July 4th Johnson’s Pond Fireworks Cancelled

COVENTRY, RI — Johnson’s Pond fireworks are cancelled this Fourth of July, said Johnson’s Pond Civic Association President Marc Lemoi Thursday.

“We would be hauled into court by Soscia (Soscia Holdings LLC, owned in part by Doug Soscia) in a heartbeat,” Lemoi said.

Legally, to put on the annual fireworks show, the JPCA  needs the permission of the lessee, which, up until April, was the Town of Coventry. But the town’s lease of the property from Soscia Holdings LLC ended in early April, and the JPCA doesn’t have  permission from Soscia Holdings.

“As long as the town leased the pond they could do whatever they wanted,”  Lemoi said, but a renewal of that agreement between Coventry and Soscia Holdings was unlikely given the  the years-long battle with Soscia Holdings LLC over the management of the pond and dam.

Shortly after the town’s lease ended, unspecified alterations were made to the dam in early April, endangering the integrity of the structure and prompting an order from the Department of Environmental Management to order Soscia Holdings to draw down the water level to preserve the spillway. The resulting lowered water levels have added a practical complication to plans for the annual event.

The JCPA hasn’t been able to hold its on-the-pond fundraisers this year as a result of the very  low water levels on the pond. One fundraiser supports weed management on the water, and the second helped fund the fireworks show. Neither fundraiser really works without the ability to use the pond for boating, he said.

Lemoi sees some reason for optimism, given the town’s  move to condemn the pond and dam and take it by eminent domain, which may result in the town owning and managing the water body as before, after repairs to the dam are made.

“For us that was a very positive development,” Lemoi said during Thursday’s Coventry Town Council meeting, during which the Council approved the taking of the property.

The town-sponsored Fourth of July fireworks show is scheduled for June 27, one of many  fireworks shows scheduled throughout the  state this year, reported in WarwickPost.com in the June 3 article:  RI Fireworks: Fourth of July  2024.