“Friday
Updates”
August
7, 2009
The Captain Edward H.
Adams Gundalow at
The
Tall Ships visit
SAFTY CONCERNS AT
MORGAN WAY/ROUTE 4 INTERSECTION
Police Chief
David Kurz and Public Works Director
Michael Lynch have been working
on behalf of the residents of the Morgan Way
On August
3rd, Mike Lynch and Chief Kurz met with NHDOT District
Engineer Doug DePorter, BPCA representative Jim Marshall, and Michael Dugas
who is the Chief of Preliminary Design for NHDOT.
Mr. Dugas
brought with him a proposed plan that would insert an eleven (11) foot eastbound
turning/queue lane while maintaining the current travel lanes and shoulders,
which we know is important for safe turning into the private residential
driveways on the south side of Route 4. While it is believed that
there is sufficient right-of-way to increase the paved roadway width, especially
on the north side of Route 4, surveying will need to be accomplished to confirm
this opinion. If placed on the state construction schedule, the
funding mechanism would require that Durham
There was significant discussion
regarding the placement of this project on the state’s budgetary
schedule. While it is possible that the funding would allow for
construction in 2012, there is no certainty due to the current economic
environment. As with previous meetings, the state inquired if the
Town would be interested in considering swapping the scheduled
off-ramp signalization (traffic light) enhancement at Route 108 and Route 4
for the turn lane at
Ultimately it was decided
that Mr. Lynch would develop a cost estimate ($350,000 +/-) and he
would submit the project to the Town Administrator for inclusion in
the draft Durham Capital Improvement Project (CIP) budget for 2010 for Mr.
Selig's consideration. Simultaneously, Mr. Lynch would submit
the project to the NHDOT for consideration, which is simply a formality that
will place the project on a “list”.
During initial budget review
with the Town Administrator and Business Manager
On Tuesday, August 18,
2009. the Town will hold a bond referendum from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
at the
The existing Dover Road Pump Station
is the small brick building that sits between
By locating the new pump station on
the same site it will allow the existing pump station to continue to operate
uninterrupted throughout the project.
The ballot question
reads:
Are
you in favor of raising and appropriating $1,231,055 for the Dover Road Pump
Station Rehabilitation Project to improve equipment deficiencies and other
operational problems, and of authorizing the issuance of not more than
$1,231,055 of bonds or notes in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal
Finance Act, RSA Chapter 33, and further authorizing the Town Council to issue
and negotiate such bonds or notes and to determine the rate of interest
thereon? Of said funds, $615,527 is to be funded through the State
Revolving Loan Fund and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with
$615,528 to be raised by taxation. 2/3 ballot vote
required.
YES
_____
NO _____
Questions
concerning the Dover Road Pump Station Rehabilitation Project Special Election
Bond Referendum should be directed to Business Manager
ASSESSING
RFP
Monday was Assessor
For the last two years,
"The
Town of
In addition to looking
at potential contract-out arrangements with assessing firms, we are also
interested in exploring the pool of candidates available within the marketplace
to potentially bring on as an internal municipal assessor, perhaps
full time or perhaps part-time. To this end, we will manage the
announcement and review of applicants jointly with the Town of
Promotional
Film of
The Town of
LABOR
NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN
The Town of
2010-2019
CAPITAL IMPROVEMNENTS PLAN (CIP)
This week the Business Manager and
Town Administrator began to meet with departments regarding the preparation of
the 2010-2019 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). Development of a CIP is part of
the annual budget process and typically consists of larger projects or purchases
over the next ten years. The Business Manager and Town Administrator are
tentatively scheduled to meet with the Planning Board to discuss the Capital
Improvement Plan on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, with a follow up meeting
scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2009 if
necessary.
STUDENT
RENTALS IN SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS
This week on Thursday afternoon
representatives from the University hosted a meeting with the incoming student
body, President and Vice President, representatives from the Durham Police
Department, the Code Enforcement office, residents from the Cowell Drive
neighborhood, Paul Burton, Chair of the Rental Housing Commission, and Mr. Selig
to discuss issues surrounding the implications of student rentals within
traditional single family neighborhoods involving non-owner occupied single
family properties. Problems and potential solutions were discussed.
HOW TO ADDRESS
ISSUES ASSOCITED WITH SINGLE FAMILY, NON-OWNER OCCUPIED STUDENT RENTALS?
When student housing becomes
problematic within a traditional single family neighborhood, it is more
often than not the result of an absentee landlord who rents a single family,
non-owner occupied property to students who attend the University. As
such, the Administrator has been asked on numerous occasions and in many forums
over the last several months whether it would be possible to create an
annual permit program that focuses exclusively on single family, non-owner
occupied student rentals. In conferring with the Town's legal
counsel, it is believed that the Town could
adopt such a permitting system that is limited to rental units in single family
homes that are not owner occupied as long as the Town can express a valid reason
for regulating only this type of housing. If there is an interest on the
part of the pubic in pursuing such a program, the appropriate forum at this
juncture would be the Durham Rental Housing Commission. (See next item on the
Rental Housing Commission).
WHAT IS THE
The Town of
During the last several weeks of
August students begin to arrive in preparation for the 2009-10 academic year.
Those students that have rental units in
Moving days that coincide with the
regular work week are somewhat of a “Perfect Storm” for the police as the
downtown will be busy with open business, commercial deliveries, and normal
traffic. The normal road infrastructure will likely be overwhelmed with parents
dropping off children and attempting to navigate through unknown streets.
With Labor Day a week later this
year and a home football game scheduled for Saturday, September
5th as part of the long-weekend the
police department anticipates significant challenges and long work hours as
students remain at school for the three day Labor Day weekend. Anytime
there is an injection of roughly 13,000 addition residents or guests to the
community, the majority of whom are under the age of 21, we anticipate the
situation will place additional demands on the Police Department, Fire
Department, and the Public Works Department.
NH
ECONOMY IS RANKED “HEALTHIEST IN THE NATION”
For the fifth year in a row,
NH
CHRONICLE AIRS GEOCACHING FOR FAMILIES
NH Chronicle followed a
Anyone with a GPS
device can then try to locate the geocache. More information on geocaching is
available on http://www.geocaching.com/.
PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE
The following public meeting is
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office and will begin at 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated
below.
Town Council (Work Session) –
Monday, August 10, 2009
Zoning Board of Adjustment – August
11, 2009
Conservation Commission – August 13,
2009
Economic Development Committee –
7:30am August 14, 2009
To view the agenda for the meeting
listed above, please click HERE. All meetings
recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library for checkout
and viewing.
To view the Oyster River School Board meeting schedule,
please click HERE.
The Durham Public Library Board of Trustees
meet every third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Durham Public
Library. All are welcome to attend. To view the Trustees meeting schedule,
please click HERE.
To view a listing of the DCAT
programming schedule, please click HERE
TOWN
COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MUNICIPAL FACILITY/NEEDS
On Monday August 10, 2009, Durham
Town Council will hold a work session focusing on potential location for various
municipal purposes/needs. The meeting begins at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers
and can be viewed live on DCAT.
SPIES
IN TIME IN FILM
Presented by resident and UNH
Professor Emeritus, Doug “007” Wheeler,
Tuesday, September 15, 7:00 pm - "Spies in Time in Film" introduces the themes
and contexts of selected great Spy Films at the Durham Public Library. They
include the matchless The 39 Steps of John Buchan, John LeCarre's The Spy Who
Came in from the Cold, and Three Days of the Condor, a film about a CIA
operation gone wrong. Film clips will be shown along with discussion of the
evolution of secret Intelligence. Q&A will follow. Join
“Wheeler,...Doug Wheeler” for an informative and entertaining
evening.
GREAT BAY ROWING
OFFERS ADULT ROWING CLINIC
Workshop: August 24 - 28; from 5 to
7pm. Meet & Greet BBQ: Friday,
August 28 at 7pm for master’s and
workshop attendees. More information can be
found online at www.greatbayrowing.org or emailing greatbayrowing@comcast.net.
Only
one left -
Please join members of the
THE
The Lamprey
River Advisory Committee is looking for a few good kids to participate in a
preliminary/practice run for the NH Dragonfly Survey. The state is trying to
determine what dragonflies live where. The Lamprey River Advisory Committee
hopes to lead a full program during the upcoming school year, but summer time is
a wonderful opportunity to introduce kids and their parents to the fun of
spending some quality time with these winged jewels.
If you are
aware of a few kids who have an interest in nature and/or science and might
enjoy an excursion to the riverbanks of the Lamprey, please inform them of this
opportunity. The committee is especially interested in kids who will be
entering fourth through sixth grade. There is no cost to participate and the
sampling date will be determined by consensus among those who sign up. Please
email rgrims@gwi.net.@gwi.net. You can also register at the
Circulation Desk.
WISWALL INTERPRETATIVE COMMITTEE
INVITES THE COMMUNITY
Come and join the Wiswall
Interpretive Committee for its first organizing meeting on Thursday, August 13,
2009 at 7 p.m. at the Durham Police Station meeting room on Route 108 in
FRIENDS
OF THE
The Friends of the Durham Public
Library is a non-profit group of volunteers from the community who are
passionate about the Library and all it has to offer our town. Friends
meet every third Wednesday of the month at 1:30 PM at the Durham Public
Library.
JOIN
THE
The public library is recruiting a
few book lovers to volunteer their time and energy to regularly check our
shelves to make sure things are in their proper order. This is especially a
great opportunity for teens who would like to gain community volunteer
experience that looks great on college applications! Call the Library for more
information at 868-6699 or stop by and speak to
FREE
AND DISCOUNTED PASSES TO AREA MUSEUMS AVAILABLE!
Looking for something fun to do
before the summer ends? The Durham Public Library has passes to area museums
that offer library patrons discounted admission. Visit the
For a complete listing of the
libraries programs and more information, please visit our website, www.durhampubliclibrary.org
For a complete listing of the
libraries programs and more information, please visit our website, www.durhampubliclibrary.org and click on
Calendar.
LIBRARIANS
BOOK CLUB
If you love to read and you are not
involved in a book club and would like to be, perhaps this is the one for you!
This month the Librarians Book Club will be reading Out Stealing Horses, a New
York Times Bestseller by Pers Pettersen. Copies will be available at the
circulation desk.
H
& R BLOCK TAX TALK
Thinking of buying your first
home? Make sure you’re prepared before you start the home buying process.
1st Time Homebuyers may be interested in this program offered by the Durham
Public Library, Wednesday, September 9, 6:30 8:00 pm. More information will be
available at a later date, please visit our website, www.durhampubliclibrary.org
FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976
“1929 – Miss Charlotte Thompson
“Aunt Lottie,” was the beloved and respected librarian of the
Have a nice
weekend.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us
The Town of