Jamestown committee rejects extending fireworks sales through July 5

Jamestown shoppers will not get a longer fireworks-buying window this summer after the Finance and Legal Committee rejected Memory Fireworks’ request to extend sales through July 5 on a 2-3 vote. Mayor Dwaine Heinrich and Councilman David Steele backed the extension, while Brian Kamlitz, Pam Phillips and David Schloegel voted no.

The decision leaves the city’s current fireworks rules in place and keeps the issue tied to Jamestown’s July holiday framework for now. Cole Uecker, who manages Memory Fireworks, had asked the committee to let sales begin June 27 and continue through July 5, arguing that the business loses ground during the most important sales stretch of the year when the city’s rules are narrower than state law.

Uecker said the current language hurts the main Jamestown stand because travelers passing through town often do not make the short trip to the company’s secondary location outside the city. He told city officials that the missed traffic also means lost sales-tax revenue for Jamestown, estimating the city could be missing about $2,500 to $5,000 per season from just one stand, depending on weather and demand.

Schloegel said he worried that allowing sales earlier would encourage people to light fireworks early as well, increasing nuisance complaints, grass fires, roof fires and emergency calls. Heinrich said he thought a one-year trial extension would be worth considering so the city could see whether problems actually developed.

Jamestown’s fireworks ordinance, Ordinance No. 1405, was approved by voters in November 2014 and regulates both sales and detonation inside city limits. Under that ordinance, fireworks may be detonated only during limited hours, with a general prohibition from midnight to 9 a.m. except during the July 4 to July 5 and December 31 to January 1 holiday windows. The ordinance also limits sales to commercial or industrial areas.

North Dakota law already allows retail fireworks sales only from June 27 through July 5 and from December 26 through January 1, and it allows municipalities to regulate supervised public fireworks displays within city limits. Memory Fireworks lists Jamestown locations at 511 24th St. SW and 3735 Highway 281 S, and says its stores are generally open June 27 through July 4 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with July 5 hours varying. The committee’s vote means Jamestown’s sales rules stay tighter than the state window, and the same dispute is likely to return before the next fireworks season.