Proponents of Salinas fireworks submit signatures to overturn a ban.

Salinas City Clerk Patricia Barajas only made it through three of the five banker boxes of signatures delivered to her desk Monday, but had already counted more than enough signatures to qualify for a ballot measure. 

The minimum required is 5,551, and with two boxes still left to count tomorrow, Barajas says she'd already reached 9,757.

The boxes were delivered by former City Councilman Sergio Sanchez and TNT Fireworks Inc.'s area manager, Milton Broussard, seeking to overturn the city's ban on all fireworks.

Even before City Council approved the controversial ban—stopping the tradition of "safe and sane fireworks," which nonprofits sold as fundraisers—Sanchez, along with industry reps, was speaking out in favor of restoring some fireworks. 

Their measure aims to restore "safe and sane," and also to expand the role of law enforcement to crack down on illegal fireworks. 

Before the measure is certified to go to voters, the signatures will need to be vetted by the Elections Department, but with so many over the minimum requirement, fireworks supporters are likely to be approved. 

City Council will have a few options for how to address a certified ballot measure. They can either allow the measure to go before voters in an election, which is a costly proposition (the city is obligated to bear the administrative costs), or they could agree to capitulate.

Faced with myriad resident complaints about noise, fire, obscured gunshots and PTSD triggered by fireworks, City Council voted 6-0 in August to ban all fireworks.

One third option, if the signatures are certified, might be to find some middle ground and compromise with fireworks proponents.

"We could rehash the law," Mayor Joe Gunter says, "but I believe we did the right thing for the citizens. We have to think about the whole community."

Gunter says he's within weeks of announcing a city fireworks show to be held at the Sports Center Complex on North Main Street; he's been meeting with the board of the Rodeo to work on gathering private donations to make a city-sanctioned July 4th show happen.