Fireworks. (Credit: jeff_golden/Flickr)
A date change to accommodate Toms River’s fireworks and concert for the 250th anniversary of America’s founding was nearly scrapped amidst political bickering and a councilman’s claim that fireworks displays risked setting residents’ boats ablaze before a reconsideration saved it by one vote.
The most heated portion of a township council meeting this week occurred over what would normally be considered a relatively mundane measure on the agenda: switching the date of a planned concert and fireworks display from July 28 to June 30 in order to move it closer to coincide with Independence Day and a themed celebration of the 250th founding of the United States. The township council was required to approve the date change by resolution since fireworks displays require permit approval by the governing body. Such displays were funded through a previous measure, meaning the cost of providing the entertainment would not change; instead, just one of the dates would be switched.
The resolution sparked a heated debate that resulted in the date change being denied before Mayor Daniel Rodrick pleaded with a group of four political opponents on the council to reconsider the issue. The series of summer fireworks displays have become something of a battleground between the mayor and his detractors, largely due to their belief that they are too numerous and offer positive publicity for Rodrick, but also because one council member argued the displays at Shelter Cove are too close to lagoon communities where they risk boats being set on fire, or sparking a blaze in dry wooded areas. Rodrick dismissed those concerns, raised by ward one Councilman Robert Bianchini, stating there was no record – ever – of a boat being set on fire due to a public fireworks display, nor were there any accounts of wildfires being sparked by such events.
“You cannot believe the amount of damage that the fireworks do to all the boats that are out there on the lagoons and everything,” said Bianchini. “Everybody loves it until something happens.”
“We’ve never gotten a complaint. There’s not a single one,” replied Rodrick. “We’ve never seen any boats damaged … Fireworks have been shot over this town for over 100 years. You’re going to look ridiculous.”
Shelter Cove Park beach, Toms River, N.J. (File Photo)
“I have issue because a lot of people said it’s at Shelter Cove and they have concerns with the woodlands over there, causing a fire, then there are people with dogs,” Bianchini also said. “There’s one way in and one way out, so if something major happens … I don’t know if it’s the right area.”
Council President David Ciccozzi said Toms River hosts too many concerts and fireworks displays and “is not in the entertainment business.”
“It’s great to have it on the Fourth of July and maybe another event, but I’m not for having bands and fireworks all summer long, and I just think it’s too much trouble, so I’m voting no,” he said.
“These are the kinds of things that nice towns do. As far as taxes, taxes are flat and spending is down,” said Rodrick, stating that the series of concerts and fireworks displays draw thousands of spectators each summer, including residents of the Shelter Cove neighborhood. “The people who live in the area walk to see the shows – I see them flooding out of their houses and walking down.”
The township will host 11 concerts featuring local cover bands alongside fireworks displays this year, as advertised in a flyer distributed by the township this week (which appears below). The events are part of a summer entertainment series to be presented between June 23 and Sept. 1 at the Shelter Cove Park beach, which traditionally draws a combination of residents on the sand as well as boaters who anchor up in the cove off Barnegat Bay. The number of displays is just under the number presented by nearby Seaside Heights, while Brick Township hosts four summer shows and two fall-themed fireworks displays each year. The Toms River presentations are funded through the Recreation Department budget.
The schedule for Toms River’s 2026 summer concert and fireworks series.
One speaker at the meeting suggested the township host a golf tournament or other event to fund the shows, or seek corporate sponsors to pay for them in the future. But for 2026, the contract with Garden State Fireworks and the cover bands have already been inked, meaning a refusal to modify the schedule would not have changed the amount it costs for the shows.
Councilman Clinton Bradley, an opponent of Rodrick, also opposed the date change.
“We have bigger priorities in this town,” he said. “I like fireworks, but I think it’s excessive at a certain point. We have things falling apart, and I’m all for fun, but let’s fix stuff. I don’t think we should be wasting the taxpayers’ money on something that maybe they don’t want to go to, so my vote is no.”
“Too many fireworks displays just dilute the whole concept of our independence,” said Councilman Thomas Nivison.
Rodrick’s allies on the council – members Harry Aber, Craig Coleman and Lynn O’Toole – voted in favor of the date change and did not offer comment. The final vote saw the resolution defeated, with the mayor’s three supporters voting in favor of it and his four opponents turning it down. Later in the meeting, however, Rodrick asked if the resolution could be brought up for a vote again, after explaining the resolution was aimed at changing a show date in July to a date just before Independence Day in order to host a special themed night for the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.
“We’re paying for the concert, we’re contracted for the fireworks, and we need the permit date so we can have the 250th anniversary celebration,” said Rodrick in his renewed pitch. “Most politicians would let you do what you did and let the public have at you for it, but I’m giving you another opportunity to make right what you did and approve the permit. You’re going to look ridiculous if you don’t approve it.”
On the second consideration, Ciccozzi said he still did not wish to vote in favor of the date change, but did not commit to a decision until all of the other council members cast their votes.
“I have to respect Councilman Bianchini,” he said. “It’s his ward – Ward One. He knows that area like the back of his hand, he knows the marina there, the people there, the park.”
Ultimately, Nivison pulled no punches in expressing his opposition to Rodrick, but changed his vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes.’ Ciccozzi, after the measure had passed by default with four votes in favor, chose to abstain from casting a vote either way. Bianchini retained his ‘no’ vote along with Bradley, while Aber, Coleman and O’Toole reiterated their ‘yes’ votes.
The schedule, reflecting the change, lists the June 30 concert and fireworks date as a special “America 250 Celebration.”
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