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Friday, December 6, 2019
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DPW staff members Ray LaRoche, Jr. and Sam Hewitt stringing lights on Durham's downtown evergreen in Memorial Park today. Wreaths went up on Thursday, following storm cleanup. Courtesy Todd Selig
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A reminder that this year's Frost Fest (see details in the Parks & Recreation section below) will take place tomorrow evening, Saturday, December 7th, from 6-8 PM on Main Street at Memorial Park in front of Young's Restaurant in downtown Durham.
Santa Claus will be there, the holiday tree will be illuminated the entire time, and the Parks & Recreation Department has been working diligently to organize this event in an inclusive manner per the Town Council's wishes.
It is hoped that those who might have concerns with the changes made the year, who have no opinions about the changes, or who are supportive of the changes, will all come out and participate in the event, will make the very most of it, will partake in the joy and community of one another’s company, and will provide constructive feedback afterward for everyone to consider moving forward and looking ahead to 2020. Such feedback can be forwarded to mailto:council@ci.durham.nh.us.
An article appeared today in the Foster's Daily Democrat concerning this year's Frost Fest and the difficult community conversations that have surrounded it this season. The article is very interesting and can be viewed HERE.
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And with the recent heavy snowfall, please be sure to warn children not to build snow forts in the snow banks along the roadway or within your driveway. As plowing operations take place, snow banks can be winged back and this can cause a potentially catastrophic situation for children at play.
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DOVER ROAD FORCE MAIN PROJECT UPDATE - Coming Soon: Blasting Operations
Blasting operations are scheduled to begin Monday 12-09-19 for a 2 week period. Blasting will start on the portion of the proposed alignment nearest the Wastewater Treatment Plant property. When blasting operations approach Route 4 it will require that traffic be stopped on Route 4 in both directions to protect the traveling public.
Communications will be made with jobsite supervisors and local officials as required to ensure the safest possible operation. Additionally, coordination between this project and the NHDOT Bunker Creek project will be made to ensure that traffic is cleared as efficiently as possible. Appropriate signage, traffic control and police details will be utilized. The blasting contractor has secured a blasting permit from the Durham Fire Department. All work is weather dependent.
Blasting times will generally be in the afternoon and not within rush hour morning or afternoon commutes. Each blast will be preceded by a security check of the affected area and then a series of warning whistles. The warning whistles will follow the following sequence:
3 Audible Signal Pulses – 5 Minutes to Blast
2 Audible Signal Pulses – 1 Minute to Blast
1 Audible Signal Pulses – All Clear
More details will be shared next week via the Town’s Facebook Page and website. We appreciate your patience as we work towards completing this critical infrastructure project.
All questions and comments should be directed to Town Engineer, April Talon at 603-868-5578 or via email at mailto:atalon@ci.durham.nh.us
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LETTER FROM ORCSD SUPERINTENDENT JAMES MORSE - Citizen Committee formed to promote the proposed new middle school in advance of annual school meeting in March
To all interested parties,
I've been asked to inform you that a Citizen's Committee has been formed to promote the passage of the proposed new middle school: "ORMS--Go Vote."
This committee has been established to advocate and raise money to promote the passage of the proposed middle school bond, something that the school district cannot do.
In March 2020, The Oyster River Cooperative School District will be proposing Warrant Article #3 for a $49,842,732 million dollar bond for a new middle school. As many know the current middle school opened in 1936, has served the district well, and is beyond repair.
ORMS - - Go Vote is independent of the school district and can be reached at
mailto:fwolff@comcast.net (Treasurer) mailto:juliesreece@gmail.com (Chair).
Thank you.
Dr. James C. Morse, Sr.
Superintendent
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NO "FRIDAY UPDATES" ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2019
Due to vacation schedules in the Administrator's Office, there will be no "Friday Updates" publication on Friday, December 27th.
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DURHAM TOWN OFFICES HOLIDAY CLOSING SCHEDULE
Below is the Holiday closing schedule for the Durham Town Offices for the remainder of 2019 and beginning of 2020.
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DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PLANS TO PARTIALLY LOWER MILL POND - by 6 inches on or around Dec. 16th
The Department of Public Works plans to partially lower the Mill Pond by approximately 6 inches during the third week of December (on or around December 16, 2019) to perform a dam inspection and subsurface geotechnical work with a floating barge in the pond as part of the Feasibility Study being completed by the Town’s consultant.
On Tuesday, November 26, 2019, a public informational meeting was held in the Council chambers at Town Hall relative to the Oyster River Dam/Mill Pond partial drawdown.
The first public informational meeting for the Dam Feasibility Study will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2020 in Town Council chambers at 7pm. The goal of the meeting will be to introduce the members of the project team, present the scope and projected timeline of the study, and to take questions and comments.
Questions and comments should be directed to Town Engineer April Talon at (603) 868-5578, or mailto:atalon@ci.durham.nh.us
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ORYA OFFICES TO POTENTIALLY MOVE FROM DURHAM'S OLD TOWN HALL/COURTHOUSE TO MADBURY
The Oyster River Youth Association has been utilizing a portion of the first floor of Durham's Old Town Hall/former Courthouse at the corner of Dover Road and Newmarket Road at no cost for many years.
At the present time, ORYA is exploring the possibility of relocating to the Town of Madbury to potentially take up occupancy in the former Madbury Public Library building. Conversations are ongoing between ORYA and the Selectpersons in Madbury. While the co-location of ORYA and Durham Parks & Recreation has been beneficial for many reasons, the space is very tight so it is understandable that ORYA might explore alternative locations.
In the event ORYA were to move, this would enable Durham Parks & Recreation additional space for its use. If the conversations between OYRA and Madbury do not result in a change, the Town is open to allowing ORYA to continue to utilize the existing space at no cost.
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CONGRESSMAN CHRIS PAPPAS HOLDS OPEN OFFICE HOURS AT DURHAM TOWN HALL
On Wednesday, December 18, 2019 from 2:30 - 3:30 in the Durham Town Hall lobby one of Congressman Pappas' Constituent Service Representatives, Christian Seasholtz, will be available to assist constituents with issues they may be facing with a federal agency. Examples may include:
- Veterans benefits
- Social security
- Medicare
- Passports and visa
Christian will be able to answer questions and/or open an inquiry with a federal agency.
Contact: Christian Seasholtz at (603) 918-1033 or mailto:christian.seasholtz@mail.house.gov
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Wear wool, advice from the Great Bay Wool Works flock on Bennett Road. Courtesy Theresa Walker
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THE DURHAM AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION URGES YOU TO EAT FRESH ALL YEAR LONG!
Winter farmers' markets are underway at UNH and in surrounding towns, with local farms and food producers offering fresh food every weekend. There will be indoor markets held at Wentworth Greenhouse in Rollinsford and Rolling Green Nursery in Greenland tomorrow. Check the Seacoast Eat Local website for a list of markets. Winter farmers' markets will be held in the Granite State Room at the UNH MUB on five Thursdays in 2020 - February 13, February 27, March 12, March 26, and April 9, all from 11am to 3pm. So much good food is produced in the Seacoast, mark your calendars!
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PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS TO BE PLACED ON THE MARCH 10, 2020 TOWN ELECTION BALLOT
On Monday, December 2, 2019, the Durham Town Council held a public hearing at its regular meeting relative to various proposed amendments to the Durham Town Charter for placement on the March 10, 2020 Town Election ballot.
For the past several years, the Administrator’s Office has been accumulating various Charter amendments that have been identified as needing to be made. Amendments to the Town Charter were last made in March 2009. In addition, the town’s attorney, Laura Spector-Morgan, has also reviewed the Charter and has identified other areas within the Charter she felt could also be amended.
Below is a link to the draft language and format of amendments that are being recommended by unanimous vote of the Town Council for placement on the Town Election ballot for March 10, 2020. Explanations for each of the recommended changes are provided here for the Council’s information but cannot legally be placed on the election ballot itself.
The most significant change is an increase in the bond threshold requiring a referendum vote of the Town. The current cap of $1,000,000.00 has been in existence since the adoption of the Charter in 1987. One recommended amendment would raise the cap to reflect the rate of inflation since that time, which in today’s dollars would be $2,288,768.96. (Rounded to $2,300,000.00). In essence, $1 million today does not buy what it once did almost 33 years ago.
View the recommended Charter changes HERE.
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DURHAM ENERGY COMMITTEE'S OYSTER RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL DECEMBER UPDATE ON PROPOSED NEW FACILITY – A Light to Learn By
When we consider what we need for learning, good lighting is a fundamental tool that is sometimes overlooked. In terms of energy use, lighting can constitute a significant portion of total building energy consumption.
First, let’s try to get our minds around this:
According to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, approximately 6 percent of the total energy use pie in the home is claimed by lighting and 10 percent of commercial sector electricity is used for lighting. Focused lights can reduce this shrinking slice even further by concentrating the light where we need it. For these situations, anywhere between 10 to 20 Lumens per square foot are typically used. Much, if not most, of our time at home takes place during the evening, when it’s dark outside. But this is not the case at school.
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So, how do our schools use lighting? Well, for one thing, the lighting intensity needs are different in an educational environment. For schools, 30 to 50 Lumens per square foot are recommended, especially over desks and other work surfaces; this amounts to as much as five times the lighting intensity needed in a residential space.
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(Source: Shipley Energy, York, PA)
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Why so much more light intensity in schools? Good lighting helps the brain to focus. Studies show that performance in brightly lit environments exceeds that in dimly lit classrooms; poor lighting can reduce the effectiveness of the brain’s power to gather data.
There are additional considerations for lighting an educational environment. Artificial light can provide the necessary light in a wide range of intensities, from diffuse to very focused light. Artificial light has become quite energy efficient.as it has evolved from the earliest incandescent lighting to state-of-the-art LED lighting. As lighting innovations have taken place, energy consumption per foot candle has been reduced by as much as 90%, with a corresponding decrease in heat rejected to the space, which is especially important during air conditioning.
However, there are issues, mostly around quality of light. Electric lights (artificial light) tend to produce light across a narrow slice of the light spectrum; for instance, fluorescent lighting tends to operate toward the high end of the light spectrum (mostly blue, a little green, not much red), with several variations based on the type of bulb. Cool-white overhead fluorescent light fixtures can also be overly harsh and can cause reflected glare, which can interfere with reading.
On the other hand, natural light is “full spectrum” illumination, which allows all of the colors from deep red to deep violet to be expressed. Some recent articles discuss natural lighting and its positive effects on performance, reducing anxiety and stress and promoting overall good health.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201306/exposure-natural-light-improves-workplace-performance
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/natural-lighting-increases-productivity-0104112/
Lighting and Energy for ORMS
The qualities of full-spectrum natural light in make it the overwhelming first choice for a healthy educational environment, and by a happy coincidence, uses NO electricity to produce. With this in mind, the proposed Oyster River Middle School will emphasize / prioritize natural day-lighting using a combination of skylights, two four-story light wells within the core of the school, and window walls in all perimeter learning spaces. Even where artificial lighting is used, it will be mixed with natural light when available to result in a more full-spectrum experience.
Artificial lighting envisioned for our proposed middle school will adhere to the following basis for lighting design:
- All Lighting will be high efficiency LED and meet IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) standards for learning and other support spaces.
- Lighting will be automatically controlled; the controls will include day-lighting sensors, manual-on / automatic off switches, and dimming controls to reduce energy loads. This will allow for modulating the light intensity to suit lighting needs, avoiding over-or under-illuminating occupied spaces, and conserving electricity.
- Exterior Lighting will utilize photocells to activate lights when needed at dusk and a time clock to automatically turn off lights a scheduled time. These controls will play an important role in optimizing energy use, while maintaining a safe, secure site.
- Exterior Lighting Fixtures will be selected to minimize night-time light pollution.
Lighting in our new middle school will incorporate high efficiency lighting, both artificial and natural, and lighting controls to provide the necessary lighting where and when we need it; this will play an important part in enhancing the learning environment. And when on-site photovoltaic electricity is considered, we will have a lighting system which will be Net Zero, in every sense of the term!
Would you like more information? Host a home presentation!
You can host a neighborhood gathering for an informational meeting on our proposed middle school AT YOUR HOME, presented by our Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Morse. Just call the Oyster River Cooperative School District Office, (603)868-5100, to set up an event!
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DURHAM BUSINESS PARKING PERMITS TO GO ON SALE AT POLICE DEPARTMENT
Downtown businesses have the ability to purchase parking permits that allow them to park in locations that are peripheral to the core downtown. Each year a new color coded hanging permit is offered for sale. The 2020 Business Parking Permits will be going on sale Monday December 23rd and will be effective January 1st, 2020! All downtown businesses will be receiving a hand-delivered notice about next year’s regulations and procedures within the next few weeks.
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Fraternities category 1st place winner, Lambda Chi Alpha. Courtesy DBA
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2019 LIGHT UP DURHAM ANNUAL LIGHTING CONTEST WINNERS
Thank you to all the businesses and UNH Fraternity and Sorority Life members who participated.
Thank you also to Ken Barrows, Assistant Director of the UNH MUB, Gina DeNuzzio, First Seacoast Bank, Lori Roy, People’s United Bank, Thomas Bouchard, UNH Interfraternity Council President, Aislinn Noble, UNH Panhellenic Council vice President, Madison Roy, and Connor Strum for taking the time to judge the contest.
Businesses
First Place: Better Homes and Gardens ~ The Masiello Group
Second Place: Main Street Makery
Third Place: The Candy Bar
Fraternities
First Place: Lambda Chi Alpha
Second Place: Theta Chi
Third Place: Kappa Sigma
Sororities
First Place: Kappa Delta
Second Place: Alpha Phi
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Sororities category 1st place winner Kappa Delta. Courtesy DBA
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SNOW FORTS AND CHILD SAFETY
The safety of children is the top priority of snow plow drivers while clearing streets. Please educate children on the dangers of snow removal and make sure they play safely.
Please remind them to:
- Never build tunnels or snow forts in the snow banks near the street. The force and weight of the snow coming off the plows can collapse the tunnels or forts and harm the child.
- Keep sleds and toys out of the street and away from the edge of the road. Snow banks make it difficult for plow drivers to see children playing in these areas.
- Children should never play near the edge of the road.
- Stay away from the plow. If a plow is on your street, children should stay back at least 20 feet or more from the road. It is best to have children play near the house as the snowplow approaches and stay there until the plow has passed.
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TOWN COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY ASKS INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO CONTINUE TO EVALUATE PAYT TO ADDRESS TRASH/RECYCLING AND BRING FORWARD A PROPOSAL FOR POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTATION FOR FUTURE ACTION BY THE COUNCIL
The Council held continued discussion regarding Pay-As-You-Throw at Monday's Council meeting and by a vote of 7-0 (two members were absent) asked the IWMAC to continue to evaluate a PAYT program for Durham and bring forward a proposal for for Council consideration/action.
Councilor Al Howland, who is the Council's representative to the IWMAC, has prepared a great deal of financial information about a possible PAYT program for Durham. This can be viewed on the Celebrate Durham website HERE.
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DURHAM POLICE ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY
When an organization operates 24/7 it is very challenging to get everyone together for a celebration, even around Christmas time. On Saturday afternoon, members of the agency past and present and their children will come together with the exceptional cadre of volunteers to celebrate the holiday season. The “pot-luck” affair will be held this year at the Durham Library meeting room on the second floor.
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DURHAM POLICE CONDUCT LOW-LIGHT FIREARMS TRAINING
Night training/low-light firearms occurred this past week between the hours of 4PM and 7PM at the Public Works facility on Stone Quarry Drive. While the vast majority of the training consists of classroom exercises, there was approximately an hour +/- of actual periodic discharge of firearms on those nights.
Chief Kurz expressed his appreciation for residents understanding that in spite of a very large berm around the range and the loss of leaves that may deafen the sound, as the weather turns colder the evening shooting may be louder than what you experienced during the summer.
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PROFILE ON THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION'S ZACHARY FANGMAN
The Durham Historic District Commission bids farewell to Zachary (Zac) Fangman. Zac has been a member of the commission for the last year and a half and is relocating now upon his graduation from UNH. He is the first undergraduate that we know of who has served on a Durham land use board.
In January, Zac starts an internship at Disney World in Orlando, Florida as a monorail operator. He has applied to the Savannah College of Art and Design for next fall to pursue a master’s degree in Themed Entertainment Design. His goal is to work for Disney Imagineering as a theme park designer.
View the entire profile on Zac HERE.
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DURHAM SUBMITS APPLICATION TO UNH SUSTAINABILITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM TO UNDERTAKE A GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS STUDY FOR THE COMMUNITY
The week, Administrator Selig submitted an application to the UNH Sustainability Fellowship Program to bring on board a student to assist with developing a greenhouse gas inventory during Summer 2020.
During the summer of 2019, the Town of Durham engaged a UNH Sustainability Fellow to create a climate resilience assessment for the Town, designed to dovetail with resilience planning on the UNH campus, a major economic driver for the community. The resulting report evaluates the Town’s strengths and vulnerabilities in light of future climate scenarios, and offers recommendations for future climate action.
At the most basic level, any municipality concerned with the impacts of climate change on their community should take action to minimize their own contribution to anthropogenic global warming by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting directly from municipal operations as well as those associated with the community at large. While there are numerous ways to go about reducing emissions, identifying the most impactful and cost-effective strategies requires a detailed understanding of the community’s emission sources and relative magnitudes. The foremost recommendation of the 2019 resilience assessment was for the Town of Durham to conduct a GHG inventory to quantify the Town’s emissions, and thereby inform the process of prioritizing GHG reduction strategies.
Based on this recommendation, the Town of Durham proposes to engage a Sustainability Fellow in 2020 to conduct a municipal GHG inventory. To continue the close collaboration between the Town and UNH around climate action planning, we propose to utilize SIMAP, the Sustainability Indicator Management & Analysis Platform. SIMAP, developed at UNH, is an online tool designed to calculate, track, and manage both carbon and nitrogen footprints. UNH, and hundreds of campuses across the country utilize SIMAP not only to evaluate the impact of their GHG emissions on climate change, but also to assess additional environmental impacts related to nitrogen pollution. In 2018, a UNH Sustainability Fellow working with the City of Dover, NH utilized SIMAP to calculate the first-ever combined municipal carbon and nitrogen footprints. We propose to have a Sustainability Fellow employ a similar model to calculate carbon and nitrogen footprints for the Town of Durham, to establish a baseline for reducing the Town’s emissions.
Utilizing the same system to assess emissions inventories for both the Town and campus sets the stage for further integration of the climate action planning processes of Durham and UNH. In addition, a complementary Sustainability Fellowship project with the Oyster River School District (ORSD; Durham, Lee, and Madbury) has been proposed. This project aims to assess emissions specifically related to the schools, using the same system (SIMAP). This will facilitate coordination of the efforts of all of the major entities within the Town of Durham around climate action.
Schools are often a significant component of a municipal inventory, and require a substantial degree of the effort in terms of data collection. If the school district project comes to fruition, the assessment of the schools will be handled by the ORSD Fellow, and it is our hope that the Durham Fellow will be able to complete a Local Government Operations (LGO) inventory as well as a community inventory for the Town of Durham, resulting in a report detailing emissions by municipal facilities as well as the community at large, which will serve as a baseline for evaluating strategies to reduce emissions.
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Recently, the Durham Fire Department was dispatched to RiverWoods to investigate an alarm. While there, Mark Hepp (liaison for RiverWoods to the construction team) took the above photograph of the sunrise. He jokingly mentioned that perhaps Durham FD was missing the real fire, as the sunrise made it appear that the horizon was ablaze.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE ESTABLISHES AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE
At the November 18, 2019 Town Council meeting, Councilor Al Howland briefly updated the Council that the Economic Development Committee had established a Housing subcommittee. Councilor Howland indicated that there has been quite a bit of conversation statewide about affordable housing, and that he had attended some summits on affordable housing as well. The Economic Development Committee decided that although state statutes allow for the creation of a full blown statutory Housing Commission, the EDC felt it would be best to have the Housing Committee as a subcommittee of the EDC.
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REMEMBER, MILL PLAZA IS A PRIVATE PARKING LOT!
The Mill Plaza parking lot is not a public parking lot and if you are not shopping, dining or visiting one of the businesses in the Mill Plaza, your vehicle can be “booted” by employees of Colonial Durham, the management company that oversees Mill Plaza. The Durham Police have been advised by Colonial Durham management that parking lot attendants will be using a mechanical boot on cars that are parked illegally. As this is private property, the use of the mechanical boot is allowed under New Hampshire law, as is the towing of a vehicle from this privately owned lot. New signs have been placed prominently throughout the parking area advising persons of the booting and towing for those not legitimately using the parking lot to conduct business within the plaza. While the Durham Police have had several complaints from persons having their vehicle booted, it is uniquely a civil matter and cannot involve the Durham Police who do not intervene in this private/civil matter.
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RESIDENTIAL MAIL DELIVERY DURHAM WINTER MONTHS - Please be sure to shovel out around your mailbox as shown in the illustration above...
The US Postal Service asks residents to please shovel out access to their mailboxes, whether their mail delivery is curbside along the road or a pathway and up stairs to their house, so that letter carriers can deliver mail safely. In addition, mail carriers aWire out late after dark delivering packages so residents are asked to leave their porch lights on. I've attached the official postal form notice. Customers that don't clear out access to their mailboxes will not receive mail.
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TOWN OF DURHAM FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ACCOUNTS
Did you know that the Town has a Facebook & Twitter account and frequently posts Durham & UNH news, happenings, and articles of interest in our area and the seacoast?
Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
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Durham Parks and Recreation, its Director and Committee, strive to offer a wide range of quality programs, parks, and facilities that encourage all community members to participate in healthy, fun, and enriching activities. Together, they celebrate the essential role public recreation plays in fostering a cohesive and vibrant community.
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DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, December 10th, at 6:30 pm
Family Fun Night! This month: Family Game Night!
Kids, bring your grown-ups and join us for a family game night! We'll have lots of different board and card games to play. We will even do some BINGO and have some prizes!
Classic Holiday Film Series
December 11th | Holiday Affair
December 18th | It's a Wonderful Life
All are welcome. Popcorn served.
It's Library fine Amnesty Time! until December 18th
Drop off a new, unwrapped toy for the firefighters,Toy Drive.
Let a staff member know you donated and to waive your fines!
Does not apply to lost items
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*Academic year commences the third week of August through graduation at UNH in May.
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HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL - A Brief History of Durham, NH 1600 - 1976 (A little volume that was the Heritage Project of the Durham Historic Association Bicentennial celebration)
Preface - "Since before God made the first little green apples, oysters have probably been growin in the Oyster River; and some of the largest and juiciest to be found anywhere in the world are still growing here today. The following vignettes from rollicking history of Durham town on the Oyster River are therefore presented between the shells of an oyster."
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1946 - St. George's Church was established as a mission of the Episcopal Diocese. In early years services were held in Ballard Hall. The present church was constructed in 1954. It was pictured in Life Magazine and also received an award as the outstanding small church in America.
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Have a very nice weekend.
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Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham, NH
a: 8 Newmarket Rd., Durham, NH 03824 USA
t: 603.868.5571 | w: www.ci.durham.nh.us
He/him/his pronouns
Everyone can tackle climate change. How can you reduce your carbon footprint?
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