently being built are high density with homes about 5 feet apart. This alone is a disaster waiting to happen. This is the very reason that surrounding communities have banned fireworks.

One only has to drive around the area to see the number of brush fires due to our dry conditions to see how dangerous fireworks can be. We have no way of knowing if our following summers will continue to be as dry as this one.

Banning fireworks in Kent will protect our neighborhoods from fire danger, excess noise and unbreathable air on the July 4 as well as protect our pets. This ban would eliminate excess calls and allow the police to respond more quickly to any violation calls.

Vote yes to ban fireworks in Kent on the November ballot.

– Mary Personette