HUTTO – A law permitting non-aerial fireworks inside city limits fizzled while a conservative nominee for the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging commission faced scrutiny during City Council deliberations.
New school-zone speed limits also have been approved as classes resume for the 2025-26 academic year.
An ordinance that would have lifted a ban on firecrackers and sparklers died on a 5-2 vote Aug. 7 with council members Evan Porterfield and Aaron King in the minority.
Public-safety officials argued against the measure.
“It’s like a war zone in some of these subdivisions out there, and that’s without the ban lifted,” said Fire Marshal Eric Woods of Hutto Fire Rescue. “I couldn’t find any incorporated city in Texas that has lifted this ban.”
Woods told council in 2024 there were an estimated 14,000 fireworks injuries nationally with children under age 15 accounting for 32% of the victims.
He added parents give sparklers to children to play with as if they were toys, not realizing they burn at 1,200-2,000 degrees.
Fire Chief Scott Kerwood and Police Chief Jeff Yarbrough echoed Woods’ concerns.
“This by far would be the worst ordinance I have ever seen come from council because of the safety issues it causes for the citizens of Hutto. If you unleash fireworks on the city, you aren’t doing anything to protect the citizens,” Kerwood said.
Yarbrough said his officers answered more than 100 calls last year about fireworks in neighborhoods, adding a loophole in the ordinance could hamper public safety.
“I do not favor this ordinance,” Yarbrough said. “Some of the challenges I think people overlook is the traumatic impact it has on veterans. We have many veterans in our community and for some of them those are the hardest days.”
SUBHED: Diversity board candidate in spotlight
Mayor Mike Snyder introduced Nikki Williamson as an applicant for the city’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging commission, saying all views need to be represented, including Williamson’s conservative ideology.
Williamson, a veteran whose parents are ministers, said her religious beliefs prohibit her from promoting LGBTQA causes.
“Anything that has to do with any part of that, I would respectfully decline because of how I feel and my values,” Williamson said. “It doesn’t mean that I can’t still be their friend. It doesn’t mean that I can’t still be an ear for them.”
The council unanimously voted to approve the nomination, though not without a heated discussion.
Snyder brought the nomination forward himself, an action questioned by Councilman Peter Gordon on points of protocol.
Councilman Evan Porterfield, a member of the nominating committee, said Williamson had not been moved forward in the process because there was another candidate the committee needed to interview.
Snyder stuck by his decision.
“If we’re going to be inclusive of the entire city of 45,000 people, we have to acknowledge honestly that there may be a large percentage of people who don’t agree with DEIB and the best way I can see to do that is to get someone who has the tact and the ability to talk respectfully about differences and share their concerns,” the mayor said.
SUBHED: New school speed limit on FM 1660
The city has approved new school-zone speed limits including for FM 1660 near Main Hippo Drive, where the Hutto Independent School district is building three new campuses.
The school zone on Main Hippo will be 20 mph and 35 mph on 1660 Monday through Friday from 7:30-9 a.m. and 3:30-5 p.m.
The speed limits will go into effect once the signs are up.
No speed limit was set by the city for the county road when it was first annexed, but for the non-school zone it is now 55 mph.
