ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The 4th of July holiday could look different for the community this year after some discussion by the Liberal City Commission Tuesday evening.

While the holiday might seem a long time away, commissioners and Liberal Fire Chief Kelly Kirk spent several minutes discussing whether or not to allow fireworks to be shot off this year due to current drought conditions.

“As the community is aware, with drought conditions continuing to be a concern in our area, there definitely needs to be discussion about whether we will allow the sale and shooting of fireworks for the 4th of July holiday weekend,” Kirk said. “We’ve been lucky the past few years in terms of having enough moisture, but that hasn’t been happening this year so far. I was just looking today, and the current weather pattern indicates high risk for extreme fire behavior. And I’m not talking just about Liberal, that’s also the case for Beaver County and other parts of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The burn ban the county had in place expired, but we’re still in a really critical situation, and there are a lot of ripple effects from being in these drought conditions. There’s also the mutual aid to consider, because if there are multiple fires we have to respond to here, there’s less chance we’ll be able to go and help another fire department in need, and vice versa. Like I said before, we’ve been lucky the past few years, but I think this year, we’re set up for an increased chance of fires.”

Another concern, Kirk said, is staffing.

“Outside of the week of the July 4 holiday, we have six –  hopefully soon to be seven – firefighters per shift, and they’re operating out of all three stations in town,” Kirk said. “If we were to need to respond to a house fire, the first engine would set up and fight the fire and a second engine provides the water supply. That ties up two trucks and 14 to 17 people just like that, and if we happen to catch a second fire, someone has to get the other engines, and that creates a delayed response and we have to split our crews, which isn’t good. We have encountered those types of situations multiple times before, and it doesn’t take too much to stretch our resources to the limit. Per Section 7-715 of Ordinance No. 4643 - EMERGENCY BAN RELATING TO DISCHARGE: ‘Notwithstanding any of the provisions contained in this ordinance, there shall be no firing or discharge of any fireworks in the City of Liberal at any time the fire chief or his or her designee, determines that weather conditions or local circumstances make such firing and discharge of fireworks hazardous.’ Per legal counsel, there is no further requirement listed in the ordinance, but formal action, such as a resolution, can be taken by the commission based upon recommendation. Formal action would also assist with enforcement, should individuals violate the ban.”

Overall, Kirk said, the current conditions are greatly concerning to him.

“My concern is we’re at a very critical situation this year, and while our resources are adequate for what we do on a daily basis, they can get stretched very thin very, very quickly, and that’s not good for the public,” Kirk said. “Part of the reason we’re standing here talking about it now is because we need to have a plan in place for vendors and everyone else who might be involved and maybe put together an ordinance or some measure one way or another. Based on the current weather conditions  and what I’ve seen forecasted, I would be in favor of having a ban in place for this year. But I know that decision ultimately rests with the commission.”

“I know we’ve gotten barely an inch of rain in the city for this year total, and I feel like we would need to get a bunch of rain in just the next few weeks in order for everyone to feel even somewhat comfortable,” Mayor Jeff Parsons said. “At this moment, I’m just not sure it would be safe to let people fire off fireworks on their property.”

“On the other hand, however, since we haven’t had a lot of rain so far, there hasn’t really been the chance for a lot of that extra growth,” Commissioner Jose Lara said. “Don’t get me wrong, the potential is still there for something to happen, but I would argue unless there’s significant rain that happens in the city limits, there’s not really a whole lot of growth to burn other than maybe a foot or so of weeds here and there.”

“And I feel it’s important to emphasize, we’re not going to be making a decision immediately, we’re going to city staff to draft a resolution that will be considered for adoption at the next meeting,” Commissioner Nathan McCaffrey added. “Safety of the citizens is definitely the main factor to keep in mind with this.”

Discussion continued for several more minutes before concluding.

Earlier in the meeting, the commission unanimously voted to approve the interlocal agreement between the City of Liberal and Seward County in the matter concerning Seward County Development Corporation (SCDC).

“As the commission remembers, at the Feb. 24 meeting, the transition of Seward County Development Corporation (SCDC) employees was discussed at length, with general terms agreed upon by both the county and the city,” Liberal City Manager Scarlette Diseker said. “In regard to appropriation, the city is agreeable to housing SCDC employees on our side with the county paying an annual appropriation of $200,000 directly to us. With the accounting, the city will credit the county’s appropriation to the 1-cent Sales Tax for Economic Development and pay salaries and benefits from this fund. The city’s 2026 appropriation of $330,000 is typically paid in August, so we will hold this and pro-rate the county for the difference of their accrued expenses versus their financial commitment to the department. The city will then write a check directly to SCDC for up to $130,000 for operational expenses. For benefits and PTO, the city is agreeable with converting the three current employees’ existing PTO into city vacation and sick leave. For insurance, in order to avoid financial hardship for employees who have already met their annual deductibles, the city is agreeable to allowing these individuals to remain on the county’s insurance through the end of their year and join the city’s plan in May 2026.”