“FRIDAY
UPDATES”

Friday,
February 4, 2011

 

 

Downtown Durham was very quiet
during the most recent snow storm on Wednesday of this
week.

Courtesy
Todd
Selig

 

As if we haven’t had enough snow
already…another system will be moving through tomorrow afternoon and evening
which could drop another 3-6” of snow on the southern half of New
Hampshire.

 

2010
Employee Salary Information

A 2010 report of annual Durham employee gross
wages and taxable benefits is currently available on the Town web site. To view
the 2010 report click HERE. 
Gross wages include: overtime, special detail pay, merit pay, holiday
pay, sick leave bonus pay, longevity pay, insurance credit, and miscellaneous
stipends. Taxable benefits include: short and long-term disability payments, car
allowance, and matching retirement deductions.

                               

While the Town is under no
obligation to create a report that is not already on file, it is important to
facilitate the release of this information in an easily understandable format
for residents. Employee titles were added to make it easier for the lay
person to understand.  The report also includes elected officials who
receive a stipend for service.

 

Oyster
River Cooperative School
District
Advisory Budget Committee (ABC) Update

The Oyster River School District
Annual Meeting, Deliberative Session, is scheduled for next Tuesday, February
8^th at 7 PM in the High School Auditorium.  This important
meeting gives every registered voter in Durham, Lee, and Madbury an opportunity to make
amendments to the Warrant Articles and voting occurs throughout the
evening. 

 

School Board members will explain
the Warrant Articles that deal with the collective bargaining agreement between
the Teachers' Guild and the School Board, the capital improvement items, the
appropriation of funds to two separate expendable trust funds, and raising funds
for the operating budget ($37,424,552).  Recommendations or revisions to
the budget can be made at this meeting. If the proposed operating budget in
Article 8 fails after this meeting, when voted on March 8, the operating budget
shall be the Default Budget of $37,155,241 (same as last year with certain
adjustments). 

 

The election to approve the School
District Warrant Articles and select new School Board members will occur March
8, 2011 in the respective towns.

 

The posted FY2011-2012 budget for
the Oyster
River Cooperative School
District can be reviewed by going to Google Docs for
the full budget data as well as visual graphs and charts of the data.  The
links to the budget documents are:

 

Budget Visualization:
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ATacA8zqQKh3ZDdyZjR2d18xdmg5aG44Zw&authkey=COPi0p4I&hl=en

 

Full Budget Data:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AjacA8zqQKh3dDl3bWJETHYtcXNRQ09xMUlCZzZLMHc&hl=en&authkey=CL3rjeoF

 

The ABC report submitted to the
School Board on 1/3/11 is posted on the district website www.orcsd.org under School Board SubCommittees
at http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=103&Itemid=203

 

Additional budget information
including the School District Warrant may be gleaned at the ORCSD web site at http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=83&Itemid=181
. 

 

Annual
Evaluation Process for Administrator

On January 24, 2011 the Town Council
discussed the annual performance evaluation of Administrator
Todd Selig. Three categories:
Ability to maintain or improve strong
relationships, Financial
oversight and Initiative received very good to excellent
ratings. And two categories: Leadership and Other received good to very good ratings.
Averaging these ratings, Mr. Selig received a score of 4.17 (5=Excellent,
4=Very Good, 3=Good, 2=Acceptable, 1=Unacceptable). Last year, 2009, Mr.
Selig received an average of 3.83. Out of the 23 categories rated by the
Council, there was improvement in 20 categories.  Two categories
decreased:  "Financial Performance of the Town" went from 4.4 in 2009 to
4.3 in 2010; "Provides clear guidance to the Council on all issues" went from 4
in 2009 to 3.7 in 2010.  One category remained the same:  "Improved
Performance of Town Staff " remained at a score of
3.   

 

Although this information is allowed
to be kept confidential as personnel information under the Right to Know Law,
Mr. Selig has released it each year in his ten year tenure here in Durham. To view the full
evaluation, click HERE. 

 

 

RESIDENTS
ASKED TO PLEASE CLEAR SNOW FROM SECOND EXIT DOOR

While driving around Durham this week, Fire
Chief Corey Landry noticed that several homes have their exits from their home
blocked by snow. During the winter just a few years ago a New Hampshire resident
lost their life trying to escape a fire in their home by using their “other” way
out. If they had shoveled enough snow so the door would open they would be alive
today. Residents are asked to please be safe and shovel snow away from all
doors. Typically, homeowners pay attention to the entrance door that is most
often used.  In the event of a fire emergency where smoke or fire prohibits
access to the primary door, building occupants would need to utilize the “other”
less used door.  Since storm doors open out, even a light accumulation of
snow could hinder the occupant’s ability to open the door. 

 

Please call the Durham Fire
Department, 868-5531, with questions.

 

SNOW
ON ROOFS

Residents are encouraged to pay
careful attention to snow on roofs to avoid roof collapse. If you have
questions, do not hesitate to contact the Code Enforcement Office at 868-8054.
Durham
Town and School officials
have been actively checking roofs this week for safety.

 

More
Telephone Scams – BE CAUTIOUS WITH TELEPHONE
SOLICITATIONS

The Durham Police received two
complaints from residents who have received telephone calls from persons
purporting to be “grandchildren” who are asking for grandparents to wire them
money.  The fake grandchildren are extremely skilled at tugging at the
heart strings of our “grandparent” population who have grandchildren of their
own! 

 

The Durham Police want to remind
everyone that you should never provide any personal information over the
telephone to anyone who calls you. No reputable organization and/or company
functions in this way.  Those receiving these types of calls should
immediately contact the Durham Police at 868-2324.

 

DOWNTOWN
DURHAM Business
Parking Permit Program

Downtown Durham Business Parking
Permits are sold to businesses that require parking in the downtown area for
their employees.  The procedures are managed by the Durham Police with
approval of the Town Administrator to ensure that prime parking spaces are
available to consumers and visitors of the downtown business district. Chief
Kurz was uncomfortable with the existing process of selling the limited number
of permits.  Each January 1^st business representatives formed a
line at the police department beginning in the early morning hours to ensure
they could purchase one of the 125 permits sold for the year. He equated this
situation to buying tickets for a rock concert and realized, with feedback from
the Economic Development Committee, there simply had to be a better way.
Consequently, a Kaizen review of the entire program commenced and resulted in
the following process being adopted.

 

There will be no limit placed on the
number of permits sold as extensive observation has determined that the parking
lots have never been completely filled, even though the maximum number of
permits was issued.  In addition, parking permits for the metered lot on
Pettee Brook Lane, Cowell Drive, and reserved spots on the east side of Madbury
Road between Woodman Road and Garrison Avenue Extension are available for sale
at the Durham Police Department at any time of the year. Business owners or
managers are eligible to purchase a maximum of 15 parking permits by appearing
in person at the Durham Police Department and presenting a request for the
permits on company letterhead. The cost of the parking permits is pro-rated
based upon the following matrix:

 

Purchase Month	Business Permit Cost	Permit Refund
January – March	$150.00	$112.50
April – June	$112.50	$75.00
July - September	$75.00	$37.50
October – December	$37.50	None

                                                
                                                

Business permits allow parking
between 6:00 AM and 12:00 midnight daily and can be swapped between employees’
cars depending upon work hours, etc. The parking permits are sold inexpensively
and give the buyer the “right to hunt” for a space. Once they locate a parking
space, it’s theirs for the day.  If there are no available parking spaces
in these areas, parking on Madbury
Road is generally available. We are hopeful this new
process will support downtown Durham businesses.

 

More
Vehicle Burglaries on newmarket
road

The Durham Police responded to two
motor vehicle burglaries on Thursday morning.  Investigation by the officer
determined that three cars had been entered. All the vehicles, which were
unlocked and parked in private residential driveways, were located on
Newmarket
Road near the Newmarket/Durham Town. The burglaries
occurred between 11:00 PM on Wednesday night and 6:00 AM on Thursday morning.
Some of the items stolen were a wallet, GPS device, and a video surveillance
system.  Ironically, one of the victims had seen the notation published in
a previous “Friday Updates” as the Durham Police attempted to warn residents of
these car burglaries.  Once again, although attempts were made to enter
other vehicles in the vicinity, those locked were not entered and no further
attempts to get inside were made by the culprits--they simply moved on to those
vehicles left unlocked. The Durham Police urge residents to lock their vehicles
and notify the Durham Police Department at 868-2324 if they hear any unusual
noise.  Officers are poised to respond immediately. 

 

durham
Police Department national accreditation

The Durham Police Department has
been nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) since 1999.  CALEA is a non-profit
independent credentialing authority founded in 1979 as a joint effort of the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Police Executive
Research Forum (PERF), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
Executives (NOBLE), and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA).  The
express purpose of CALEA was to establish a set of standards that a modern,
effective and ethical police agency should incorporate and adhere to as their
guiding policies and procedures.

 

These standards are broken into
subject matter to include: law enforcement role and authority, organization,
management and administration, the personnel structure, law enforcement
operations, and communications to name a few.  Within these subsets are
found additional standards that govern the recruitment and selection of new
police officers: training, performance evaluations and promotions, patrol
tactics, investigations, evidence collection, and storage and budget
activities.  Overall, there are 467 standards considered “basic” to the
proper management of a law enforcement agency. 

 

The essence of the CALEA
accreditation program is to ensure that a law enforcement agency’s policies and
procedures are in line with the industry standards and most importantly,
followed.  The assurance that the Durham Police adhere to these standards
is reviewed every three years (2002, 2005, and 2008) when two certified
assessors visit the department. 

 

This inspection will commence on
Saturday April 30^th through May 3^rd, 2011 when Chief James
Carmody of the Wyoming, Michigan Police
Department and Ms. Doris Certain of the University
Park, Texas Police Department arrive
in Durham. 
Both these practitioners are not familiar to or with the Durham Police
Department.  In fact, they are not even familiar with each other as this a
design strategy that is viewed as an important factor in maintaining the
integrity of the process. 

 

During their visit, the team will
conduct an extensive review of the department’s policies and procedures,
interview staff; conduct inspections of the police facilities and equipment, and
ride along with officers and observe their actions. In some cases they may
suggest changes to current practices, especially if they note the potential for
enhancements, all of which is designed to ensure that the Durham Police
Department is as efficient and effective as possible.

 

As the on-site assessment draws
near, there will be additional information provided to the community.  In
the interim, residents are welcomed to visit //www.calea@calea.org/">www.calea@calea.org for supplementary
information.

 

Planning
Board

The Planning Board will be meeting
on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall to discuss the following
items:

§        
Hold a public
hearing on
an application for a two-lot subdivision located at 111 Madbury Road
owned by the Gottsacker Trust

§        
Continue a public hearing for
Capstone Development Corporation for a site plan review application and a conditional
use application for the construction of approximately 100 structures consisting
of 141 residential units with a total of 619 beds and 650 associated parking
spaces located on Technology
Drive.

§        
Deliberate on an appeal of the Aquifer Protection
Overlay District Boundary submitted by Capstone Development Corporation for its
parcel on Technology
Drive.

§        
Hold a conceptual consultation submitted by John
Randolph to change the use of the Hickory Pond Inn located on Stagecoach Road from
a Bed & Breakfast to an Assisted Living
Facility.

 

Town
Election - March 8, 2011    

The 2011 Town Election will be held
on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at the Oyster River
High School.  Polling
hours are from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Voters will park in reserved spaces along the
front of the school and use the Multipurpose Room
entrance.

 

The following is a list of citizens
that have filed for the Durham elected
offices:

 

Town Council, 3 positions (3-year
terms): 
                       
Julian Smith, James Lawson, Katherine “Kitty”
Marple

Library Board of Trustees, 2
positions (3-year terms):     Richard Belshaw, Meridith
Davidson, Arthur P. Young

Town Clerk/Tax Collector, 1 position
(3-year term):         
Lorrie
Pitt

Town Treasurer, 1 position (3-year
term):                         
Karl Van Asselt

Trustees of the Trust Funds, 1
position (3-year term):      Bruce
Bragdon

 

Drawing
Names of Candidates for Order of Listing on Town Election
Ballot

At the Durham Town Council meeting
on Monday evening, February 7, 2011, Town Moderator Christopher Regan and Town
Clerk-Tax Collector Lorrie Pitt will
be present at the beginning of the meeting to draw names of individuals running
for elected offices to determine the order of names on the Town’s March
9^th Election ballot. 

 

In 2007, the Town Council adopted a
resolution discontinuing the Town’s previous practice of listing candidates
alphabetically on Town election ballots as outlined in Article 2, Section 2.6 of
the Durham Town Charter and adopting the method of listing candidates on Town
election ballots by the Town Clerk, under the supervision of the Town Moderator
of drawing candidates’ names out of a hat and listing them in the order by which
they are drawn.

 

Durham
Business Association Candidates Forum

On Tuesday, February 22, 2011, beginning at
7:00 PM, a Candidates Forum for
Town Council and Library Trustee candidates will be held in the Council Chambers
of the Town Hall located at 15
Newmarket Road. The forum is being planned and hosted
by the Durham Business Association (www.durhambusinessassociation.org and will be broadcast on the
Durham Cable Access Television (DCAT) channel, Channel 22.

 

DBA
members and the public are invited to attend and to participate by submitting
questions for Town Council candidates who are running for these elected offices
at the March 8, 2011 Town Election.

 

Questions may be
submitted by email to the Durham Business Association at durhambusinessassociation@gmail.com by Monday, February 14,
2011

 

The Durham Business
Association is a 501 (c) (6) nonprofit and does not promote, endorse any
specific political candidates.

 

Mini-Charette
on
Combined Fire Department/Structured
Parking Site Feasibility
Study on UNH
C-Lot

On Wednesday, March 2, 2011
beginning at 7:00 PM, the Town of Durham will
hold a Mini-Charette in the Council chambers at the Durham Town Hall. The charette will be on a Site
Feasibility Study on the UNH-owned parking lot currently known as ‘C Lot’,
located at Mill
Road across from Mill Road
Plaza. This charette was
originally scheduled for December 16, 2010, but because the lead architect had a
sudden death in her family and was not be able to attend, the charette was
cancelled.

 

Discussion will center on developing
the parcel with a new Fire Department building and parking garage. This meeting
is open to the public and the Town is looking for input from all interested
parties.  We are hopeful that members of Durham’s downtown business community will
attend to provide input.

 

Recycling
Clarification – no plastic bags or styrofoam

Reminder that as of January
1^st we can accept plastics 1-7 during our co-mingled recycling week.
However, this does not include plastic bags or Styrofoam products. 
Some foam products are marked “6” on the bottom, but are not accepted. 
Other items marked as “6” that are not made of Styrofoam or plastic bags are
acceptable.  

 

Recycling
and Refuse collection during snow storms

Reminder that the Department of
Public Works does not change the regularly-scheduled refuse and recycling
collection during snow storms.  Unless Town crews are physically unable to
get to your street, such as when trees were down last February, they have every
intention of sticking to schedule, except for those holidays noted in the annual
newsletter.  Residents who did not put their items out during the storm
this week can bring them up to the Transfer Station and Recycling Center on Tuesdays or Saturdays, between
7:30 AM and 3:00 PM with their residential permit. 

 

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

The following public meetings are
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
meetings listed below, please click HERE. 
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing. 

 

Town Council – Monday, February 7,
2011.  To view the complete Council packet for this meeting, please click
HERE. 

Zoning Board of Adjustment –
Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Planning Board – Wednesday,
Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Conservation Commission – Thursday,
February 10, 2011

 

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

 

DURHAM PARKS
AND RECREATION PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

§        
Winter Carnival & Chili
Tasting Feb
12^th from 11:30am – 2pm at the Mill Pond. Residents and businesses are welcome
to provide a crock of Chili to share. Please contact the Parks & Recreation
Dept. at 817-4074 for more information.

§        
On the Ball Tues 6-7pm 
This workout stimulates the lymphatic system
responsible for removing toxins out of our bodies while working on balance,
flexibility, and core strengthening. The use of the ball helps to develop deep
postural muscles of the abdomen and back while having fun.  Come check it out this Tuesday!           

 

The
Parks & Recreation Nature Note –
Handkerchief Rocks

Off the
beaten path you will find one of Durham’s most imposing natural
landmarks.

 

It is
strange to think that one of Durham’s largest landmarks remains hidden and
virtually unknown even though it sits just a few hundred feet from one of the
Town’s busiest country roads.  Handkerchief Rocks would be more
appropriately referred to as boulders as some of the granite masses are nearly
30 feet tall.  The Rocks are located in Thompson Farm, an area protected
and maintained by the UNH Office of Woodlands & Natural Areas and is located
along Packers Falls
Road and Bennett Road.

 

It is
said that the Rocks got their name when visitors of the Highland House on
Bennett
Road would stroll through the fields to picnic atop
the boulders.  While eating lunch the picnickers would wave handkerchiefs
to their friends and family who stayed back at the inn.  The Highland House
stopped operating in the 1960s and the fields have all grown into forest, but
the Handkerchief Rocks still sit as a natural wonder and great picnic
destination.

 

The
Handkerchief Rocks can be accessed in two ways.  First, park in the West
Foss Farm parking lot off of Mill
Road.  Take the West Foss Farm Trail south.
After a small water crossing the trail will split.  At the split follow the
west trail and then eventually head south to the Rocks.  (Use this map for
guidance. 
http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/COMMUNITY/recreation/westfossfarm.pdf The Rocks are marked with red
dots.)  Your second option would be to park at the Wiswall Dam/John Hatch
Park parking lot on Wiswall
Road. Walk west on Wiswall Road until you come to the
intersection with Packers Falls
Road.  Directly across the road you will see a
grass path in-between the houses at 222 and 224 Packers Falls Road. The path quickly
turns to dirt and the Rocks are just a few hundred feet
north.

 

Durham
Public Library Programs and Events

§        
Preschool Storytime, Tues. 
Feb. 8th and Thurs. Feb. 10th at 10:30 a.m. - This week: Mail and
Valentines.  Join us for stories, fingerplays, songs, feltboard and a
craft.

§        
Join the patch program, our
reading incentive program for children aged 2-12 years. Children earn patches for minutes
read or being read to as well as a Durham Library book bag. If new to the
program, stop by and register.

§        
Registration for Tales for
tails. Have
a young reader who could use some non-judgmental encouragement for reading
aloud? A Delta Therapy dog is waiting for your child. Sign up now at the library
for a 6 week session in March and April.

§        
Registration for Seacoast Reads
Second Semester has begun.  Sign-up for a UNH reading buddy for your
child in grades 1^st through 3^rd.  Sessions will begin
the end of February.

 

Expand
Your World—JoIN the ARA

The Active Retirement Association
(ARA) offers unique programs, and activities for 50+ individuals retired or
not.  Join us and learn all about what's happening at the Spring
General Meeting at the Durham Evangelical Church on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at
1:30 PM.

For more information, call ARA
membership chairman Carol Caldwell at (603) 343-1004 or visit:  www.learn.unh.edu/ara/.

 

Community
Resource for Durham Families
Do you have a child
with special needs?  A new support/social group is forming for parents who
have children with special needs, from allergies to autism, any parent is
welcome to participate.  You can join in the discussion, share resources
and socialize with other parents in our community.  Go to facebook and
search for: Parenting Special Needs Children.  If you have any questions,
contact Jenna Roberts at jennajroberts@yahoo.com.

Town
and landscape scale invasive plant strategy: YOUR INPUT
NEEDED

The Great Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve is asking for input to develop a landscape scale invasive plant
control strategy by completing the brief survey found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/invasive_plant_control_strategy
. Scoring results will be used to develop a co-occurrence model
for each town within the Great
Bay and Coastal NH
watershed. This model will help guide where on the landscape invasive plant
management may be most effective.

 

This is a two-step process. The goal
is to prioritize areas where invasive plant removal will most effectively
protect native natural resources. The Reserve would like the end result to be
useful to conservation commissions, land trusts, watershed groups, and other
natural resource partners in this region. A summary of the planned process is
below.

 

1.   Engage partners to
gather input on the natural resource parameters that are considered most
important in this region (using a shared Google document.

2.   Summarize these
parameters and survey individual partners to rank their importance according to
their individual opinion (using Survey Monkey).

3.   Pool individual
rankings to develop a shared scoring for all natural resource
parameters.

4.   Use this ranking
to develop a region-wide natural resource co-occurrence model (GIS
model).

5.   Gather as much
comprehensive mapping information as possible on where different species of
invasive plants are located throughout our watersheds (using Google
Maps).

6.   Identify landscape
elements where certain invasive plant species may spread (for example: roads if
Japanese knotweed is located there and mowed).

7.   Overlay the locations
of invasive plants on our natural resource sensitivity model to determine which
populations of invasive plants might be the priorities to control. Where
possible identify areas where invasive plants are most likely to be the source
for new colony spread and incorporate this in our GIS
model

 

To participate, please go to the
google document at https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1fiZQHNjp9Vd-lGfjq77mtvyl0yef5x5geRRG6okSUKE&hl=en&authkey=CMromqkL
and add your thoughts. All entries are anonymous. This comment period will end
31^st October at which time Step 2 of this process will begin. At
various stages the Reserve hopes to collaborate with partners to add local and
field knowledge to make this model more “real” to what’s on the ground.

 

Weekly
Police Arrest Report

Week –
20                                        
17 UNH (85%)           3 Other
(17%)

*2010/11 Academic Year –
534     300 UNH
(56%)         234 Other
(44%)

Calendar Year – 42 
                       
26 UNH (62%)           16
Other (38%)

 

*This data represents the 2010/11
Academic year report which began August 27th when UNH dormitories officially
opened and students begin arriving in Durham.

 

Historical data
for the same week

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Week	13	31	19	12	15	13	20
Academic Year	585	731	551	463	523	570	534
Calendar Year	48	69	48	22	46	31	42

 

FROM
“DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE A HISTORY –
1900-1985”

“The Boston & Maine Railroad. Passenger
train service from Boston to Durham and Dover began in September 1841; until then, the
line had been open only to ‘New Market’. From that day until 1958, Durham residents were well
served by the Boston & Main Railroad. The tracks were originally located on
what is now a residential street, Edgewood Road, and ran through the center
of the college campus. In April 1911 the tracks were moved to their present
location.” Published in
1985 by the Durham Historic
Association.

 

Enjoy the Super Bowl on Sunday
afternoon. GO PATS!

 

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.