By Megan Wehring
KYLE -- Kyle residents only got to see 10 minutes of fireworks with no big finale, even after a promise of a 30-minute show.
"Happy Independence Day, Kyle," said Mayor Travis Mitchell in a Facebook statement on Sunday. "Sorry the fireworks show was a failure. You deserved better."
The city's vendor, American Fireworks, ended the show early due to a fuse box that was programmed to the wrong channel and it was not receiving the signal to launch. Additionally, three crew members from the firework company did not show up.
Due to the shortfall, the city of Kyle will not be paying the vendor.
American Fireworks were also used in last year's July 4 celebration and Kyle did not see a need to seek a new vendor this year, according to the city's incident report. When Mariana Espinoza, parks and recreation director, went to deliver the check on Sunday, she decided to hold on to the check after there was a possibility the full 30-minute show would not go on.
"I'm extremely embarrassed by it," said Steve Coach Davis, director of pyrotechnic displays at American Fireworks. "That's not what we are about [and] that's not the quality that we provide."
American Fireworks was working with another company, who was in charge of the Buda show, to have enough help to build the full show in Kyle. But that company did not follow through.
Mitchell said if the city were to use American Fireworks again, he would like to see Kyle as top priority as the area is one of the company's larger contracts.
"If we are lucky enough to be able to do a show for Kyle again," Davis said, "I will have our best pyrotech crew together for this show. If I knew things were going to play out like they did with this other company, I would have done that. ... It wasn't too high of an expectation to get that show ready if they had held their bargain up. It's my fault for trusting them and I will not do that again."
Following the fireworks show on Sunday, numerous negative comments from Kyle residents circulated across social media. Council member Yvonne Flores-Cale said the community should understand that Davis is apologetic for what happened that night.
"My heart really went out to you," Flores-Cale said during Tuesday's council meeting. "I can't even imagine how you felt showing up, knowing that you were not going to have [enough] workers there. ... I think as a community, dais and people in general, that it's important not only to give grace but to get grace."
Read the full incident report (courtesy of the city of Kyle):
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