Friday Update August 07, 2009

“Friday
Updates”

August
7, 2009

 

 

The Captain Edward H.
Adams Gundalow at Jackson’s Landing

 

The
Tall Ships visit Portsmouth this weekend. The Captain Adams
Gundalow will greet the tall ships as they sail into Portsmouth today.
For more
information please visit: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090611-NEWS-90611016

 

 

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 neighborhood to improve the
safety features of the intersection with Route 4 for the past year.  Route
4 is a state roadway and as such the Town is governed
by N.H. Department of Transportation (NHDOT) protocol and rules
regarding virtually every aspect of maintenance, improvements, and even the
placement of signs.  During this period, Chief Kurz and
Director Lynch have had numerous conversations with the NHDOT district
engineer and the NHDOT Bureau of Planning and Community Assistance (BPCA),
about their conclusion that this is a challenging intersection that
requires adjustments for the insertion of an eastbound turn lane on Route
4.

 

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 would pay 1/3 while the State would be
responsible for 2/3 of the total cost including engineering and
design.

 

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 Morgan
Way.  While the Town made it clear that the
signalization of the off-ramp was a critically important enhancement for the
entire region, Durham was not attracted to “an either or”
scenario as both initiatives have considerable merit.  The discussion
reverted to another alternative discussed previously whereas the Town
would perhaps pay the entire project costs up front and then, once
the state construction was scheduled to occur, the NHDOT would
reimburse the Town of Durham for two-thirds of the project
expenses.  While this was an interesting option addressing the safety
issues of the intersection, a project estimated at several hundreds of thousand
dollars would require inclusion in the Town’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
and ultimately approval as part of the annual budget process.  Residents
should note that this project is not presently listed as part of the Town's 10
year CIP Plan.

 

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 Gail Jablonski, the case will be made to move the
project forward with Town funds on a state roadway (an unusual
occurrence) with a projected state reimbursement in the future.  If
accepted and forwarded to the Town Council for their consideration as part of
the proposed 2010 CIP, there would be opportunity for the residents of
Morgan
Way and other community members to discuss the
project during a public hearing on the budget.

 

DOVER
ROAD
PUMP STATION BOND REFERENDUM

On Tuesday, August 18,
2009. the Town will hold a bond referendum from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
at the Oyster River High
School located on Coe Drive in Durham to request authorization
for borrowing a low interest loan through the NH State Revolving Loan Fund
for the rehabilitation of the Dover Road Wastewater Pump Station in the amount
of $1,231,055. The Town has received a Federal stimulus grant from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act covering half the $1,231,055 project cost or
approximately $615,000.  The residual $615,528 will be funded through
the Sewer Fund which is shared 1/3 Durham, 2/3 UNH.  The Town Charter
currently requires a referendum vote for any bond or loan exceeding
$1,000,000.

 

The existing Dover Road Pump Station
is the small brick building that sits between Dover Road (Route 108) and the Oyster River near the outlet of Beards Creek. It
was built in 1964 and operates 24 hours per day and 7 days per week continuously
pumping virtually all of Durham’s wastewater to the Wastewater Treatment
Plant. On average the pump station conveys 1.2 million gallons per day (MGD) of
wastewater and up to 7 MGD during heavy rain storms. This pump station is one of
the most critical pieces of infrastructure in the Town’s wastewater
system.  It still contains the three original 50 horse power pumps which
all been rebuilt several times each. The building has a number of operational
issues, including a leaky flat roof, outdated electrical controls, poor
ventilation, and a wet well almost impossible to maintain. The pumps are located
in dank basement area with restricted access.  The rehabilitation project
is proposed to include the construction of a new submersible wastewater pump
station with a self cleaning trench style wet well located underground and
immediately next to the existing building. The existing building will house the
new electrical controls and is slated to receive a more architecturally
interesting (and functional) gabled roof.  

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 Gail Jablonski at 868-8043, gjablonski@ci.durham.nh.us.

 

ASSESSING
RFP

Monday was Assessor
Robb Dix's last day with the Town of
Durham so I
wanted to bring you up to date on how we are moving forward in filling this
functional vacancy.  Last week, Durham put out an RFP for Assessing Services so
that we'll be able to compare and contrast the cost/benefit of contracting out
the assessing function versus retaining our own internal employee as in the
past.  The RFP can be found on line at: http://ci.durham.nh.us/generalpdfs/RFP/2009/Assessing%20Services%20RFP%20Draft%20072009.pdf. 

 

For the last two years, Durham has shared its assessor with the Town of Lee.  As such, the
Scope of Services section within the RFP states:

 

"The
Town of Durham has partnered with the Town of
Lee, New Hampshire over the course of the last two
years in providing shared assessing services to the two communities through an
Intermunicipal Agreement. As part of this Request for Proposal, the Town of
Durham may discuss with qualified firms the
possibility of continuing this arrangement for shared assessing services with
the Town of Lee
by working with an independent contractor."

 

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 Lee. The announcement
can be found at durham.nh.us/EMPLOYMENT/employment.html

 

 

 

 

Promotional
Film of Durham
NOW ON TOWN WEB SITE

The Town of Durham’s promotional video
is now available for viewing on the Town web site, www.ci.durham.nh.us. To view the video,
click on the icon on the left side of the Home page, then press the triangle
play button when the video is displayed. To view the video in full screen mode,
click on the icon next to the word “vimeo”. The screen will go blank but please
wait for approximately 12 seconds before the video begins.  To date, almost 700 people have viewed the film
on-line.

 

LABOR
NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN

The Town of Durham has Collective
Bargaining Agreements with four labor units representing various populations
within our staff as well as a group of non-unionized personnel.  Three of
these contracts (Public Works Employees, Firefighters, and Middle Managers) are
set to expire on December 31, 2009.  This week the Towns negotiating
team sat down with representatives from the Durham Professional Fire Fighters
Association to commence discussions. Next week the Towns negotiating team will
begin discussions with the Durham  Middle Mangers Association. The
collective bargaining process is a very time-intensive process for both labor
and management bargaining teams.

 

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. 

 

Durham residents may be interested in the
UNH Community Guide 2009 which provides helpful resources for students choosing
to live off campus. Page 23 of the guide provides important regulations to know
about Durham,
which may be of particular interest to residents located in close proximity to
student rentals.  http://www.unhmub.com/off_campus/pdf/CGuide.pdf

 

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
DURHAM RENTAL
HOUSING COMMISION?

The Town of Durham Rental Housing
Commission is charged generally with addressing and
resolving on a continuing basis public policy issues associated with rental
housing.  The Commission shall facilitate enforcement of Town ordinances
regarding rental housing and foster positive communication between all
constituent groups represented on the Commission.  For more information
about the Rental Housing Commission, to go http://ci.durham.nh.us/GOVERNMENT/Commissions/rental/rental_members.html. 

 

DURHAM POLICE STRATEGY
FOR UNH OPENING

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 Durham begin to appear throughout the month
but, in earnest during the last two weeks in August. On Friday August
28^th approximately 3,000 incoming freshman assisted by their parents
and siblings will move into dormitories.

 

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,
New Hampshire
has been named "Healthiest in the Nation" by the Ann E. Casey Foundation. Check
out this report reprinted from today's Portsmouth Herald:  http://www.childrenshealthne.org/
Study: N.H. the healthiest state for kids.

 

NH
CHRONICLE AIRS GEOCACHING FOR FAMILIES

NH Chronicle followed a Durham family (The Vannata's) on a geocaching excursion in
the Durham area on Tuesday 8/4/09 7:30 PM Ch 9
WMUR ABC New
Hampshire The episode is available to view on their
website http://www.wmur.com/chronicle/index.html after
it airs. Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A
geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS
technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online.

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.

 

DURHAM CABLE ACCESS
TELEVISION PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

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
YOUTH ROWING CAMP

Great
Bay Rowing will
be hosting its second youth rowing camp from August 17-21 from 11:00am to
3:00pm.  There are still spots available. 

 

GREAT BAY ROWING
OFFERS ADULT ROWING CLINIC

Great
Bay Rowing is
also pleased to announce an Adult Rowing Clinic.  This week long workshop
is for adults interested in experiencing the sport of rowing. No experience is
necessary. The adult workshop week will end with an evening BBQ with the
GBR Master’s (adult rowers) as a meet and greet social
event.

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 - THURSDAY NIGHT PARK
PICNIC HOSTED BY DURHAM PARKS & RECREATION
COMMITTEE
Please join members of the
Durham
Parks and Recreation
Committee at our fifth “Thursday Night Park Picnic” for townspeople this
summer.  Every other Thursday, a location has been selected where people
can bring a picnic and any games, etc., they would like to play or
share. The next picnic location will be at Jackson’s Landing on August 20.  The
wonderful playing fields will be available for a variety of games, as well as
the tennis courts, skateboard park, and a fantastic playground. Games such as
volleyball will also be set up in advance, but feel free to bring your favorites
along as well.  It is intended to be a very casual event, with no specified
times or requirements beyond getting together after 5:00 PM and meeting more of
the members of our great community.  Come alone or in groups and join in
the fun. Please contact the Parks & Recreation Committee at durhamparksandrec@yahoo.com with
any questions or suggestions for other locations you would like to see utilized
for these gatherings. Given the venue, consider the event canceled if it is
raining.  Hope to see you there!

 

THE
LAMPREY
RIVER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SEEKS DRAGONFLY IDENTIFICATION CHILDREN HELPERS

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
Durham. Please feel free to bring a friend
who might be interested in working on a Winswall Park historical exhibit, or interpreting
the dam and the fish ladder that will be placed there, or the old mill whose
foundations are still visible, or the park that is still in the planning
stages.  Call Sharon Meeker, 659-5441, chair, Lamprey River Advisory
Committee with questions and suggestions.

 

FRIENDS
OF THE DURHAM
PUBLIC LIBRARY

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 DURHAM
PUBLIC LIBRARY SHELF PATROL

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 Nancy.

 

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 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Strawberry Banke, The Children’s
Museum of New
Hampshire, The Currier Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine
Arts in Boston, the Boston
Children’s Museum, and the Museum of
Science in Boston. You can reserve
your pass through our website (http://durhampubliclibrary.org/museums.html)
or call the library for more information.

 

DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY
CHILDREN'S AND TEENS PROGRAMS

For a complete listing of the
libraries programs and more information, please visit our website, www.durhampubliclibrary.org

 

DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY
OFFERS PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS 

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 Durham and NHC libraries
for 34 years.  The children’s room in Hamilton Smith Library and now in
Diamond Library was named in her honor.  She was short of stature but long
on dignity.

 

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 Durham has developed a list
server. The server provides interested individuals with updates and
announcements concerning the community. Individuals interested in subscribing
should send an email to Town_of_Durham@ci.durham.nh.us and
type the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line