Council asked to add $3,750 per year from hotel/motel tax for church fireworks site; formal vote deferred to regular meeting

City staff asked the Marietta City Council during the agenda review to add a funding request to the regular meeting agenda that would allocate $3,750 per year from the hotel/motel tax (or applicable 3% hospitality fund) to help pay for fireworks staged from First United Methodist Church for two years.

The staff presentation said the church requested payment because the fireworks shell fall zone removes most of the church’s downtown parking spaces; the Downtown Marietta Development Authority (DMDA) and the church negotiated cost sharing, and staff proposed the city cover the remaining $3,750 per year for calendar years 2025 and 2026 (a two-year arrangement). Staff noted the fireworks vendor requires a lump-sum payment in some cases, and that the council could place the appropriation in the next fiscal year if timing allows.

Council members asked procedural and logistical questions. Staff discussed possible alternate sites (the cemetery and the golf course were considered but found problematic because of visibility, proximity to homes, parking and operational impacts). One councilmember suggested negotiating a longer-term agreement if the DMDA and church were amenable. The staff recommended placing the request on the regular meeting agenda so the council could act at 7:00 p.m.; no formal vote occurred during the review session.

Staff said the DMDA had approved a two-year agreement with the church and that staff would return with contract language and a certificate of insurance. The request will be presented for formal action at the regular council meeting; the review-session transcript does not record a final appropriation vote.