Borough settles on new site for fireworks

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Residents line Millville Avenue in Naugatuck last Fourth of July to watch the annual fireworks show held at Naugatuck High School. This year’s show will be held on Rotary Field at Breen Park due to renovations planned for the high school. –RA ARCHIVE
Residents line Millville Avenue in Naugatuck last Fourth of July to watch the annual fireworks show held at Naugatuck High School. This year’s show will be held on Rotary Field at Breen Park due to renovations planned for the high school. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — While not at Naugatuck High School this year, Naugatuck’s annual fireworks show will still mark Independence Day with a bang.

The planned renovations at the high school, which are set to start next month, will make it impossible for the borough to host the fireworks and festival there this year.

Public Works Director Jim Stewart said, during the Board of Mayor and Burgesses meeting last week, officials have been looking into different properties that would be able to host the show.

Among the sites the borough looked at was the Chemtura Corporation site on Spencer Street.

“They had their attorneys look at it and declined the opportunity to have the fireworks on their site,” Stewart said.

After looking at other sites, the department ultimately decided to hold the show on Rotary Field at Breen Park.

Spectators could view the show from the Breen North facility, Stewart said.

The show, which is scheduled for July 3 with a rain date of July 5, will have some slight modifications, due to its new location, Stewart said.

Recreation Director Kim Eyre explained in an interview this week the show will not include ground fireworks because of limited visibility. While the airborne fireworks will be able to be seen from downtown, the ground fireworks would be blocked by trees and a bridge, she said.

The borough also still plans to continue with its traditional July 4 events. However, the events will be moved from the high school to downtown.

Eyre said that the borough is still working out the details of the events, but they will be similar to what was held at the high school, which included a DJ, clowns, and vendors.

“It’s still going to be an outstanding show,” Eyre said.

The show will once again be put on by the fireworks company Pyrotecnico.

The show costs $13,500. The borough will pay for $10,000 of the cost while the remaining $3,500 will be paid for through fund raising.

Stewart said the borough received two bids for the show, one being from Pyrotecnico, which put on the borough’s fireworks show last year, and has done the fireworks for the past few years under a different name.

“I ran the numbers and the difference between the bids were about $100. The other bidder provided better fireworks by $100, but they don’t meet the $10 million insurance requirement,” Stewart said.

Burgess Ron San Angelo said that he was pleased that Pyrotecnico was doing the fireworks again this year for the borough.

“They do a great job,” San Angelo said.