ARMA, Kan. — For many years, the Brooks Family in Arma has hosted a Fourth of July fireworks celebration at their residence, putting together extravagant shows completely organized, funded, and operated by the family along with community members. However, the family is not holding its annual celebration this year.

In response, a group of residents is taking the initiative to start a city picnic and fireworks display at Northeast High School at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. The plans were discussed at Monday’s Arma City Council meeting by Angela Meyer.

“So we came up with the idea, since the lady who normally shoots off fireworks is not,” said Meyer. “Mike Zibert, who works at Dillons and used to shoot off fireworks down the road from Mrs. Brooks, has offered to shoot them off. I talked to Russ Cramer (USD 246 Interim Superintendent) this morning. He’s fine with us using the area east of the football field if we can get a set of barricades to block that road off.”

City officials told Meyer that the road for proposed barricades is a county road, which will require permission from the county before the city can place the blockades. The councilmembers also asked that the Arma Fire Department attend the celebration in case of an emergency.

Plans call for the picnic to be held in the school’s parking lot and the first 100 people (or while supplies last) will receive hot dogs and watermelon. The fireworks are to follow the picnic. Attendees should bring their own lawn chairs.

According to Meyer, donations by money order or in cash to purchase fireworks can be dropped off at Arma City Hall, The Well Traveled Chef, Kenny’s Hardware, the Arma American Legion, and the Arma City Library.

For more information on the donation drive or to volunteer, call The Well Traveled Chef at 620-240-9224 or leave a message outside of hours.

In other business, Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) Donor Engagement Officer Will Norton made a visit to the Arma City Hall to discuss a potential matching initiative designed to put money back into the smaller municipalities.

“The opportunity we have here is something we are doing at the Community Foundation as our community funds initiative,” he said. “We are trying to go to the smaller towns that don’t have a community foundation in them and offer them the opportunity to get a matching fund, an endowed fund, of $25,000 for your general endowed fund ... Basically, we’ll match. If you can come up with $25,000 to put in this endowed fund, we’ll put $25,000 in. So, you’ll have a $50,000 endowed fund to be able to pull from in the future.

“... When you’re pulling from that, you’re pulling from what it’s making on interest. There is also an opportunity if you can come up with $50,000; we’ll match $50,000. It’s just something we are trying to do for the future of the smaller towns in our community and give you the opportunity to have that money.”

Norton added that if the city of Arma chose to participate in the matching initiative, the city can take part in CFSEK’s Match Week event, which is scheduled to take place from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13. He said the city has flexibility with the funds and will be able to use them for the city, school district, or churches in the town.

“This is the first time I actually get to speak to a city council,” said Norton. “It’s an opportunity that we are giving Arma, Walnut, Mulberry, just different municipalities to help their community.”

The council agreed to discuss the initiative following its series of budget meetings in the next months.

“If you look at what the Pritchett Trust is doing, the Skubitz Trust is doing, the Community Foundation is doing, the Girard Community Foundation is doing ... This is the first, best way to capture any generational wealth in this community and get people a conduit to set up funds and get people involved in that charitable giving for the benefit of the community,” said city attorney Kevin Mitchelson.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, June 15. Meetings are held at the council meeting room next door to Arma City Hall, located at 701 E. Washington St. For more information or to be placed on the agenda, call the Arma City Hall at 620-347-4125.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.