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people that use them. He said the council was missing the point when considering limiting the time during <br />which fireworks could be used. He said we were not the only culture that celebrated holidays by use of <br />fireworks and it was wrong to limit when legal fireworks could be used. The vendors generally did a good <br />job of monitoring the sale of fireworks. <br /> <br />Mr. Zaludek explained that any firework which could rise higher than six feet and explode was illegal. The <br />challenge was that such fireworks could be purchased legally in Washington and Idaho, and transported <br />across state lines into Oregon. <br /> <br />th <br />Mr. Clark understood officers were swamped around July 4, but thought there needed to be a coordinated, <br />extra response. He wanted to look at creative ways to address the issue this year if possible. He also <br />wanted to turn this into a positive community celebration, with the City of Eugene encouraging people to go <br />to the larger celebrations, rather than staying in their neighborhoods, and by creating a broad, open area for <br />people to use their fireworks which could be well-monitored. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy liked the positive direction of the conversation, noting the education piece was important. She <br />agreed the issue needed to be addressed now for next year. She thought a regional approach was a good <br />idea, but there were likely other non-regulatory things which could be done locally and would be effective. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Solomon, Mr. Zaludek said only EPD could cite and enforce <br />regulations. He added enforcement by a Deputy Fire Marshal would require a change in ordinance. <br />Because of large block parties and the potential for confrontation, police were often called to conduct <br />enforcement. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon expressed frustration with the issue of citizens getting short-changed as a result of the <br />Olympic Trials and she resented the fact that none of the police or firefighters from all of the public safety <br />agencies could help the City out on the Fourth of July because they would be wrapped up in the trials. She <br />asked if a phone number could be set up to receive calls or if police volunteers could be used to cite or take <br />down names and addresses of locations where illegal fireworks were being used. She expected the City <br />could do more than was laid out in the AIS. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved that at the earliest convenience, the <br />City of Eugene engage in conversations with Lane County and the City of Spring- <br />field to develop a regional strategy for greater enforcement of illegal fireworks. <br />The motion passed 8:0. <br /> <br />The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Jon Ruiz <br />City Manager <br /> <br />(Recorded by Linda Henry) <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 27, 2008 Page 13 <br /> Work Session <br />