Source Reader Luz asks, "Are there going to be fireworks in Frederiksted this Fourth of July?"
To find the answer, the Source contacted the Frederiksted Economic Development Association (FEDA), the St. Croix civic organization that has arranged the fireworks since the middle of the last decade.
"It’s not clear the funding is there this year," said FEDA president Melody Rames. Pressed for details, Rames deferred to longtime member and past FEDA president Unise Tranberg, who confirmed FEDA will not be putting on fireworks this year as a result of the government’s fiscal crisis.
"The money just wasn’t there this year," Tranberg said. "Even though we had a sponsor for the actual fireworks, it takes a lot more than that." Paying the crew to set up and set off the fireworks costs $1,500 or so; then there are dock use fees, shipping, insurance and an assortment of other, hidden costs; and FEDA simply does not have the resources, she said.
The V.I. Legislature appropriated funding for FEDA that would have covered the show, but with the government’s ongoing fiscal crisis, the government has not released the money.
"They tell me that with the possibility of layoffs, they just cannot justify releasing funds for a fireworks show," she said.
FEDA has pared back its agenda accordingly.
"The only thing we have been able to continue doing is the monthly Sunset Jazz," she said.
