In a special meeting Monday, the Los Alamitos city council was informed that an agreement has been reached with the Joint Forces Training Base to allow residents and spectators onto the base to watch this year’s Independence Day fireworks extravaganza.
Moreover, while on the base to watch the show, residents will apparently be allowed to leave their cars to enjoy the show, although details are still being worked out, said city manager Chet Simmons.
Simmons said he is coordinating with city officials Ron and Emeline Noda, whom are spearheading the organization of the show, and he thanked Council member Dean Grose for intervening with base commander Michael Leeney and even Major General Laura Yeager, to work out the compromise.
In addition to his duties on the council, Grose serves as the coordinator for the Regional Military Affairs Committee based on the base.
“There are still a number of unknowns,” Simmons acknowledged. While negotiations are still underway, he said it appears as though vehicles will have to be parked six to eight feet apart, and participants who leave their vehicles to watch the fireworks show will have to wear face masks.
While military officials see the fireworks show “as a benefit to the community,” he added, “final guidelines are still being worked out.”
Council member Shelley Hasselbrink, who has promoted the fireworks show as a chance to demonstrate to residents that the city was trying to return some sense of normalcy to their lives, said it was a “big win.”
Hasselbrink noted that since expressing support for having the fireworks show this July 4, she has been inundated with comments from residents who are thankful to have something, even before it was known residents would be allowed onto the base to watch.
Grose said there will be no food trucks or other amenities to create a “festival atmosphere,” but he said the scaled down show would go on.
Because JFTB is currently being used to deploy National Guardsmen to various cities during the ongoing protests, military officials did reserve the right to notify the city in advance if for any reason, conditions would not permit the show.
Nevertheless, Noda said he has negotiated an escape clause with the fireworks vendor that, if cancelled 15 days before the event, would trigger a mechanism that would allow the company to store the fireworks and use them next year at no additional charge.
But as of Monday, the annual Los Alamitos July 4 fireworks show will be held with approved guidelines.
