Richard Klimas with Hernando County Fair Association spoke to the Brooksville City Council about the upcoming July 4th celebration at the Hernando County Fairgrounds.
He stated that they reached out to the community and the community has helped out considerably with the fireworks display. So far they have acquired $11,000 out of the $15,000 they are aiming towards.
There will also be a demolition derby starting at 7:00pm. There are cars coming from all over Florida and South Georgia to participate. The fireworks will start after the derby and will run 10 to 20 minutes depending on the funding they get to make it happen.
They would like to have a fireworks display free to the public and any support from the City of Brooksville.
The kids zone in the auditorium will have free games for children. There will be horseshoes in the barn, a watermelon seed spitting contest and a pie eating contest. There will also be some musicians as well as the Terry Cole Show. A number of churches will also be participating in the festivities of the evening.
Klimas emphasized that the July 4th celebration is intended to be a family event to bring the community together. He stated that he would like to see the support of the county and the city as county fairs are designed to receive support from the local government. He would like to see the city take part in the event.
Klimas informed the Council that the County did not provide any funding for the event.
Vice Mayor Joe Johnston pointed out that the item is listed on the agenda as informational only, not as an action item. He stated that this is beneficial to the community but it would have worked out better if they had started earlier on asking for support monetarily or in-kind. He didn’t see according to the city’s policies how they can do that now.
The council was able to move the agenda item to place it on the action item agenda.
After some consideration relating to how to provide support, council voted to provide a $500 fee waiver for garbage pick up.
Robert Battista was disappointed that the County did not provide support for this event. He stated, “That bothers me greatly. They didn’t step forward at all and they have the wherewithal to do that much more so than we do.”
Mayor Frankie Burnett was appreciative of this council making a contribution and supporting a family event here in Brooksville.
The council hopes to find a way to provide greater assistance next year.
If you’d like to join in the festivities gates open at 4pm, derby starts at 7pm and fireworks proceed after the Derby. Parking is $5.00 per vehicle
Admission for the Derby:
Demolition Derby: Adult $10
Child (37 inches and taller to 12 yrs old) $5
Children 36 inches or smaller are FREE
You can get all the details about the derby from Richard (352) 585-1062.