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City Scratches July Fourth Festivities

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

PLANT CITY - City officials say they had no choice but to cancel the annual Independence Day celebration - including fireworks - at Plant City Stadium.

The event has been a huge success since it started in 2002. But officials said a lack of financial support from businesses and individuals in the area forced their hand.

"This is the recreation and parks department's signature premier event," parks and recreation Director Jack Holland said last week. "It is heartbreaking that it is being canceled."

In a May 22 written statement, Holland said a slow economy had taken its toll on donations, including from Bill Heard Chevrolet, the event title sponsor for the last six years.

Last year's pyrotechnic display lasted 20 minutes and cost about $40,000, Holland said.

"We told City Manager David Sollenberger in the middle of April the numbers were looking bad," Holland said. "In the early part of May Sollenberger told me to notify officials at the chamber of commerce that the Fourth of July event was not going to happen."

Mayor Rick Lott said the city didn't have a choice.

"Local support has made it happen in the past. But the present economic slowdown is such that there just isn't enough financial support to pull it off," he said.

Lott said that the economy in general and a reduction of tax revenue expected by the city led to the decision.

"This is one of those luxuries we won't be able to enjoy in this economic drought," Lott said. "It would be foolish and unexplainable to spend city dollars that could be better spent on infrastructure and critical services."
Sollenberger said the city didn't have the money to pay for the celebration when sponsors dropped out.

"We have had to cut the city budget by a million dollars. It seems rather foolish to spend money on fireworks when city services are in jeopardy," he said. "It is a shame because the Fourth of July celebration is a great use of the stadium and a great community event."
Sollenberger said things could be a lot worse.

"Actually our fiscal problems aren't as bad as some municipalities," he said. "But we have to cut our budget in almost every possible way. This belt tightening has already begun; will continue to happen; and won't end soon."

Stephen Rossiter, the city recreation events coordinator, said he started working on the 2008 July Fourth celebration in November by gathering a list of past contributors.

"In January we made a mass mailing to many of the businesses in the greater Plant City area and were surprised to get no commitments for support," Rossiter said. "Money is really tight right now in the business community and no one was willing to commit. Follow-up phone calls in February seemed to show there was a chance we could pull it off. But in the end we only had $14,000 committed to the event."

The final straw came when the main sponsor pulled out.

"By the end of March and the beginning of April it became obvious that Bill Heard Chevrolet would not be able to support the effort in a big way," Rossiter said. "They notified us that they could only contribute $5,000 for this year's event."

Holland said Bill Heard Chevrolet contributed more than $160,000 over the past six years to cover the cost of the fireworks displays.

"We appreciate their support and support from the other sponsors that have made the celebration possible in the past few years," Holland said.

Last year the event cost around $74,000 to organize, Holland said, with around $51,000 contributed in sponsorships. In 2008 the city would have to kick in about $60,000 to make up for the lost sponsors.

This isn't the first time Plant City won't have July Fourth fireworks.

A local car dealership held a show at its property for a few years in the 1990s but there was no celebration hosted by the city until 2002.

Although this year's event has been scratched, it does not mean the event is permanently canceled. Holland said in his statement.

"We hope to be able to bring it back next year and, with the support of our local community, we'll be able to do just that," Holland said.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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