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Fireworks to reignite?
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — The town’s July 4th fireworks, a recent casualty of resident’s reluctance to increase their taxes, may be salvaged.
The town’s visitor services board on Tuesday agreed to put up $15,000 towards the fireworks display as a matching grant intended to spur private contributions. In addition, the fireworks task force, which disbanded earlier this year in protest over the $78,000 cost of the pyrotechnics being put forward as a Proposition 2 1/2 budget override, is scheduled to meet on Thursday to take up the private fundraising reins again.
Selectman Austin Knight, who is a former member of the task force, made the request to the VSB on Tuesday.
“We’re going to try to hit the business community to see what we can do. I think we can get the community to come forward and salvage the whole thing,” he said.
Voters soundly rejected a budget override question on the May 6 ballot to permanently raise their taxes to cover the $78,000 cost of the fireworks. Of the total cost, however, only approximately $11,000 goes towards the fireworks, with the bulk of the budget spent on extra police coverage.
Lisa Boden, tourism director, said the VSB’s approval of the $15,000 matching grant came after the request from Knight. There is also $14,000 in the fireworks gift fund left over from last year that can be put towards this year’s display, she said.
“Provincetown is the only town on the Cape that has fireworks on the Fourth of July,” Boden said, referring to other towns scheduling their holiday displays on the weekend around July 4. “It is one of our largest draws of the year.” —PS
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May 22nd, 2008