“FRIDAY
UPDATES”
Friday,
June 11, 2010
Can you identify the crossing guard
in the photograph above taken in 1974?
For motorcycle enthusiasts, Laconia
Motorcycle Week begins tomorrow, Saturday, June 12TH, kicking off a
week filled with “summer thunder” as tens of thousands of motorcyclists flock to
the
In the summer of 2009, the Town of
THE
The Durham Bazaar, a
flea market for residents of the Oyster River Community, will be taking place on
Saturday, June 12th from 9am – 1pm at the Churchill Rink. There
will be over 30 residents selling their wares. Come down and shop for
ceramics, jewelry, comic books, photography, baked goods, clothing and much
more! Enjoy live music by
“THANK
YOU” TO THE DURAM PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES FOR MEMORIAL DAY TREASURE
HUNT
In
addition to thanking all those who participated in Durham’s 2010 Memorial Day
Parade, we would also like to thank the following volunteers who supported the
Durham Public
Library Trustees with the Treasure Hunt held after the parade: Jennifer Lee,
Luci Gardner, Doug Bencks, Charlie Clark, Lisa Pfeiffer, Jean Olsen, The
Community Church, The Historic Association, Dick Lord, Zelda and David Moore,
Sibylle Carlson, Doug and Becky Karo, Jane Carbonneau, Steve Burns, Sara
Mayer, Deborah Mayer, Mary Bencks, Joyce Sheffield, Doug and Mary Maclennan,
Susan Roman, Frank Windsor, and The Treasure Hunt Committee: Andrea Bodo,
Sibylle Carlson, Dudley Dudley, Ed Valena, and Ann
Windsor
Winter
Storm 2010 Debris Collection Report
The total amount of winter storm
damage debris (trees, branches, stumps) that was collected as part of our
curbside pickup this spring and shredded into wood chips was 2,187 cubic yards
(of chips) which cost the Town $37,179 to pick up and shred. In addition,
another 4,297 (chipped)cubic yards of tree debris was brought to the Packers
Falls Pit by residents costing the Town another $34,376. Because of the
good work of the Public Works Department, the vast majority of these costs will
be covered through Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance funds which
will reimburse the community for this cost.
On Monday of this week, the Chair of
the Oyster River Cooperative School Board resigned. To view a series of
three Foster's Daily Democrat
articles and an Editorial dealing with this topic,
visit:
Oyster River School Board chair
resigns, citing “backroom deals”
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100608/GJNEWS_01/706089884/-1/FOSNEWS0102
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100609/GJNEWS_01/706099881/-1/FOSNEWS0102
Vote for new Oyster River School
Board chair delayed until Wednesday: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100610/GJNEWS_01/706109712/-1/FOSNEWS0102
Editorial: OR School Board has much
to explain
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100610/GJOPINION_01/706109821/-1/fosopinion
In addition, Councilors should be
aware that a "blog" is in existence on the web which focuses
specifically upon the ORCSD at http://oysterrivercommunity.blogspot.com/.
NEW
SITE FOR
As noted in last week’s “Friday
Updates”, the Town has entered into a Purchase & Sale
Agreement with Dr. Arthur DiMambro, a local resident, retired physician,
and well-known artist to purchase a 3-acre site to be the new home of the Durham
Public Library. The site is located at
Dr. DiMambro expressed enthusiasm
that his property can be used for a library. This is an exciting development for
the Town which has been searching for years for an ideal site that is close to
the schools and to the downtown business area, has plenty of parking, and is
large enough for a library. This site meets all those criteria and
more.
A Public Hearing to receive input relative to
this proposed site has been scheduled for the Durham Town Council meeting on
Monday, July 12, 2010.
To view the Purchase and
RFP
for Town-Wide Market Analysis in
The Town ultimately received
eleven (11) proposals to perform the market analysis. Director of
Planning & Community Development
2009
Abatement Application Status Update
New Hampshire RSA 76:16 describes
the process by which municipalities either grant or deny abatement
applications. If a municipality does not grant an abatement by July 1st,
that application is automatically denied -- although communities may grant
applications after that date. All Durham 2009 abatement applications
received are currently being reviewed and processed by the Town's contract
assessor from Cross Country Appraisal; however, due to the volume of work
in the Assessing Office, and due to our cost reduction efforts resulting in the
contract assessor being present only 1 day per week (versus 3 days per week in
2008 and 2009), recommendations will not be completed and ready to bring forward
to the Town Council for consideration and action prior to July 1st. The
Town's contract assessor is continuing to move forward with the 2009 property
tax abatement process (as well as appeals from the 2008 revaluation statistical
update) and applicants will be notified once a final determination has been made
regarding their abatement request(s). Following a meeting on Tuesday of
this week with Administrator Selig, our contract assessor anticipates that the
process will be complete by July 30th. Every effort will be made to ensure
that is the case. Abatement decisions by a municipality may be appealed to
the N.H. Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) or Superior Court in
accordance with the procedures outlined in RSA 76:16-a and RSA 76-17.
The deadline to file
and appeal with the BTLA or Superior Court for 2009 abatement applications is
on or before September 1,
2010.
Planned Pilot Reconfiguration of
In an effort to move forward aspects
of the B. Dennis Strategic Plan involving making downtown Durham more
pedestrian-friendly, Administrator Selig asked the Public Works Department to
develop a test/pilot program for implementation this summer along Pettee Brook
Lane which would involve narrowing the traveled way utilizing paint and cones
from two lanes to one, adding a designated bicycle lane, and including an
additional 10 - 20 parking spaces to support downtown businesses along the
left-hand side of the roadway. If the configuration is successful, we would
hope to continue it into the fall and possibly make it a permanent addition to
After much discussion, the following
reconfiguration of
·
The roadway will consist of 17 new
parking spaces all on the southern side of Pettee Brook. Between the
egress of Store 24 and
·
The roadway configuration will
consist of (south to north) parking spaces that will be 10’ wide with a single
12’ travel lane and finally a 6’ bicycle lane for a total of
28’.
·
Signage at the intersection of
·
There will be no fees associated
with this trial parking period. The immediate goal is to determine if this
pattern will function safely and appropriately.
On Friday, June 4, 2010, Town
Administrator
The challenge, established to kick
off the 2010 Census in March of this year, was to see which of the communities
could produce the largest mail-in response.
Courtesy Dave
Cedarholm
The Wiswall Bridge Contractor, R.S.
Audley, is nearing final completion of the new bridge and the Department of
Public Works is planning a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony for Monday,
June 21, 2010 at 11:00 AM on the east side of the bridge. The bridge railings
were installed last week and the approach guard rails should be done by the end
of today. Audley’s road crew has been busy grading the side slopes and
installing the protective rock revetment on the slopes near the abutments.
Final paving, line striping, and installation of signage are schedule for next
week.
BABY
BRAGGING AT THE
Fire Captain David
Emanuel, wife Maria, and big brother Cole welcomed Graham on Monday, June
7th at 10:22 PM. Graham weighed in at 8 pounds. Congratulations to
the Emanuel family.
Garden
at the Smith Chapel
We would like to extend a thank you
to everyone who donated their plants and time to create the gardens at the Smith
Chapel. Plants were donated by Cathy Ferrar, Mark Henderson, Eleanor Lily,
and the
TRANSFER
STATION CLOSED JULY 3RD
The Transfer Station and
Running in today’s Law Enforcement
Torch Run for Special Olympics are
and Kristina Mitchell representing
the Durham PD; Nate Liebenow, Newfields PD; and Sinthy Kounlasa, UNH
employee
Special
Olympics in
The Special Olympics of New
Hampshire will be arriving for their summer games at UNH this weekend.
Preceding the games is the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which is one of the
largest Special Olympics fundraising events in the State. Every branch of
state, municipal, county, and Federal law enforcement has participated in the
Torch Run and raised more than one million dollars since the inception of the
program. In a series of 22 “legs” members of the law enforcement community have
run relays that cover more than 850 miles of
Rash caused
by Lyme disease
Biology
and Management of Ticks in
June is the riskiest time of year
for Lyme disease.
PUBLIC MEETING
SCHEDULE
The following public meeting is
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office. All meetings begin at 7:00 PM and are held in the Council chambers at
the Town Hall unless otherwise indicated below. To view the agenda for the
meeting listed below, please click HERE.
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.
Oyster
River School Board meeting schedule, please click HERE.
Durham
Public Library Board of Trustees meeting schedule, please click HERE.
DCAT
Programming Schedule, please click HERE
Stay current with all Durham P&R
programs by viewing the June Recreation Reminder, please click HERE. Also, visit our website at
http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/COMMUNITY/recreation.html
or on Facebook - search ‘Town of Durham Parks.’
To register for any of the classes
below, please contact Durham P&R Director Michael Mengers at 817-4074, mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us, or visit
the Town Clerk’s Office.
§
Saturday, June 12, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM – The Durham Bazaar. Reserve your spot
today!
§
Wednesday, June 16, Noon to 1:00 PM -
Free Yoga at Wagon Hill
Farm
§
Thursday, June 24, 1:00 PM – Line Dancing begins. Pre-registration
required.
§
Thursday, July 1 – Individual/Family Tennis Lessons.
Call to schedule a lesson.
§
Saturday, July 10 - Children’s Summer Safari
begins!
Courtesy Mike Mengers
GREEN
THUMB GANG AT WAGON HILL FARM
On Saturday, June 5th the Parks
& Recreation Department's Green Thumb Gang planted their plot at the
COMMUNITY
EVENTS
§
June 11, 6:00 PM, ORHS Multipurpose Room:
Drama Club Murder Mystery Dinner.
Tickets are $10 or $5 with a dish to pass.
§
July 5-9, 8:30 – Noon,
§
August 2-6 and August 9-13,
§
Raffle to Benefit UNH Sailing Centre.
For more information, visit www.unh.edu/sailing-club/ or contact
Coach Diana Weidenbacker at 868-5189, dianaw46@comcast.net.
§
9th Annual ORYA Golf
tournament
is being held at Wentworth by the Sea Country Club on Monday June
21st. Registrations forms are available at www.oryarec.org.
Visit our website
at www.durhampubliclibrary.org for
more information.
§
Tue., June 15: Summer Reading Registration
begins for “Make a Splash, Read. Make Waves At Your Library”, a fun 5-week
reading program for children and teens which begins on June 29th
running through July 29th.
§
Wed., June 16, 6:00 – 8:30 PM: McGregor
Memorial EMS CPR and AED Certification class
The Seacoast Water Garden Club is
dedicated to sharing knowledge and information about all aspects of backyard
water gardening. On eight Sunday afternoons throughout the summer, different
club members will open their ponds for public viewing.
“In 1916, some 300 motorcyclists
gathered at
Please drive carefully this week
during Motorcycle Week.
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