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Council adopts ordinance creating Fourth of July parade and fireworks advisory committee
Summary
Middleton City Council passed Ordinance 7‑14 to create an advisory committee to organize the Fourth of July parade and fireworks, in response to the Chamber stepping back from planning; the ordinance passed on a roll‑call vote.
The Middleton City Council adopted Ordinance 7‑14 on Wednesday to create a Fourth of July parade and fireworks advisory committee, after council members described the ordinance as a way for residents to step forward to keep the parade and fireworks tradition when the Chamber announced it would no longer organize the event.
Councilman Murray, who sponsored the ordinance, said the committee is intended to "assume the duties that the chamber used to do so we can continue having our parade." Murray described a proposed membership structure that would include city residents, county residents and two council members and said the city would continue to provide traffic control and public safety services for the parade.
The council also discussed likely funding arrangements: Murray and other speakers said the city planned to contribute $17,000 toward fireworks this year and that other costs would come from donations or committee fundraisers. Monica, a city staff member involved in planning, said volunteer coordination has been intensive and that initial meetings have been run on a voluntary basis.
Council members raised safety and operational concerns, including parade routing, road closures, crowd control and whether the committee would request funding from the council for event security. The council noted that any request for city funds would return to council for approval.
After reading Ordinance 7‑14 by title and waiving the three‑reading rule, the council adopted the ordinance on a roll call vote. The roll call responses recorded in the meeting transcript were: Council President Kreiser — Yes; Councilman O'Brien — Yes; Councilman Murray — Yes. The clerk’s record on the ordinance also reflects the motion to waive the three‑reading rule followed by passage.
Ending: Council members encouraged residents to volunteer for the advisory committee and suggested the youth council might assist with fundraisers for fireworks in future years.
