By GARRET JAROS / Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS – It’s not the rockets’ red glare but the bombs bursting in air that has Yachats officials discussing Fourth of July festivities in October.
While the annual kaleidoscope of colors splashed across the night sky elicits ‘oohs and ahs’ from onlookers, it is the window-rattling booms that have the Yachats city council discussing possible changes.
The conversation and a survey sent out by the city in September was spurred after people complained about the noise from this year’s Fourth of July celebration. Advocates for people with post-traumatic stress disorder as well as wildlife and four-legged family members have been raising the alarm for years.
But how many community members support a change? And what would that look – and sound like?
City manager Bobbi Price told the council at its meeting last week that there were some significant takeaways from the 13-question survey, which received the highest response rate from any survey the city has sent out — “and we’ve done quite a few.”
There were 543 responses, the majority from residents or part-time residents.
The survey showed that 77 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with Yachats’ Fourth of July celebration. And that 58 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the commercial fireworks display while almost 28 percent were not.
But survey results were a coin toss as to whether something should change.
“It’s half and half,” Price said. “It’s 50.19 percent to yes keep it the same or a shorter version (of the fireworks show) and add some fun things to the community during the day,” Price said. “And 49.81 percent said do something different or not at all … So either way we go, it’s not going to make everyone happy.”
The second biggest takeaway from survey comments is that it’s the personal, illegal fireworks that “really have people stressed out,” Price said. “There were a lot of comments on that.”
Councilor Catherine Whitten-Carey noted that while 77 percent approved of the celebration, the question did not mention fireworks. And that only 38.4 percent said a 45-minute commercial fireworks show should continue, while the majority – 49.81 percent, wanted some sort of change or to eliminate it altogether.
“So to me, I’m seeing that not as a 50-50 split, I’m seeing that as a most definite wanting a change,” Whitten-Carey said.
Yachats Chamber of Commerce board president and Drift Inn restaurant owner Linda Hetzler, who helped write the survey, spoke up to tell councilors she thinks people don’t know what they want.
“In my experience with years of public service and surveys, of course they’re going to be 50-50 because they don’t know – ‘Well, what else are they going to give us?’”Hetzler said. “ ‘If they do something different, are we going to like it? Maybe we will, maybe we won’t’.”
Community engagement, talking with people to determine what they want is important, she added. But she believes the town needs a change.
“I just know that from my business perspective,” Hetzler said. “And I can feel it. The numbers are down for one – financially — for all of us. And having a 45-minute fireworks show is not really that necessary, whether it’s the dogs or just people that just don’t like the boom booms. I think having a fireworks show that is 20 minutes and then using the money for doing other things in the day ….”
Whitten-Carey interjected that 61 percent of survey respondents said they would be open to exploring alternative ways to celebrate.
Councilor Barry Collins wondered aloud about a gradual change.
“I don’t think we want to do anything dramatic,” he said and agreed that a 20-minute commercial show would be adequate. “If we were going to do something dramatic, which is difficult, the private fireworks, which I would call the low-banging fruit, that’s the thing that needs the most attention.”
It is also where the city has the least control except by spending more money to hire more sheriff’s deputies for increased enforcement.
Price said that limiting the commercial show to 20 minutes would allow the city to spend the money saved for other events such as concerts or games that would complement the La de da Parade and fill out the afternoon.
As far as the “low-banging fruit” of illegal fireworks, Price said she discussed with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office its procedures for enforcement and how they could be more effective – having deputies on foot patrol instead of in their cars for example and implementing a zero tolerance policy.
There were five deputies in Yachats for this year’s July 4 celebration.
Another option mentioned by the sheriff’s office, Price said, was leaving door hanger notices at vacation rentals to announce the zero tolerance and the penalties.
Yachats has a “no fireworks” ordinance that aligns with Lincoln County and the state of Oregon which among other things bans fireworks that shoot in the air.
Mayor Craig Berdie said he understand for some people any level of fireworks is too much, but believes the survey indicates the change wanted is to make the commercial show quieter and shorter.
Council dismissed a laser or drone show as a viable option at this point, the laser show requiring elements of a fireworks show in order to work and a drone show as too costly and experimental at this point in its development.
“I would suggest we start a transition, moving to quieter and shorter,” Berdie said. “And then maybe in two or three years … as drones become more ubiquitous and the shows get better, that we start looking at those. But I can tell you that the mayor of the city of Lincoln City is in trouble because of the drone show. Because so many people were disappointed. They’re forming committees to go after him because the drone show was inadequate.”
The Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce, which receives money from the city and organizes the fireworks show, has been in discussions with the company that puts on the show, Price said, and they have fireworks with a range of decibels so the city could move toward that in a phased approach.
Councilors concluded the city will transition to a shorter commercial display with quieter fireworks, add more afternoon events to the July 4 celebration and double down on eliminating or citing illegal fireworks.
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
