The Newcastle Board of Selectmen met with Newcastle Fire Chief Clayton Huntley Nov. 28 to discuss fireworks regulation.
The state law legalizing fireworks, signed by Gov. Paul LePage July 1, will take effect Jan. 1.
Huntley, a 41-year veteran of the Newcastle Fire Department, said only one fire in his tenure – a brush fire four or five years ago at Dodge Point – has been attributable to fireworks.
Huntley didn’t make a firm recommendation. “I can’t say we’ve had problems with them” in the past, when people bought fireworks illegally, he said. Now, however, in the wake of legalization, “if we showed an increase in grass and brush fires, I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he said.
Selectwoman Pat Hudson advocated for an ordinance identical or similar to Damariscotta’s. “Otherwise, people are going to be crossing the bridge and shooting them off in Newcastle,” she said.
Damariscotta officials have expressed a desire to limit the use of fireworks downtown, from the intersection of Bristol Road and Main Street to the Damariscotta-Newcastle bridge. The town has yet to propose an ordinance.
Newcastle Selectman Ben Frey suggested a joint workshop with the Damariscotta and Newcastle selectmen, fire and police officials and the public.
The selectmen discussed the issues of enforcement, noise and public safety and weighed the possibility of limiting fireworks in design review districts to avoid the potential for damage to historic structures.
Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier said he would work with other municipal officials to determine neighboring towns’ actions on the issue. He’ll also collect data about fireworks-related accidents, fires and other emergencies in New Hampshire, where fireworks are already legal.
Grenier, the selectmen and Newcastle Hiring Committee members Malcolm Blanchard and Lynn Maloney met with Damariscotta interim Town Manager Don Gerrish to discuss the ongoing search.
Gerrish works for Eaton Peabody, a firm that provides interim management and consulting services in the search and hiring process.
Gerrish offered to look at the applications free of charge. “I know a lot of the candidates out there and I’ve already done background checks on a lot of them,” he said. “I’ll know 20 of [the candidates], if not 25, that have applied elsewhere I’ve worked.”
Gerrish also agreed to provide an estimate for background and reference checks and contract negotiations in time for the Dec. 8 meeting of the Hiring Committee.
The longtime Brunswick town manager also volunteered a piece of his hiring philosophy. “It’s not always the person that’s the most educated, that has the most experience,” Gerrish said. “It’s that person who fits into your community.”
The truck in Juchnik’s neighborhood, on West Old County Road, didn’t plow the whole road, Juchnik said, leaving him to complete the job. The plow also knocked down two or three mailboxes and gouged a tree on the way out, he said.
Hagar Enterprises is plowing Newcastle’s roads for the first time this year. “It’s going to take a little time to get the wrinkles out,” Hudson said.
The selectmen encouraged Juchnik and any other citizen experiencing a similar problem outside of normal business hours to contact a board member.
Huntley added the contractor forgot to plow the Sheepscot fire station. Foote said the Academy Hill Road sidewalk near Day’s Emporium didn’t receive adequate attention.
Overall, the town received “a sizable number of complaints,” Grenier said, including additional complaints about damage to mailboxes and neglect of some roads.
Grenier plans to invite Newcastle Road Commissioner Steve Reynolds and a representative of the contractor to attend the selectmen’s Dec. 12 meeting to discuss the matter.
In other business, the selectmen met with Central Lincoln County School System (AOS 93) Superintendent Steve Bailey and Newcastle School Board members Mark Doe and Bill Walton.
The officials talked about the budget process and Grenier encouraged the School Board members to set up occasional visits to update the selectmen on education issues.
The selectmen voted 4-0 to appoint Lee Emmons to the Newcastle Planning Board. Emmons is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service, where he studied land use, Grenier said.
The Planning Board still has one vacancy for an alternate.
