An ordinance banning the sale, possession and lighting of fireworks within Fulton City Limits is on the agenda for Tuesday's Fulton City Council meeting.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Fulton City Hall. It is open to the public and will also be streamed online at fultonmo.org.
If passed, the ordinance contained in Bill 1588 would replace the current Section 78-112, which addresses the sale and discharge of fireworks within city limits.
The new Section 78-112 would ban the sale, possession and discharge of all fireworks within city limits, everything from mortars down to snakes and snappers. Fireworks could only be discharged by licensed operators with a permit and the authorization of Fulton City Council.
Any person violating those requirements could be found guilty of a misdemeanor.
Like all Fulton ordinances, the fireworks ban must be read three times before coming to a vote - no final decision is likely Tuesday.
The introduction of this ordinance follows weeks of discussion about the "firework wars," an annual Fourth of July fireworks battle in Carver Park. Two area residents complained to the city about the battles, and Fulton police claimed the battles damage property and injure participants.
Tuesday's meeting will also include a property tax hearing. The city must vote to set its property tax each year, based on the assessed valuation of property within city limits. This year's proposed property tax rate is $.5279 per $100 in assessed valuation - about two cents higher than last year's $.5022 per $100, but still a cent lower than it was in 2018. Between 2019 and 2020, the total assessed valuation of property within the city dropped by just over $2 million.
Though no finalized ordinance is on the agenda, Fulton City Council members will continue discussing a ordinance to make mask-wearing mandatory in Fulton. That discussion follows a virtual meeting Wednesday between some city council members, city officials and Dr. Randall Williams, head of Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services.
Mayor Lowe Cannell asked Williams whether now seemed to be the right time for Fulton to implement a mask ordinance.
"For me to weigh in on Fulton versus Sedalia versus Albany, we just feel very strongly that you have to work with your local health department, look at your data, look at your community, and make those decisions - which we certainly support," Williams said. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to weigh in on that because you know better than I do what your local situation is."
Then he repeated his earlier advice: "If you can't social distance, you need to wear a mask no matter where you are in Missouri."
According to Williams, masks do help prevent COVID-19's spread - whether mask ordinances do the same is less certain. After Wednesday's meeting, city officials agreed to work on adapting a mask ordinance passed in Springfield for use in Fulton.