McKenzie Rolls Back Fireworks Ordinance

McKENZIE (April 10) — After four years of tighter shooting and selling dates on fireworks, the City of McKenzie rolled Ordinance 566 back to the original two-week window. After the first reading, Ordinance 566 allows the sale and shooting of fireworks beginning June 20 through July 5 and December 20 through January 1.

Added to the ordinance is no one under the age of 21 or anyone intoxicated can purchase fireworks.

In a workshop before the April meeting of the McKenzie City Council, brothers Bert and Matt Hudgins addressed the Council about what they thought was more fair to fireworks vendors within the McKenzie City Limits.

The Hudgins spoke at length about lost tax revenue and their lost profit margin when the City of McKenzie, in 2020, limited the sale window of fireworks. They stated Big Bang Fireworks missed out on about $20,000 worth of sales and added their sales in Milan increased during that period through McKenzie residents. It was also said they were not concerned if the shooting window dates were adjusted, as they were good with the June 27 start date.

McKenzie Police Chief Ryan White said that selling the fireworks at one time and not being able to shoot them until a different date would only confuse. He recommended setting the dates concurrently and added that it would not increase his officers’ workload.

It was also mentioned that in 2020, the Council was addressed by combat veterans who suffered from PTSD and was part of the reason for limiting the window on shooting dates. This statement caught no traction. The Council approved the Ordinance 566 on the first reading with a 5-0 vote. The second and final reading takes place during the May meeting.

Also on the agenda was the second and final reading of Ordinance 564 stipulating that manufactured homes must have permanent foundations, which was passed on the first reading. The wording states, “The unit must have a permanent brick, block or stone perimeter and interior foundation system.” According to Codes Officer Jim Seaton, informed members of the Council that the ability to move the manufactured home must be removed, i.e., the tongue, wheels/axle. The current ordinance does not allow single-wide mobile homes.

The Council approved Ordinance 567 to amend Ordinance 324 relating to State Wastewater Regulations. This comes as the Tennessee Department of Environmental Control has adopted new effluent standards for industrial-class wastewater customers and has directed the City of McKenzie to amend its effluent standards accordingly. This makes stricter standards of what is allowed to be dumped into the City’s sewer system.

Ordinance 565 was approved on the first reading amending the text on permitted uses in B-1, B-3 and B-4 (Local Business Districts).

Resolution 24-001 was passed for the City to adopt the State holiday calendar offering the same holiday calendar days to the city employees. They also approved with no discussion on the purchase of an F-150 and an F-250 truck for the Water Department through the State.

During department head reports, Earnest Umstead, Water/Sewer superintendent, said the City’s well near J&J Auto Racing was up and working correctly following repairs. The City had accepted a $110,572 bid from Nation Waters Services to repair the well after a series of patches were no longer acceptable.

Jim Seaton, Code Enforcement, stated that 33 violation citations/warnings were issued over the last few days as the weather has improved and grass is beginning to grow. He added that local businessman Jack Martin was given 60 days to address the issues with his building.

Chief White stated the Police Department received 1472 calls in March.

Fire Chief Brian Tucker stated they received 55 calls in March with 26 classified as medical. He added that in the last quarter (January-March), the fire department received 169 calls with 88 classified as medical (EMS), which is nearly double the department’s normal run rate. He also said the firefighters had amassed over 438 training hours in the quarter.

The next scheduled meeting of the McKenzie City Council is May 9.