A screen shot from YouTube showing the 2019 fireworks show.
DERBY — Mayor Rich Dziekan’s decision to cede this year’s Fourth of July fireworks show to Shelton is not sitting well with some members of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen.
Traditionally, Derby and Shelton host a dueling show, with fireworks being launched from both sides of the Housatonic River.
This year fireworks will be launched from Shelton only, but still visible from downtown Derby.
This year’s show is scheduled for around 9:15 p.m. Friday, July 2 with a rain date of July 3.
At a meeting June 10, Alderman Ron Sill questioned the decision, saying residents are disappointed and that the city’s legislative body should have been notified about the decision sooner.
“This is one of the biggest things Derby has. People love it. It’s like a little competition, a friendly competition with Shelton,” Sill said.
At the meeting Dziekan said the decision wasn’t to save money, and deferred to Fire Marshal Phil Hawks, who said a construction trailer from the crew rehabbing the Derby-Shelton bridge is within Derby’s traditional fireworks “exclusion zone.”
But Sill said anything within the zone could be moved out of the way, and pointed out a memo from the mayor’s office lists cost savings as the motivation for the change in tradition.
According to the memo:
- “Derby and Shelton will each pay $11,000 to Central Maine Pyrotechnics, the same company who handled the fireworks last year.
We previously each paid $13,500 and Shelton has historically handled the bidding. Shelton requested that the fireworks all be shot off from their side of the river this year in the interest of cost savings and logistical efficiency. The $5,000 savings is a result of having one detonation location vs. two.”
- “The Derby Fire Marshal historically has spent approximately 16 hours on site for the fireworks setup, execution, and breakdown and Fire Department personnel and 2 fire trucks have been devoted to the show. Since Derby is now outside of the 350-foot blast radius, we will not need to allocate DFD resources at all.”
Dziekan said he is soliciting private donations to cover Derby’s costs for the fireworks instead of relying on taxpayers to foot the bill. He said public events are an indication that the community is pulling out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alderman Charles Sampson, defending the mayor, said he knows of other communities that opted to cancel fireworks this year.
Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro questioned the wisdom of accepting private donations.
“The question that I’ve had over the years is that the donors are the ones who perform services and get paid by the City of Derby,” she said. “They’re contractors for the City of Derby. They’re the donors. That’s a whole other issue. That’s an ethical issue.”
Dziekan said Alderwoman Anita Dugatto, a dentist and former mayor, donates to defray costs. DeGennaro was specifically referring to donors who do business with the city. Dziekan said he took offense to DeGennaro’s comment.
The Aldermen/Alderwomen also instructed the police department to close roads starting in the area of Fifth Street to promote safety.
According to a memo from the mayor’s office, the Derby Green (the river walk) and the parking garage will be closed during the fireworks show.
Also from the memo:
- “The Mayor’s Office has currently raised $7,700 in donations from local businesses to fund Derby’s portion of the cost. It is anticipated that we will meet or exceed the necessary $11,000 target amount, as was the case for the previous two shows in 2018 and 2019. A full list of donors and donations will be provided to the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen in advance of the show so donations can be formally accepted.”
- “The fireworks display will be a minimum of 25 minutes which is 5 minutes longer than the previous minimum of 20 minutes. Spectators are getting a more robust show and at less cost for Derby and Shelton.”
Here’s a YouTube video of the fireworks from 2019:
