Year 2000 Sparks Big Plans in Stanton

Sedona, Kauai, Paris and now . . . Stanton?

OK, so this tiny city squeezed between Anaheim and Garden Grove probably won’t make the top-10 list of places to celebrate the new millennium. But city leaders hope to snag some of the hoopla surrounding the “mother of all New Year’s Eves” by allowing fireworks sales during the final days of 1999.

In a vote expected to pass handily tonight, the council apparently will become the first in the state to take advantage of a one-time-only California law that permits the sale of safe-and-sane fireworks from Dec. 26, 1999 to Jan. 1, 2000.

“That’s our goal, to be the first,” said Mayor David Shawver, a former board member of the Orange County Fire Authority who said he’s waited for months for this moment. “We’re going to put Stanton on the map, at least for a while.”

Stanton is one of five Orange County cities that allows fireworks sales for the July 4th holiday. It started the tradition five years ago, and as Shawver and other council members pointed out, there hasn’t been an injury or major fire yet.

They see no reason why 2000 should be any different--just, maybe, bigger.

“This only happens once in a lifetime, so we figured, let’s make a real birthday out of it,” said Councilman Harry M. Dotson. “That’s why we decided to amend our ordinance to allow this, to say, ‘Hey we’re thinking of the future, and maybe fireworks is a part of it.’ ”

At less than four square miles, with only about 35,000 residents, even city leaders concede Stanton has little else of note going for it. “We’re pretty cramped. We have very little industry,” Dotson said.

The city doesn’t even have a central place to put on a fireworks show, which is one reason many neighborhood groups arrange block parties on July 4th and stage their own mini-displays.

Fireworks sales are a necessary part of that. They’re also a cash cow for nonprofit charities that otherwise would have trouble making ends meet, including the Knights of Columbus, the Calvary Church youth group, a local Boy Scouts troop, and the Boys and Girls Club of Stanton.

The city sells them permits, and they split the profits with the fireworks supplier.

“Last Fourth of July, we made about $10,000,” said Neil Hopkins, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Stanton. “It’s very important to our budget. It covers operating funds, and if you know anything about nonprofits, you know that’s one of the hardest things to raise funds for.”

The city limits participation to eight charity groups and selects the sales sites every year, and is proposing a similar arrangement for the millennium.

By doing so, Shawver said, it’s been able to control the proliferation of fireworks. He said the city and Fire Authority also collaborate on education programs in local schools to teach students about the dangers of fireworks. And, he said legal, safe fireworks are better than illegal ones.

Still, the county Fire Authority is less than enthused. “Obviously, the decision to allow the sale of safe-and-sane fireworks is a policy decision up to the individual city,” said Capt. Scott Brown.

But, he added pointedly, “we have seen a demonstrable decrease in injuries and fires related to fireworks activities in those cities that do not allow the sale of fireworks.”

John Kelly, vice president of the fireworks distributor American Promotional Events, said 220 California cities permit fireworks sales for the July 4th holiday. He said he expects many to jump on the millennium bandwagon as well, but that, to his knowledge, Stanton would be the first.

Fireworks sales at the end of 1999 became possible under legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), and signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson in late August.

Shawver said he expects a 5-0 vote on the matter, and three council members--the amount necessary to pass--said they favored it.

“This happens only once every thousand years, and we’re not going to be around to see the next one,” said Shawver.