The Waldoboro Board of Selectmen directed the town manager to draft a town fireworks ordinance at their Feb. 14 meeting.
If enacted, the ordinance will allow the town to regulate some aspects of fireworks sale, possession and use – legalized in Maine at a referendum last year. Maine’s fireworks law allows for the possession, sale and use of fireworks. Towns may not ban the possession of fireworks, but may restrict or prohibit their sale and/or use.
Under state law, there are heavy restrictions placed on fireworks sellers, including the requirement that fireworks be sold and displayed in a separate building, and a host of safety precautions. Fireworks sellers are required to have both state and federal licenses.
At their Feb. 14 meeting, the selectmen reviewed recommendations from Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer and Police Chief Bill Labombarde.
As recommended by the chiefs, the ordinance would allow the sale, possession and use of fireworks in Waldoboro. Their use would be allowed only with a prior approval from town officials.
Those with a permit would only be able to use fireworks in areas outside the downtown village and outside the Rt. 1 Commercial B district – the developed area of Rt. 1 in the valley. Fireworks would not be allowed within 50 feet of town-owned property.
Fireworks would not be allowed on days when the fire danger, as set by the Maine Forest Service, is four or five.
Fireworks would only be allowed between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., except on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, when they would be allowed from 5 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. the next morning.
Once the ordinance has been drafted, the selectmen will review it for possible inclusion on this year’s town meeting warrant.