Part of 2024’s Uptown Wadesboro Summer Jam celebration of the Fourth of July
ANSON COUNTY — In the beginning of March, Tammy Newell with Uptown Wadesboro addressed the Anson County Board of Commissioners to request assistance in paying for the town’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display. Following a small discussion and two votes by the board on the issue that spanned both March commissioner meetings, commissioners ultimately voted to assist with Uptown Wadesboro’s financial needs for the event.
“We are responsible at Uptown Wadesboro for both the [4th of July] parade and the fireworks. Just like everything else, fireworks have gone up this year. Matter of fact, they have gone up considerably,” explained Newell during her March 4 presentation before the Board.
According to early pricing, this year’s Fourth of July celebration could potentially cost Uptown Wadesboro somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 in comparison to previous years expenditures of $7-8,000 for the 16 to 20 minute firework show.
“The town of Wadesboro normally contributes and we have asked them to contribute this year,” Newell said. “We are also coming to you because we are the only fireworks in the county. [We are] asking if you would please contribute toward our fireworks for this year. I had asked for $3- 5,000, and I would appreciate your really considering it. The group that is doing it also does Monroe, Laurenburg, and several of the other cities around. They have a $10 million liability and are very knowledgeable at what they are doing. Part of them are the ones that have been doing it. The company that we were using split up and is no longer in existence and one of the people that used to do it is with this new company,” she explained.
In response to Chairman Jamie Caudle’s inquiry regarding if she had spoken with the town of Wadesboro yet, Newell replied “I have not, they have not voted on it yet. They have always contributed.”
Newell said in light of the rising costs, Uptown Wadesboro has proactively been looking for ways to raise funds on their own as well.
“We are doing fundraising with the brick paver program, we are doing another campaign, and I have already started on that one,” Newell said. “We will be having several other events during this year — a 5K and several others to try and also raise money so we can [afford to] cover a portion of it.”
“Normally we would try to cover the majority of it but with the cost of it going up so high, it is getting to where it is more than what we can cover on our own or with sponsorships,” said Newell.
After soliciting a confirmation from Newell the money is for a community event benefiting the county as a whole, Commissioner Joshua Ellerbe made a motion March 4 to approve Newell’s request for the Board to cover 50% of the cost of fireworks. His motion was seconded by Commissioner Jarvis Woodburn.
The motion introduced by Ellerbe passed with Commissioners’ Jarvis Woodburn, Robert Mims, Jamie Caudle, Joshua Ellerbe, and Priscilla Little-Reid voting in favor of the motion. Commissioners’ Kyle Leary and Lawrence Gatewood dissented.
During the March 18 meeting of the Board, County Manager Leonard Sossaman revisited the issue in his Manager’s Report.
He said “Last meeting there was a motion made because there was a presentation to this board about fireworks display — there was a $5,000 donation to Uptown Wadesboro, which is a private, nonprofit entity, and I think there has been some legal discussion that the county can’t afford it to that entity.”
Sossoman then suggested, “However, what it could do is channel it through the Tourist and Development Authority [TDA], the county already works with them and provides them support each year. This would be additional support to them, and then they can give it to them if they would like to do that.”
In light of Sossoman’s recommendation, Caudle asked Ellerbe if he would like to restate his motion.
He responded “My motion was actually just to pay for it, so I guess. I make that motion to pay for 50% of the fireworks through the TDA.”
At his words, Commissioners’ Leary and Woodburn reminded the Board Ellerbe’s initial motion was to cover the fireworks display for $5,000.
“The motion was to pay 50%,” clarified Ellerbe. He added, “If they come back and it is $9,000, we pay $4,500. She [Newell] said roughly it was about $10,000 — I just made a motion to do 50%. I’ll just keep my motion at 50%, but to make the payment through the TDA.”
Commissioner Woodburn seconded Ellerbe’s amended motion.
Prior to voting, Commissioner Gatewood asked if a cap would be put in place to prevent TDA from being tasked with paying for an expensive and unexpected fireworks show.
He asked “What if the bill comes back at $20,000? All of a sudden we are on the line for $10,000.”
Caudle reminded the Board if there is a time they foresee wishing to cap the county’s donation, now would be the time to do so, and Commissioner Mims stated he had questions about the cost.
“That would be some kind of fireworks show to be $20,000 in Wadesboro,” mused Ellerbe in response to comments made by Commissioners’ Gatewood and Mims.
Gatewood stated he felt $10,000 was a lot of money for the county to blow up in ten minutes.
Ellerbe answered “It ain’t my money. It’s the people that vote and live here so if that is what they want to do, I don’t mind helping them to do it, that is why I came up here.”
Commissioner Woodburn suggested the Board look into the average cost of the last few years and hold off on voting any further on the matter until the Board’s next meeting.
Responding, Ellerbe said “She [Newell] told us $10,000 so we can cap it at $5,000 and handle it right now. Technically we didn’t have to take it through the TDA because the North Carolina General Statute allows us to invest in community events.”
Ellerbe agreed to amend his motion to reflect a financial donation cap of $5,000 for the fireworks display and Commissioner Gatewood seconded the new motion.
This time, the Board voted unanimously to approve a donation funded through TDA to assist with Uptown Wadesboro’s Fourth of July fireworks display at 50% or with a cap of $5,000.
Uptown Wadesboro’s Fourth of July Parade and Fireworks Show will be June 28, as costs increase closer to the fourth, they said.
