Fireworks over plan for gay pride event resolved

LANSING –
Michigan Pride sighed with relief Monday night after the Lansing City Council approved a fireworks display permit, despite objections from the heads of the parks department, fire department and police department. The fireworks display will happen June 28 at 10:05 p.m. as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Michigan Pride. The event is a statewide gathering and celebration for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and supporters. The permit also allows the group to remain in the Lou Adado Riverfront Park until midnight, waiving the city ordinance requiring all persons to be out of the parks by 10 p.m.
Until late Monday afternoon, the fate of the $10,000-plus show, donated by Justin Matthews, co-owner of Defying Gravity fireworks of Canton, was in serious doubt.
During a committee hearing, Lansing Parks and Recreation Director Murdock Jemerson told the committee and Michigan Pride leaders, "The bridge, guys want to shoot off from, the police chief and fire chief and I have some concerns about."
Matthews accused a Parks and Recreation Department employee of treating him poorly. "Are you aware that I have tried to contact your office for the last several weeks and I have been treated very badly?" Matthews said, visibly frustrated. "I had no problems meeting with you all."
Jemerson agreed to meet with Matthews immediately following the council hearing. The committee members present, City Councilman Tim Kaltenbach, from the city's fourth ward, and at-large Councilman Derrick Quinney, voted to send the permits to Council for approval.
City Councilwoman-at-large Carol Wood, who has been working closely with Michigan Pride, commented on the record after the passage of the permit resolution, "If you have any difficulty with Murdock and Michigan Pride, I would like to make sure it is brought back to Council right away to make sure we can deal with it."
Directly after the committee meeting, Jemerson called Lansing Fire Chief Tom Cochran and the two met with Matthews and his partner Michael Matthews in Jemerson's city hall office.
Cochran voiced concerns about the location where the fireworks were to be set off. The officials said they had two basic problems with the proposed and approved set up. The first issue was that the city is attempting to deter fireworks in the parks, particularly during the fourth of July holiday. Secondly, they said the bridge that had been approved as the launching location was not owned by the city of Lansing.
The location is a foot bridge spanning the Grand River between Saginaw Highway and Shiawasee Street in downtown Lansing. Records from the City of Lansing Assessors Office indicate the bridge and easements are owned by the Pennsylvania and Norfolk Southern Railroad of Roanoke, Va. However,the city has done several significant capital improvements on the bridge, including putting a black top over the former rail bed on the bridge. Those improvements were made for the city's annual outdoor music festival Common Ground and the city continues to maintain the improvements.
Despite the disagreements, Jemerson and Cochran eventually conceded. Once the two department heads saw the permit with the signature of the chief fire marshal of the city, they told the Matthews he had the go.