Forest fire chief wants council to reject changes to state’s fireworks law Posted on February 11, 2022 0 By DAN ROBINSON Times staff writer FOREST — Starting this year, Ohioans will be allowed to discharge consumer grade fireworks, but the Forest council is taking steps to exempt the village from the new law. The changes take place beginning on July 1 of this year, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. The display is allowed on an individual’s private property or on another person’s property with permission from the owner. Dates when the discharging of commercial fireworks is allowed included July 3, 4 and 5, Memorial Day weekend, New Year’s Eve and day, Chinese New Year. Cinco de Mayo; Juneteenth, Labor Day weekend and Diwali. Villages, cities and townships are given the option to opt out of the new regulations, which would mean the law in those areas will remain with the current restrictions in place, said Fire Chief Doug Hankins. He asked council to consider rejecting the changes until more time has passed for other communities to experience the changes. The fire marshal’s office has not yet written the guidelines for discharging the fireworks, Hankins told council. “I am very uncomfortable allowing a free-for-all for all fireworks in the village,” the chief said. He noted the decision can always been rescinded at a later date. Also at Thursday’s meeting, council discussed adopting regulations for the replacement of mobile homes within the village. Council’s planning committee had discussed the proposal, said Chairperson Danielle Smith, who noted there are portions of the town where it is permissible to remove manufactured homes within the zoning laws. As the law is now, a mobile home cannot be replaced with a newer model. The result, said Mayor Dean Hankins, has been trailers left in place to deteriorate because they can’t be replaced. “There are at least five trailers sitting empty because we won’t let them upgrade,” he said. The replacing unit must be 10 years old or newer, according to the proposed ordinance, and meet the existing codes already in place for such units, said Smith. Council also heard from Mayor Hankins that the village is being encouraged to take part in the county’s brownfield program. Funding will be available through the program to remove up to five housing or commercial buildings which meet the qualifications in the village. The razing of the buildings would require the owner’s permission. The owner would then retain ownership of the property. The mayor asked the police department to prepare a list of blighted properties within the town for consideration. In other business, council: – Discussed replacing the bookkeeping system for the village. – Heard a report from Mayor Hankins regarding HDRLink installing an internet service in the village – Heard the mayor praise the village workers for clearing the streets during the snow storm. – Discussed proceeding with the town’s community beautification award program. – Heard Village Administrator Jason Sanders’ report on the cost of salt for the town’s water softener system. – Learned a representative from the Rural Community Assistance Program is wanting to meet with council to discus a plan to restructure the town’s water rates. – Approved a new vacation plan for village employees.
