The Juneau Assembly is working on restricting fireworks use in Juneau.
The assembly discussed a draft ordinance at its work session Monday evening. It’s a template for Juneau residents to review and comment on.
Assembly members Mary Becker, Maria Gladziszewski and Debbie White were unhappy with the definitions of fireworks.
White and Mayor Ken Koelsch had concerns about possession and how enforcing it might affect the Juneau Police Department.
Police Chief Bryce Johnson told the assembly that having clear restrictions would lessen the burden on the police.
“The way it is now, it takes up a lot of staff time,” he said. “Similar to the conversation you’re having, about half the public thinks it shouldn’t be happening, about half the public is doing it.”
He says the issue with fireworks is about quality of life. It’s not a safety issue but it becomes one when it takes up all of the department’s resources.
“I was working the Fourth of July and the calls started coming in 1, 2 p.m. in the afternoon,” Johnson said. “By about 5, 6 in the afternoon, every single police officer that was on duty was on a fireworks call. And that is a really poor use of resources, especially on the Fourth of July when a lot of stuff is going on.”
Johnson said anything, even the draft ordinance right now, would be an improvement.
Currently, the city doesn’t have any restrictions on fireworks.
As it stands, the draft makes the possession of fireworks in Juneau legal between December 1 through January 3 and June 1 through July 6.
It would be legal to use the fireworks from December 31 through January 2, and July 3 through July 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Consequences include a fine as high as $300.
The assembly is soliciting public comment on fireworks restrictions at meetings on Oct. 19 in the Assembly Chambers and Oct. 24 at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.
