Selectmen are ready to clean up things with the junk dealers in town.

After Selectman Steve Holmes recently discovered a number of dealers operating in town without a junk dealer license, he spurred the board to propose a bylaw change to Town Meeting to create more licenses.

On Tuesday, Selectmen wrote a last-minute item for the April 27 Special Town Meeting agenda. It asks Town Meeting to raise the number of available junk licenses in town from five to 25.

Even though there is a possibility for more junk licenses, Holmes said the junk dealers who are currently operating illegally aren't safe.

"Tomorrow, I'll be calling the Inspectional Services department and these buildings will need to be shut down," Holmes said at Tuesday's meeting. "They're operating illegally in our town and they need to be shut down."

Holmes said that last weekend, he discovered eight junk shops in Wareham (all on Cranberry Highway) where individuals were selling second hand-items without the proper license.

To sell "junk items" in a shop in Wareham, you need a junk dealer license. Selectmen have the ability to issue five junk dealer licenses. Currently, all five have been issued. The fifth was given last October to Charles Lewis, who operates a junkyard at 3245 Cranberry Highway. There were a number of stipulations in Lewis' approval, since his operation was cited for numerous health violations and considered an eyesore by Selectmen.

Even if Town Meeting approves the bylaw change, it doesn't mean Selectmen must approve 25 junk dealers licenses. In fact, they don't have to approve any licenses if they choose and can revoke a license at any time.

The next step for Holmes, who was made something of a "junk czar" by the board, will be to bring forward ideas for guidelines on what Selectmen want to see in a junk dealer application.

Applications might be coming in sooner rather than later, as Holmes said he hopes to schedule a hearing with Lewis on the state of his junkyard, which has appeared to have once again fallen into disarray.