Fireworks are still illegal to shoot off in Iola city limits.
And violators are more apt to be ticketed for egregious violations, thanks to new rules adopted Monday by the Iola City Council.
Council members, via a 6-2 vote, made fireworks ordinance violations an infraction instead of a misdemeanor.
Iola Police Chief Jared Warner told council members earlier this month that officers were hesitant to write citations in the past because conviction of a misdemeanor goes on a person’s permanent record.
And because most of the violators are juveniles, the tickets instead will go to their parents, Warner said.
Warner said officers will continue to exercise discretion when responding to fireworks calls — they had already started receiving calls Monday, the first day fireworks sale are allowed in Kansas this year — and would write tickets for repeat offenders, or for those who are found doing more serious crimes, such as shooting fireworks at others or firing them from moving cars.
The new ordinance puts in place a $100 maximum fine, plus court costs of $60, City Attorney Chuck Apt said. The judge has the right to reduce the fine upon conviction, but the $60 court cost must remain in place.
Council members Ken Rowe and Kendall Callahan voted against the new rules.
Rowe, in fact, proposed for the second time in as many meetings allowing fireworks in Iola on a limited basis, under regulations prescribed by Warner and Iola Fire Chief Donald Leapheart. That motion failed via a 6-2 vote. Rowe was joined by Beverly Franklin in supporting lifting the fireworks ban.
Rowe’s motion was questioned by council member Joel Wicoff, who wondered if it was proper to have issues decided at one meeting only to be brought up again in subsequent council sessions.
Council member Steve French said he could eventually support lifting the fireworks ban, but with Independence Day just a week away, there wasn’t enough time for the city to properly address the issue.
Mayor Bill Shirley said the matter would be brought up again, probably in January, to ensure enough time for debate prior to the 2012 July 4 holiday.
THE DOUGLAS Street bridge spanning Coon Creek has been closed immediately, after inspections from the Kansas Department of Transportation indicated structural problems with the span.
The closure is temporary, although it could be rendered permanent after the city investigates whether it would be less expensive to rebuild the bridge with state assistance or have it removed.
Barricades will be placed blocking traffic today.
DAVID BURKE will be allowed to build a small privacy fence outside his new drinking establishment, 5 O’Clock Somewhere, 105 E. Jackson Ave.
Council members voted 6-2, Don Becker and Jim Kilby opposed, to allow the fence, even though the fence crosses onto the city’s right-of-way.
Burke announced his plans for the fence to allow him an outdoor drinking area sealed off from public view.
To accommodate the fence, the city will lease the small parcel of land to Burke.
City Attorney Chuck Apt, who recommended council members deny the fence because of the precedent involved and potential public nuisance factors, said Burke must visit with Leapheart to ensure the fence meets Iola’s fire codes.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said there were no utility easements on the parcel of land that will be leased to Burke for one year.
COUNCIL members heard a request from Linda Stange, representing Faith House of Chanute, a homeless shelter serving Neosho and Allen counties.
Stange requested the city donate $3,000 to the Faith House’s annual budget to help meet expenses. She noted that 42 of Faith House’s 196 clients last year came from Iola. Of the 300 clients receiving day shelter services, 61 were from Iola.
While most people associate homelessness as an urban problem, the demand for services in southeast Kansas indicate issues exist in rural America as well, Stange said.
Stange spoke extensively about Faith House’s stringent rules — clients must apply for five jobs a day and remain drug- and alcohol-free in order to receive assistance.
“We are not a Band-Aid,” Stange said. “We are a solution.”
Stange said Chanute gives Faith House $5,000 a year. She also was requesting financial assistance from Allen and Neosho county commissions.
Council members said they’d give the matter some thought and make a decision at their July 11 meeting.
