New Ipswich residents no longer have to apply for a municipal permit for fireworks displays, after a unanimous vote by the Select Board to rescind the practice in September.

This is a reversal of a previous decision by the board, which previously discussed whether or not to do away with the town’s firework’s permitting process in August. During the August meeting, Selectman Jason Somero brought up the issue, and moved to rescind the permit, a motion which failed to gain a second from either Chair Shawn Talbot or member Lou Alvarez.

Talbot re-visited the discussion after hearing from members of the public, and brought it back to the board for reconsideration – this time, the permit was rescinded by a unanimous vote by the board.

“I don’t really do fireworks myself, but I do like when people can move freely,” Jason Somero said in an interview Tuesday. Jason Somero said he first brought the issue to the board after at least one instance where a resident attempted to file a permit, only to be told he had to file the permit seven days before the display, and was too close to the anticipated date.

“I thought, at that point, this isn’t good,” Jason Somero said.

Jason Somero’s argument for rescinding the permit remained consistent from August – the state already regulates the use of fireworks, and that the town’s permitting process was redundant, and time-consuming for residents.

During that August meeting, the other members of the board were open to ways to make the permit process more permissive, including lowering the $15 permit fee, or reducing the seven-day lead time between submitting a permit and the planned display, but weren’t prepared to eliminate the process fully.

The town’s ordinance, before it was rescinded, required applicants to appear in person before Fire Chief Gary Somero or an authorized designee at least a week prior to the display. The permit must be approved by the fire chief, police chief and Select Board or their designees. Applicants had to be at least 21 and the fireworks in the display acquired from a licensed retailer, and the applicant could only store the quantity of fireworks needed for the display. Displays were required to be completed from the hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The set-off site was required to be a minimum of 50 feet from any structure, overhead utilities, woodland, property line, with a means to extinguish fires nearby.

Gary Somero said in an interview Tuesday that he spoke against revoking the permit totally in August, and still holds that position.

“We didn’t have a problem with them eliminating the fees, but we use [permits] as a tracking indication – where they’re being done and when. Then, we’re able to, say, on a high fire danger day, notify them that they shouldn’t be doing fireworks. We weren’t against fireworks by any means, but we use it as a way to know where they’re at, so if they do have a fire, we know the area we’re headed to,” he said.

The fire chief said the town has had a fireworks ordinance at least a decade.

In August, Police Chief Mike Abel expressed similar sentiments about having permits reducing responses to potential fireworks complaints, if those residents had already been approved for a show.

Talbot, in an interview Tuesday, said he reintroduced the topic after talking to residents about the permit, and weighing the arguments of Gary Somero and Abel.

“I took some time, and considered that it is going against the recommendation of two department heads,” Talbot said.

Talbot said while both Abel and Gary Somero had advised keeping the permit process, the benefits to doing so weren’t highly compelling, considering the protections that were already offered by the state’s laws around fireworks displays.

“The ordinance seemed like it was creating an excess burden that wasn’t necessary,” Talbot said.

While not universal, several towns neighboring New Ipswich have some form of municipal permitting for fireworks, according to the State Fire Marshall’s Office. Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Bennington, Francestown, Peterborough, Sharon and Wilton have no restrictions, in Antrim, they are permissible with some restrictions, and Dublin, Greenville, and Rindge require permits. Locally, only Temple prohibits fireworks altogether.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.