JACKSONVILLE BEACH Fla.-- After decades of red, white and blue skies at the beach on July 4th, in 2012 year the skies went dark. The city decided to stop officially hosting the holiday when rowdy crowds threatened safety.
The move was a huge disappointment for Jacksonville Beach natives like former lifeguard Mike Dennis, who have made the annual fireworks a tradition.
"It was just a lot of fun something you could always look forward to every year," he said.
But the new mayor has new ideas to help bring fireworks back to the beaches.
Mayor Charlie Latham says in order to accomplish his goal the celebration will have to be reinvented with a back to basics approach, replacing alcohol and antics with fun for families including a performance by the Navy band.
"By proactively programming and coordinating a good wholesome celebration we haven't done that in a long time," said Latham.
Latham also says he'll be looking into re-routing traffic.
"The first thing we're going to tackle is commercial parking," he said. "One of the ideas that's been passed around is the idea of having an overflow parking and a shuttle system."
Latham says the plans to bring back the celebration are in its very early stages so he doesn't know how much it will cost, but celebrations in the past have cost $25,000-$35,000.
