[Southsider2k12]

Savings: $50,000

[outsider]

City's fireworks show is well known through out the region and all of northern Indiana. I do understand all the overtime and other expenses involved in the show, but I hope the City will consider seeking corporate underwriting for the show. I'm sure NIPSCO and some other large MC corporations would be willing to donate for their own PR purposes and to have their names in lights.

[Southsider2k12]

After a day to digest the fireworks news, I have some thoughts to offer up...

-It wasn't a big surprise that the show got shut down. It rumored to have almost happened a couple of years back.

-Reading comments by officers, this event is a nightmare for the police. One officer said 75 of the 90 MCPD officers work this night. That is pretty insane. Of the $50,000 cost listed, the number thrown around is that $25,000 of it is directly related to uniformed personnel overtime costs.

-It seems that there is at least one incident a year, which inevitably turns into something much bigger than it actually was through the rumor mill. This has only accelerated with facebook and twitter making reactions and outrages travel much faster than actual news. The City has to be worried about something really bad happening because of past years, and the acceleration of reactions due to social media.

-There is a lot of talk that Blue Chip/NIPSCO/someone else should pay for this. These are companies that are in business for one reason... to make money. If Blue Chip, or anyone else, doesn't think they will make enough money to cover this one night investment, they aren't going to do it. Also keep in mind that both Blue Chip and NIPSCO (only mentioning them because they are the two mentioned most often by people) have both had hits to their bottom line in the last year. The casinos all over Indiana have been hit hard by both more competition AND by just a general downturn in dollars spent in gambling. NIPSCO is working on paying for a $600 million settlement with the federal government.

-The idea that the City of Michigan City (the actual City, not the people or businesses in it) makes money is just silly. When things like higher sales of consumables by people are brought up, the City doesn't see that money. The businesses do. Sales taxes? Those go to the State of Indiana. This is a money losing event for the City, plain and simple.

-I would love to kill the talk about "those people" who ruin events like this. This group of people is a minority of a minority of the tens of thousands of people who go to this event, or really any event that involves this amount of people. For example I went to the Taste of Chicago fireworks once. That was all it took. With a crowd of that side, there are just going to be people who can't handle themselves. Factor in how crowded/hot/sweaty/crabby people are anyway, and it happens. It doesn't just happen here, it happens at any event of this size. It isn't a City thing, or a "those people" thing. It is the law of averages at work.

-Finally though here is that if people REALLY want to save this event, it is your power to do so. Contact the Mayor's office, contact your councilperson, go to meetings and say your feelings. Be proactive. If you can offer a solution, they will be much more likely to listen to you. Going to a meeting with the idea that someone else should pay for this is a non-starter. It is dead on arrival. There has to be a realistic solution involved. Whether it involves fundraising or whatever, there has to be a way to demonstrate a plan or no one is going to listen to it.

Those are my thoughts on this topic.

[outsider]

The comments on the related facebook site and the news dispatch website are interesting for sure. It seems a large number of commenters do not like the fireworks show, Michigan Boulevard improvements, Wescott Park, Patriot Park, Trail Creek improvements or any improvement to a park or anything else in this town.

While I do certainly understand placing a moratorium on the fireworks, I do not understand all the negativity and connections to all of the other issues. Michigan City should be using its lakefront, parks and other amenities to draw visitors and new employers just like the small Michigan towns do all the way up Lake Michigan to the north. Michigan City needs to make a decision about what kind of town it wants to be - a small isolated town with nothing to do - or a small town with a welcome mat for tourists and potential employers.

The negativism toward improving anything in this town has been around for as long as I have been alive and it is one of the reasons I left MC along with countless other high school and college grads. Even as a kid in the late 70's and 80's it was easy to understand that MC was never going to be a progressive place. I distinctly remember the opening of City Hall in the late 70's - the big issue was that City Hall was leaving the historic Warren Building which was a dump even back then. I still love MC and the lake, but nothing has enticed me to return.

[Tim]

The comments on the related facebook site and the news dispatch website are interesting for sure. It seems a large number of commenters do not like the fireworks show, Michigan Boulevard improvements, Wescott Park, Patriot Park, Trail Creek improvements or any improvement to a park or anything else in this town.

While I do certainly understand placing a moratorium on the fireworks, I do not understand all the negativity and connections to all of the other issues. Michigan City should be using its lakefront, parks and other amenities to draw visitors and new employers just like the small Michigan towns do all the way up Lake Michigan to the north. Michigan City needs to make a decision about what kind of town it wants to be - a small isolated town with nothing to do - or a small town with a welcome mat for tourists and potential employers.

The negativism toward improving anything in this town has been around for as long as I have been alive and it is one of the reasons I left MC along with countless other high school and college grads. Even as a kid in the late 70's and 80's it was easy to understand that MC was never going to be a progressive place. I distinctly remember the opening of City Hall in the late 70's - the big issue was that City Hall was leaving the historic Warren Building which was a dump even back then. I still love MC and the lake, but nothing has enticed me to return.

As I remember it The Warren Building was just a stopover for City Hall between the time they moved out of the courthouse and before they moved into the new building. I don't think the Warren Building was ever meant to be the "home" of City Hall. Hard to argue with any of the rest of your post.

[Tim]

Some hilarious comments on the ND under this article. One guy actually suggested doing to fireworks during the day to cut down on crime. I have to wonder, would that work? lol

[Southsider2k12]

My personal favorite I saw was the guy who first wanted to impeach Meer. Then when that didn't work, he wanted a recall election (Indiana doesn't do recalls).

:0

[outsider]

There also appears to be very widespread ignorance on how various projects and government entities are funded. People also don't understand that schools, county, city, even various city entities are all unrelated entities. The budget problems of MCAS or the sanitation department does NOT effect the fireworks show people!

Maybe I'm in the minority on understanding these separations. I did grow up in a family with two parents employed by governmental units or in organizations that worked closely with government entities their entire careers, so we talked about stuff like this at the dinner table when I was a kid.

[Southsider2k12]

There also appears to be very widespread ignorance on how various projects and government entities are funded. People also don't understand that schools, county, city, even various city entities are all unrelated entities. The budget problems of MCAS or the sanitation department does NOT effect the fireworks show people!

Maybe I'm in the minority on understanding these separations. I did grow up in a family with two parents employed by governmental units or in organizations that worked closely with government entities their entire careers, so we talked about stuff like this at the dinner table when I was a kid.

You are SO right here.

It hurts my head reading lots of the comments.

[taxthedeer]

This is no different than the Chicago Southside Irish Parade being eliminated couple years ago. What started out as a small localized neighborhood family festival grew and grew to the point that over 1 million people would converge along a small stretch of Western Ave. and became too large for the community to accommodate and impossible to police.

[Southsider2k12]

Residents are looking to raise money for the fireworks.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...623bb085b8.html

[taxthedeer]

Residents are looking to raise money for the fireworks.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...623bb085b8.html

After attending this event a couple years ago perhaps this group could get a sponsorship from High Times magazine.

http://www.hightimes.com

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.laportecountylife.com/community...ugh-fundraising

Group Hopes to Save The Fireworks Through Fundraising
Written by Tim Moran
Last Updated on 04 March 2014

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save-the-fireworks-michigan-city-2014For years, the fireworks show on the shores of Lake Michigan would draw hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors to Michigan City every July.

But the show usually scheduled for mid-July was canceled this year due to the city's financial emergency.

That didn't sit too well with a number of residents who look forward to the yearly event that is up there with the boat race, lakefront art festival and in-water boat show in terms of weekends that bring the most people to Michigan City.

In response, some have jump-started a group on Facebook, called "Save The Fireworks!!!," to go with a donation page where anyone can pitch in to reach a goal of $50,000, which is what it usually costs the city to put on the show. Just two weeks after it was created, the Facebook page is already closing in on 2,000 likes.

Steve Neitzel, a sales consultant at Bosak Honda of Michigan City, was one of the ones at the forefront of that effort.

"I was greatly disappointed when I heard the Mayor was going to cancel the Fireworks this summer," Neitzel said. "I thought back to all of the memories that I had growing up going to the show as well as all the businesses that it would affect."

Neitzel contacted a friend who shared the same concerns to see if other residents would like to get something started with the hopes of saving the show by raising enough funds through the community.

"We planned a couple meetings and started organizing ideas and speaking to public officials to see what actually could be done," Neitzel said.

Dorothy Poplawski, born and raised in nearby Trail Creek, remembers attending the firework shows every summer with her parents and brother.

"It was absolutely the highlight of my summer," she said of the fireworks show, while offering some ideas to further promote the grassroots effort to fund this as a community in 2014.

"The ideas are still fresh," she said. "I would like to have the students at Michigan City Area Schools participate in a contest to design the 'Save the Fireworks' t-shirt logo. I'm also going to try to put together a bike rally for the local motorcyclists. Someone at the mall also offered to help by offering his support with his air slides by donation from an event."

Other residents who support the effort have already met with Neitzel and others leading the effort. Some elected officials have also jumped on board as has Mike Hale, secretary of the Michigan City Summer Festival board. Hale set up an Indiegogopage where anyone can donate to the $50,000 goal. So far $120 has been raised in only a few days since the site went live. As of March 4, there are still 58 days remaining for the group to reach their goal.

"We would love to see the full $50,000 raised from all our collaborative efforts," Poplawski said.

[Tim]

http://www.laportecountylife.com/community...ugh-fundraising

Certainly a worthwhile effort, but they need to be raising an average of about $862.00 a day to reach that goal.

I hope they make it!

[Southsider2k12]

Is there another page for the Save the Fireworks effort? The facebook page hasn't been updated since the first week of March, and the donation page is only showing $130 in donations. Am I missing something, or has this effort died?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-the...ty-in?c=pledges

[ChickenCityRoller]

I was told by one of the chiefs that it is officially cancelled.

[Tim]

Is there another page for the Save the Fireworks effort? The facebook page hasn't been updated since the first week of March, and the donation page is only showing $130 in donations. Am I missing something, or has this effort died?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-the...ty-in?c=pledges

Only $49,870.00 to go!

[taxthedeer]

Just take the $130.00 to Phantom Fireworks in Burns Harbor and get some roman candles, bottle rockets and firecrackers and have a bang.

[Southsider2k12]

For those who were curious about the fireworks, like me, I thought this post should stand out on its own. This is from one of the organizers of "Save the Fireworks". To me, it sounds like we were all fed a line, and it wasn't about the money, because when the money was offered, the finish line was changed.

"We ( Save the Fireworks!) raised over $60000 in funds to pay for the fireworks. The mayor and the police department would only let the event happen if we moved he date. The harbormaster requires a 130 day notice of the event. Because of the time constraint we were unable to have the event. The mayor would not budge on the date so it killed it. This is the biggest tourism event of the year and an opportunity to showcase our city. I feel that canceling an event that has been around for 60 years is a mistake, but when you have small minded leaders in a small community, these things tend to happen. I was so disgusted by the politics behind this thing that I just let it die quietly. But it should be known that some really great people came together and did raise all the money."