ISLAND COUNTY: Drone shows go on

Kira Erickson reports from the Island County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meeting on Wed., May 22, 2024 for the Whidbey News-Times.

With or without a grant from Island County, it appears that the show will go on for the 4th of July firework displays planned across Whidbey Island.

Earlier this year, Island County commissioners decided to set aside $50,000 in lodging tax funds for community fireworks shows. Three chambers of commerce – Langley, Freeland and Oak Harbor – applied for the funds, but commissioners weren’t pleased with those who had opted to use drones to light the sky instead of traditional pyrotechnics.

The county’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee recommended funding the Langley show, but Commissioners Jill Johnson and Janet St. Clair sent the recommendation back to the committee for reconsideration with the reasoning that drones do not count as real fireworks.

The committee met May 22 and decided to request that the county use $150,000 to fund all three proposals.

They Said It

Commissioner Melanie Bacon, who wasn’t present at the original meeting where her fellow commissioners vetoed the committee’s first recommendation, indicated that her colleagues may have had a change of heart after “conversations with staff.”

Johnson, however, remained steadfast in her opinion that if they don’t blow up in the sky, drones aren’t considered fireworks. St. Clair could not be reached for comment by press time.