One might not expect many new tricks from a celebration that is 126 years old, but after the success of last year’s offshore fireworks launch a few individuals set about to make that Fourth of July feature permanent.
Their work will be evident when this year’s show launches from a 24-by-30-foot floating platform about 500 feet out from the city park on Pleasant Lake.
Last year’s lake launch was made possible when the city inquired about using Buffalo’s fireworks platform for its 125th celebration and was given the go-ahead. Due to the labor intensive nature of transporting and assembling the structure, and to the stress placed upon it by the additional activity, however, Buffalo said Annandale should make its own arrangements in the future. So it did.
Some enterprising work by Police Chief Jeff Herr, Public Works director Joe Haller and city maintenance workers Jim Raymond and Mitch Wicker resulted in the barge construction. Funding was provided by the chamber of commerce and assistance came from a few local businesses to produce Annandale’s own custom-made fireworks barge.
An eye-opener
Last year’s crowd in the park for the fireworks was the biggest Herr could remember in his 23 years with the city. For the first time, spectators were able to set up along the banks of the lake and on the beach for the show, and the arrangement not only made for better viewing, it also improved safety.
"It’s about public safety and it’s a public service," said Haller. "Before we had to block off half the park, so we had to displace people and limit the sightlines. Now we have full use of the park, plus the people outside the city park can now see the fireworks better, and there’s the safety factor of having all these explosives out on the lake vs. on land next to houses and property and people."
Legal guidelines for firework shows require 300 feet between spectators and the launch site, so in past years Annandale police and firefighters had to establish and maintain a perimeter for safety. Sometimes that required moving people who had already set up for the show, and last year’s arrangement opened eyes about the value of using a barge for the launch.
"It was a huge benefit in the fact that it opened up the park in a way that wasn’t available to us in years gone by," said Fourth of July Chairman John Volden. "By moving it offshore it suddenly opens the park up. People can sit on the banks, down by the beach, anywhere in the park."
Herr and Haller were grateful for Buffalo’s generosity last year and said they understood why Annandale was left to its own devices going forward.
"Theirs is four sections that are 6-by-30," said Haller. "There are multiple bolts and you have to take decking off to access the bolts. Then there’s the stress of getting it in and out of the water, putting it on the truck, back and forth, a fair amount of man hours to do all that. They were nice enough to let us use it the first time. We thanked them for that. It’s in their best interest to not keep doing that. So we said, ‘OK, we understand. Thanks for the opportunity and we’ll figure something else out.’"
Herr said the experience spurred Annandale on to its own efforts.
"They were good about it, really nice," said Herr. "Hats off to Buffalo. They really did a great job helping us out. But it was nice to see that there was value in us having our own too."
Made for Annandale
Working with a different barge gave Annandale some ideas about how to custom-build its own platform for the needs at hand. Many fireworks barges, Herr said, are overbuilt because they were originally intended as piers that spend six months out of a year in the water and must handle high winds and waves.
Annandale’s float was also designed with maximum efficiency in mind. Its three eight-foot-wide sections reduce transportation headaches caused by four six-foot sections, and fastening the sections together in the water requires just 12 bolts as opposed to 100-plus on the Buffalo platform.
"It’s a little bit lighter because we didn’t build it to be in the water all year, we built it to be in the water a couple of days a year," said Haller. "It will be a very quick assembly and disassembly. Doing it on the water actually does a really nice job of leveling. It’s easier to do it on the water than here on the dirt, which is just the opposite of what I would have initially thought. On a calm day, it’s self-leveling."
Altogether the platform weighs about 2,000 pounds and can handle a payload of 4,500 pounds. The fireworks used in the Fourth of July show weigh about 500 pounds, so there is plenty of capacity to spare.
Other user-friendly features include built-in pockets for a forklift to move the sections on land and mooring rings for anchoring the barge.
Cost and construction
Without knowing the exact numbers, Herr and Haller guessed it cost about $5,000 to build the platform. Funding was provided by the chamber of commerce, so no taxpayer funds were used for materials.
Other similar platforms on the market are considerably more expensive, but Haller said it isn’t fair to compare what Annandale has to other equipment because, for the most part, that other equipment was designed for different uses but adapted for fireworks.
"You’re not really comparing apples to apples when you look at what’s available commercially," he said.
Also helping to keep the cost down was participation by R.M. Johnson, Anchor Dock and Lift and Liman Post and Beam, which supplied materials at discounted prices and helped city staff through the construction process.
City workers began welding and construction of the steel frame between other projects in February, then added decking and finished attaching the floats in April.
Volden said the combination of chamber funding and city manpower and expertise was much appreciated.
"That is just one example, but a primary example, of what a wonderful relationship the city and the chamber have, and how easy it is to work with the city of Annandale," he said. "(City Administrator) Kelly Hinnenkamp, Joe Haller, Jeff Herr, the city council – they really go out of their way to make sure this event is run in such a way that it creates a good experience for those attending. I think that’s why we get such wonderful crowds year after year, because people come down and have a good experience, and that’s due largely to the partnership between the city and the chamber."
As of now no additional uses are being considered for the barge throughout the year, but Haller said other possibilities could arise over time.
"We haven’t gotten there yet, but it’s just our first year," he said.