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Bel Aire makes door-to-door firework sales illegal By Taylor Messick Last Updated: June 22, 2017 On June 21, the Bel Aire City Council voted to make door-to-door firework sales illegal within the city limits ahead of Independence Day. Recent legislative changes at the state level have made door-to-door firework sales legal in Kansas; however, concerns were raised by council members in Bel Aire over whether the legislation is something the city should allow. "Council is very concerned about safety related to these types of sales," said Mayor David Austin. "We want to eliminate the ability of fireworks to be sold door to door in our city. Every year, there's a lot of passion about fireworks in this city and I hear from both sides. It truly is one of those issues where I want to say ‘yes' to both." The state law allows for firework sales to be made door to door, but not to be delivered. Fireworks are not allowed to be delivered to a household by a seller, even if a sale has already been made. Instead, the legislation was meant to allow for sales commitments to be made and for the fireworks to be picked up later at a specific location. Council member Peggy O'Donnell opposed banning door-to-door sales. "Basically, I think what we have in place is sufficient," said O'Donnell. "They can't deliver them to the door; all they can do is sell and there's nobody that I know of right now in Bel Aire even doing this. I just don't want to limit them if that's what they want to do." O'Donnell said she spoke with legislators about the issue. She said she found out that the legislation was drafted in order to allow groups like Boy Scouts and 4-H to raise money for their organizations via door-to-door firework sales. She said that because of the convenience and availability of firework stands throughout the area, this is a good way to ensure that people will buy and pick up fireworks from a specific organization. Council member Diane Wynn called the legislation making door-to-door firework sales legal "idiotic" and believes groups who attempt that method of fundraising will be unsuccessful. Council member Ramona Becker was also unsupportive of the legislation. "I think they could've spent their time much better in Topeka working on the budget for our state," said Becker. "I can't believe they cooked up something like this that's totally unnecessary. I know that we have some very convenient firework stands in this city and we have plenty of them; this is a small town. You can buy them in pretty much any direction you go. I think we're doing the right thing." Fireworks are allowed to be shot off between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Independence Day within the Bel Aire city limits. Residents are encouraged to make sure their fireworks are legal within the city because Bel Aire doesn't allow every type of firework that others in the area allow. |
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