Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • September 11, 2013 Labor Day fireworks under finance-based study by John Koster The poor financial results of the most recent Labor Day fireworks and the poor attitude of people who would rather watch from the Boulder Run Shopping Center parking lot than pay the $10 admission have convinced the Wyckoff Township Committee to begin a study that could lead to the end of a cherished tradition. The fireworks display at the field behind Wyckoff Town Hall is the township’s vol- unteer fire department’s major annual fundraiser. “It’s an extravagant display,” said Wyckoff Township Committeeman Douglas Christie, a long-time Wyckoff volunteer firefighter. “Unfortunately, the turnout was just short of dismal. We only have two fundraisers a year and it didn’t work out well for us at all.” The other, much smaller fundraiser is a Golf Outing. “I had a good time, but I share all our concerns,” said Township Committeeman Kevin Rooney, concurring with the town- ship committee’s informal decision for a study of the costs of the display in terms of booking the fireworks contractor and the police officers for crowd security. “I think it’s prudent that we do this before moving forward.” “We need to have a meeting with a large group of people, beginning with the fire department and including the police department and the financial depart- ment.” Last week’s low turnout was cited as stemming from the humid weather, the wet ground, and the threat of further rain. A serious problem, however, revolved around the fact that shoppers and other viewers in large numbers park their cars at Boulder Run and enjoy an adequate view of the fireworks without paying an admission fee. “There’s a better crowd in the ‘cheap seats’ than in the paid seats,” Christie said, admitting that the topic made him somewhat upset. Attempts by firefighters to collect money from the Boulder Run spectators had sometimes encountered rude responses, and the financial results were unimpressive. “You pass the helmet and you get a pretzel, you get a bottle cap, or you might get a button,” Christie said. The demographics appear to have changed from the days when Wyckoff was a more close-knit and less affluent com- munity, Christie said. He noted that many people were out of town for the Labor Day weekend and that the fire depart- ment might have erred in not postponing the fireworks for a week when schools reopened and parents with school-age children returned to town. Fireworks burst with color over Wyckoff Town Hall. Wyckoff Township Attorney Rob Landel suggested that having the fire- fighters sell the tickets door to door, as he said was done in Allendale, might have brought in more revenue. Sue Winton, a resident who spoke from the audience, said that having the Eisen- hower Middle School or Ramapo High School bands perform might attract band parents to swell the crowd, a suggestion that township committee members indi- cated was worth considering. The members of the township com- mittee said the meetings with fire depart- ment and police department officials were a first step to evaluate whether the spirit that the fireworks represented was worth operating at a deficit or break-even as opposed to raising money. “To keep going just for the spirit might not be the correct approach,” Rooney said.