City Of Florence

Florence prohibits sale of newly permitted fireworks

BOONE COUNTY - Those who planned to purchase the types of fireworks permitted under a new law in Kentucky will have to buy them somewhere other than Boone County.

The Florence Zoning Administrator has determined that the types of fireworks allowed under House Bill 333, which was approved by the state legislature earlier this year, cannot legally be sold in Boone County; at least until new zoning guidelines are established.

"While this specifically concerns issues in the city of Florence, the premise applies countywide," Kevin Wall, Florence zoning administrator and a member of the Boone County planning and zoning staff, said.

The city of Florence, with support from the Boone County Planning Commission, prevailed at a temporary injunction hearing on June 17 that would have permitted Powder Keg Fireworks to set up a store on Mall Road in advance of the July 4 holiday.

The city argued successfully that the new law permits it to establish guidelines before allowing permanent locations.

"The court does not find it equitable to order Florence to issue the requested license as the Planning Commission has not made its recommendations for regulation of the sale of fireworks pursuant to House Bill 333 and KRS 227," the court order states. "Therefore, the Court does not find that a temporary injunction would be appropriate in this case."

HB 333 also allows the sale of fireworks that were previously prohibited in Kentucky, including bottle rockets, missile-type aerial shells, re-loadable mortars, firecrackers and ground chasers.

The Boone County Planning Commission, however, has taken the position that the current zoning regulations, which were implemented in 2008, permit only the types of fireworks that were legal before the new legislation.

William Weimer, vice president of B.J. Alan Company of Youngstown, Ohio, said the Boone County zoning regulations do not identify specific types of fireworks, so the current statewide standards should apply.

"As we understand it, the city of Florence has the right to change its zoning under the interpretation of the bill but until it does, the state law that defines legal fireworks should apply," Weimer said.

B.J. Alan, which operates Phantom Fireworks retail stores, was denied a permit and later lost an appeal for a permanent location on Mall Road in Florence. The company then obtained a seasonal permit to sell fireworks through a tent sale at the same location.

New Florence city manager hired : News : CarolinaLive.com

Press Release:

The Florence City Council voted today to hire Drew Griffin, City of Florence Director of Public Works, to succeed David Williams as City Manager. Mayor Stephen Wukela explained, after a lengthy executive session, that the City Council had been conducting a search for its new City Manager since current City Manager David Williams announced on January 18, 2011, that he intended to retire effective September 30, 2011, after having completed in excess of 26 years of service with the City.

The Mayor went on to explain that the Council employed the services of a search consulting group, The Mercer Group, Inc. to assist them in the search. The members of the consulting firm that the City contracted with to assist with the search were actually a husband and wife team, Phillip and Kay Robertson. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson undertook the task of compiling a profile job description for the new City Manager after interviewing the Mayor, each Council member, and numerous stakeholders in the community. Unfortunately, the Mayor explained, the Group had not yet finished the profile when Kay Robertson fell from a horse during a weekend horse show and suffered severe head injuries. Tragically, after remaining in a coma for a number of weeks, Mrs. Robertson ultimately passed away due to her injuries.

The Mayor went on to describe that while deciding how to deal with this terrible set of events, and its effect on the job search, Council members, to a person, noted that in drafting the City Manager job profile, the name of Drew Griffin, current Public Works Director, consistently came to mind as epitomizing the characteristics of a good Florence City Manager. Mr. Griffin was the former City Manager of Johnsonville and has worked under current City Manager David Williams for many years, most recently as Public Works Director. Drew Griffin is regarded as hard working, extremely knowledgeable, and honest by each member of Council and the Mayor.

Therefore, the Mayor indicated, it made sense to Council to suspend the City Manager search for one year and to hire on Drew Griffin as interim manager during that time. That is precisely what City Council did by unanimous vote this evening. Council indicated that Mr. Griffin would leave his duties as Public Works Director effective September 1, 2011 and, following a transitional period, would assume the duties of City Manager upon David Williams' retirement on October 1, 2011.

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The city of Florence

City of Florence

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