SEBASTIAN — Fireworks commemorating the nation’s birth will continue in the City of Sebastian. The Sebastian City Council approved a contract with a fireworks vendor to put on the aerial light show for the next three years.
East Coast Pyrotechnics will be responsible for the fireworks show after the council approved the $40,500 3-year contract – making the cost $13,500 annually. City Manager Al Minner told the council at a recent meeting that the contract price is “up just a little bit” over the last contract but is still significantly less than what other companies were charging.
“It’s almost inconceivable they were bidding on the same thing,” Councilman Don Wright said of the two companies that bid for the fireworks gig.
While East Coast Pyrotechnics expected the cost to be $40,500 total for three years, Zambelli Fireworks wanted $91,500 – or $30,500 each year.
Minner explained that East Coast Pyrotechnics was offering the same type of fireworks show the city has become accustomed to and that he feels confident in the level of service the city would receive from the company.
East Coast Pyrotechnics bought out Melrose Pyrotechnics South, which had previously provided Sebastian residents with the annual fireworks show. The company “essentially remains the same company with the same staff and fireworks vendors,” Minner wrote in his report to the Sebastian City Council. “Staff is familiar with this company and they have an impressive list of clients.”
Those clients include various cities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The company has also provided fireworks displays for various sporting events.
Melrose Pyrotechnics South had charged the city $13,250 annually for its fireworks display. East Coast upped the price by $250.
The Sebastian City Council unanimously approved the new 3-year contract with East Coast Pyrotechnics.