Oshkosh parks board recommends moving July 4 fireworks from Monkey Island to Ames Point

The Oshkosh Advisory Parks Board voted on March 10 to recommend that the Common Council approve relocating the city’s July 4 fireworks display from Monkey Island to Ames Point.

Board members and city staff told the meeting that logistics and safety drove the recommendation: moving the firing location to Ames Point would let the contractor load equipment directly on park pavement, simplify crowd controls and better keep boats out of required safety zones.

City staff described the setup on Monkey Island as labor-intensive and time consuming. Parks staff said a prior contractor logged “almost 500 hours” last year to move product to the island and set up the show. That time, staff said, included staging, vegetation trimming and moving stone to create access paths. Parks staff also noted that safety standards require roughly 70 to 75 feet of separation for each inch of shell and that the city has previously used shells up to 10–12 inches.

Craig Heatherington of J and M Displays, the pyrotechnics contractor working with the city this year, told the board moving to Ames Point would reduce crew time and physical handling because equipment arrives on pallets and can be pallet-jacked onto the asphalt path. “With Monkey Island, they would take it off the truck, put it on this barge, bring it over, take it off, set it up, then tear it down, put it back on the barge…That’s a lot of work,” Heatherington said. He cautioned that larger shells are costly: “a 10 inches is probably $700 to $900 a piece. A 12 is probably closer to $1,000.”

Heatherington and city staff said the Ames Point plan would allow the city and public-safety partners to fence the point for pedestrian-only access, deploy buoys to demark water exclusion zones, and use park pathways for food trucks and pedestrian viewing. Parks staff indicated planned coordination with the sheriff’s office, Oshkosh police and the fire department, and said the move would likely allow most firing to use 3–8 inch shells with a few larger pieces if needed.

The board moved to recommend the relocation to the Common Council; the motion was seconded and advanced to the Council for final approval. The Parks Board discussion made clear the recommendation reflects a mix of contractor constraints, safety considerations and the goal of improving spectator sightlines.

The council will receive the board’s recommendation for a final decision; the board’s report notes the public should be notified and residents near Ames Point may provide input during that Council review.