Rec Commission says keep fireworks in Crowley
According to Recreation Commission Chair Bill Sauser, the Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend to the Town Council to leave the Fourth of July fireworks at Crowley Lake. There has been recent talk of potentially moving the show to the Village at Mammoth in order to keep people local.
Sauser did, however, point to the portion of the agenda item, which broke down the distribution of entrance fees at the event. Out of the $25 collected per car, $20 is immediately taken off the top for the Crowley Lake Fish Camp for use of the site. The remaining $5 is given to the Town, which has to immediately turn around and pay the event organizer $4,000. Last year, the Town collected $2,600 from the vehicle entrance fees.
“What we collect doesn’t cover what we put in,” Sauser said on Thursday. He claimed that the public at Tuesday’s meeting had laughed out loud when he explained the fee breakdown.
“Everyone agreed it’s the typical way Mammoth does business,” Sauser said. “It seems like the Town is getting hosed, but we don’t know the expense that the Fish Camp incurs.”
Speaking of fireworks, the following letter came in late Thursday afternoon from Sandra Medina:
Dear Editor:
I would hope that the Town finds the funds to continue the long and cherished tradition of Crowley Lake fireworks on the 4th of July. Although I no longer live in the area, it is the one event that I, my children, and now my grandchildren always look forward to. That, and out 4th of July parade remain our family’s favorite Mammoth celebration, and one we hope to continue for a long time to come — true family events.
You can put up a hundred signs on Hwy 203 as well as any Gateway signs and not draw a single additional visitor —but there is no place like Mammoth to spend our nation’s birthday to enjoy all the events, crowning them with picnic suppers, watching the Crowley Lake fireworks — the most constructive expenditure of funds to bring families to Mammoth and to entice them to return.
