Ayer Select Board Explains October Vote Canceling Fourth of July Fireworks

AYER -- November 5, 2019, Ayer officials defended their October cancellation of the town's Fourth of July fireworks at Peroni Park in a public information meeting Tuesday, walking residents through years of escalating public safety concerns. Town Manager Robert Pomperand, Police Chief Murray, and Fire Chief Pedrazi presented slides showing that the park's single access road on unlit School Street creates a dangerous bottleneck for the 5,000 to 10,000 people the event draws, and that the department faces a minimum deficit of 13 sworn officers to staff the event safely, a gap that grows critical in 2020 because the holiday falls on a Saturday. "We've just been lucky over the years that nothing has happened," Murray told the audience. The administration said it had studied the high school practice field, a residents-only restriction, a date change, and a move to Devens, rejecting each as impractical; Devens director Jessica Strunken's recollection of those conversations was disputed by a resident at the meeting. Estimated cost for the 13 additional officers would be approximately $7,150, but Pomperand stressed that money was not the deciding factor, 2019 public safety personnel costs totaled roughly $21,211 across police and fire. Multiple residents urged the board to open a public planning process before closing the door permanently on the event.