East Greenwich Mulling July 4 Fireworks Show over Cove

EAST GREENWICH, RI—It started as an idea at a dinner party about a year ago.

Dr. Joanne Lewis at West Bay Dental, a Texas transplant, was chatting with Steve Mendes, a member of the Cove Commission.

She said she missed not having a July 4 fireworks display close to home.

"You're on the Cove Commission," she said. "I'll pay for it."

What followed over the subsequent months, Mendes told the Town Council on Monday night, was a steady and diligent process to hammer out all the details, step-by-step, from securing state approvals to pricing out portable toilet rentals.

"We've essentially got approval from everyone," Mendes said.

And Lewis' offer of footing the bill stands.

All that remains is approval from the East Greenwich Town Council, but before that happens, the town must be willing to pick up some of the cost.

Though Lewis, along with other doctors who work out of the practice, will pay nearly $30,000 for Atlas Fireworks to put on an 18-minute show along with the portable toilet rentals and other major costs, the town will have to pay for extra police details and firefighters to work on the holiday.

Town Manager Thomas E. Coyle III told the Town Council that he estimates the cost to the town to be about $10,000 based on a very rough estimate. The upcoming budget presentation he will unveil on April 1 does not include funding for the event.

The town will also be asked to help pay for lighting fixtures, which will have to be rented at a cost of about $1,000.

"There's a lot to think about," Coyle said, noting that it sounded like it could be a "great event" but "there's a lot of components to this taking off and we need to have a discussion."

Council members agreed. On one hand, they said, this could be a huge boon to local businesses and restaurants who would enjoy brisk business if large crowds flocked to East Greenwich to watch the display. Mendes noted that the fireworks would be shot upwards of 500 feet into the air and would be clearly visible from Main Street, along with areas in Goddard Park. It also would be quite a sight for boaters in the cove.

"I think it's a great idea and could be a good community event," said Town Council President Michael Isaacs. But, he said, it's a tough budget year for the town this year and the town has already been getting requests for funding from local organizations and community groups. The Town Council is already facing tough choices when it comes to those requests, so adding extra costs for a fireworks show presents a dilemma.

"While on one hand it doesn't sound like a lot of money, another community group could say 'how come you can spend $10,000 on this and not give us $5,000 for our ongoing program'" Isaacs said, suggesting Mendes take a look at finding ways to come up with additional outside funding.

Isaacs noted that he would like to "find a way to do this because it could be unique."

Along with police and EMS personnel working that day, the town's harbormaster would play a role in keeping the cove safe and enforcing a 350 foot safety buffer around the fireworks barge.

Mendes said that the state Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reviewed the plan. So has the state Fire Marshal and Warwick officials, who agreed to devote some of their harbormaster's time and resource to assist.

Lewis, along with David Lewis and William Gordon, owners of West Bay Dental, are "essentially willing to underwrite everything" for the first year in the hopes of building a framework that could get support from donors and sponsors in later years, Mendes said.

"It would be a great thing for East Greenwich and help out the people who own shops and restaurants on Main Street," he said.

And the true cost to the town is tough to quantify. Councilman Sean Todd said a small expenditure by the town being more than matched by private donors "is a good investment to kick off a significant town event that could pay dividends for areas businesses."

Even spending $10,000 will be tough to get through this year, Todd said, but he hopes the council can "really sharpen our pencils" and get it done.