Friday Update January 22, 2010

“FRIDAY
UPDATES”

January
22, 2010

Because of the recent increase in
snowfall, DPW has been able to try out the new commercial snow blower. So
far the blower has worked excellently and should provide reliable snow removal
for the next 25 years.  Courtesy
DPW

2009
Town Report

The 2009 Durham Annual Report has
been delivered to the printer. Once the published reports are received back from
the printer, copies will be placed in the Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s Office and
the Durham Public Library. The report will also be placed on the Town web site
at www.ci.durham.nh.us. Click on
“Departments” at the top of the page, then “Administration”, “Town
Administration”. The 2009 report, along with previous reports, will be located
on the far right-hand side of the page. Production of the Annual Report is a
major undertaking. A thank you is extended to all contributing writers and
Administrative Assistant Jennie Berry who coordinates the production of this
annual publication.

DURHAM RESIDENT OWNERS
ASSOCIATION

The Durham Resident Owners
Association (DROA), created in 2006 by the Cowell Drive neighborhood, is seeking to
expand to all neighborhoods in Durham. The Association was established with
the purpose of fostering harmony among neighbors and protecting property values
by preserving and improving the residential character of Durham. In the past several
months, other townspeople have come together with the same goal in mind and many
ideas have been discussed and progress made. The Association would like to open
this discussion up to all homeowners who wish to have a voice in Durham’s future. A meeting
has been scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 2010 beginning at 7:00 PM at the
Recreation Department (Old Courthouse - between Irving Station and Town Office).
All Durham
homeowners are invited to attend.

UNH
TOWN/GOWN COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

The Durham Resident Owners
Association (DROA) has requested a community meeting with UNH, focusing
specifically on Town and Gown issues. Unlike the Rental Housing Commission,
which primarily focuses on solving problems with rental properties in Town, the
DROA would like this meeting to stay focused on higher-level UNH/community
issues. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 27, 2009 from 3:30
to 4:30 PM at the Memorial Union Building, Room 330. The objective of the
meeting is to begin the process by which Durham residents, Town government, and the
University can partner to discuss proactive solutions and strategies, rather
than reactive responses to known challenges within the community. All Town
residents, Town government officials, and community businesspeople are invited
to attend.

DEPOT
ROAD

The 60 % design for the culvert
repair project at the Depot
Road parking lot has been completed.  Plans are
being reviewed at NHDES and the project is still scheduled for construction in
summer 2010. 

JACKSON’S LANDING BOAT
RAMP

Department of Public Works personnel
met with NHDES Wetlands Bureau representatives regarding modifications to the
end of the boat launching ramp at the Jackson’s Landing recreational area.  Both
parties will get together again in the spring after the winter conditions clear
up and will look at the possibility of further minor improvements to the
area. 

future
wastewater improvement projects

Department of Public Works and UNH
personnel recently met to discuss current and future wastewater improvement
projects.  The discussions identified the following projects that will be
looked at during the 2010 construction season:

§        
Replacement of a section of the wastewater collection
system in the Meadow Road/Strafford
Avenue area.

§        
Collection system repair in the area behind the
New England
Center.

§        
Sewer manhole replacement projects in the Woodside/Madbury
Road and Madbury Court
areas.

§        
Collection system upgrades in Main Street near the
field house (which will increase the capacity of the west end upwards to
80%).

§        
Woodman Road area collection system upgrades.

Funding for these projects, per
agreement with UNH, will be funded two-thirds by UNH and one-third by Town
wastewater system users.    

Wastewater
Treatment Plant Aeration Blower Replacement

The WWTP aeration blower replacement
project was awarded to Penta Corporation and the project is scheduled to start
in the very near future. 

Dover
Road
Pump Station

The Town is in the process of
awarding the bid for the Dover Road Pump Station rehabilitation and anticipates
that construction will begin this coming spring. 

Churchill
Rink at Jackson’s
Landing

The Department of Public Works is
pleased to report that the Churchill Rink at Jackson’s Landing has provided a profit for the
3^rd consecutive year. DPW continues to make safety and
operational improvements such as a water conditioning system, entrance way, new
score board, and new bleachers. 

Wiswall
Bridge

Construction started this week on
the second set of footings and abutments at the Wiswall Bridge. The project is continuing on
schedule and completion is anticipated in 2010. 

Main
Street West
REHABILITATION PROJECT

The Main Street West
rehabilitation project, which is a joint project with UNH as well as a project
that received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus monies, was
awarded to Busby Construction.  It has started with some minor off road
construction and is scheduled to move forward 100 % on the day after UNH
graduation with a completion date anticipated for summer 2010. 

ENERGY
EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT

The Department of Public Works
Director has been busy applying for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block
grant from the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, a newer grant
derived from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program. The
proposed grant monies will be used to change out the lighting component of the
street light fixtures along Main
Street to an LED application. The energy savings
forecasted in this change will take the current 175 watt bulb and replace it
with an LED panel that will use only 38 watts. Also, the current lamps last
approximately 2-3 years whereas the life expectancy of the LED component is
16-17 years. 

SHORELINE
EROSION IMPROVEMENTS AT WAGON HILL FARM

This week Parks and Recreation Director Mike Mengers
and Public Works Director Mike Lynch met with consultants regarding shoreline
erosion improvements at Wagon Hill Farm.  The discussion centered on
environmentally sensitive applications of erosion control methods such as the
“living shoreline” versus traditional hard-scape structures (i.e., retaining
walls and large boulders) to combat erosion.  This is a relatively new
approach to protecting and restoring coastal shoreline.  In the past,
hard structures such as rip-rap and seawalls, have been used to prevent coastal
erosion.  Research has shown however, that these structures often increase
erosion and limit the ability of the shoreline to carry out natural
processes.  The “living shoreline” technique uses more
natural materials or a mix of soft and hard materials.  This approach
may be suitable for the shores along Wagon Hill Farm to prevent further erosion
and begin to restore the salt marsh.  Funding would be the next step in the
process and the State of New
Hampshire has shown interest in Wagon Hill Farm as an
area to assist.    

Assistant
Engineer

The Department of Public Works is
advertising for an Assistant Engineering position. The goal of this position is
to do more engineering tasks in house thereby eliminating the need to pay
premiums for outside consulting. The individual hired for this position
will be inspecting development projects, and the hope is that the charges from
these inspections will help offset the cost of their salary.  DPW is
seeking a highly motivated individual with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil
Engineering to assist the Town Engineer in the design, construction, and
inspection of Public Works projects. The successful candidate must have strong
communication, written, analysis, water, wastewater, stormwater, GIS, and CAD
skills.  A minimum of one year professional civil engineering experience is
required.  Possession of an Engineer-in-Training Certificate from the State
of New
Hampshire is required within six months of hire.
Compensation is $21.46 / hour plus extremely competitive benefits.  Send
cover letter, Town application, and resume to Michael
Lynch, Director of Public Works, 100 Stone Quarry Drive Durham, New Hampshire
03824 no later than
February 8, 2010. 

Town
Election - March 9, 2010    

The 2010 Town Election will be held
on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at the Oyster River
High School.  Polling
hours are from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Filing
Period for ELECTED OFFICES

The filing period for Town offices
is currently open and will close at 5:00 PM on Friday, January 29,
2010. The
following is a list of citizens to date that have filed for the Durham elected
offices.

Town Council , 3 positions (3-year
terms):            
            Peter
Stanhope

Library Board of Trustees, 3
positions (3-year terms):     Julian Smith and Jenna
Roberts

Town Moderator, 1 position (2-year
term):                        
None

Supervisor of the Checklist, 1
position (6-year term):       Judith
Aiken

Trustee of Trust Funds, 1 position
(3-year
term):             
None

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

At the Durham Town Council meeting
on Monday evening, February 1, 2010, 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.

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

The following public meeting is
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office. 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. 

Planning Board – Wednesday, January
27, 2010

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

§        
January Parks & Recreation
Reminder: Stay up-to-date on all of Park & Recreation’s
current classes and programs.  Click HERE
to view the January 2010 Reminder. Check out a new class being offered starting
in February: Introductory Art – Drawing &
Sketching.

§        
Saturday, February 6^th, 10:00 AM – 2:00
PM: Winter Carnival and Chili
Cookoff. CHANGE IN VENUE! Due to
an expected large turnout, the Chili Cookoff will now be held at Mill
Pond. For those interested in submitting a chili into the Chili
Cookoff, please read the official entry guidelines and complete the registration
form by clicking HERE.
All registrations must be received by Friday, January 20^th. Contact
Michael Mengers at mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us,
817-4074 with any questions.

                       
Courtesy Jenna
Roberts

WILD
RUMPUS ROOM

Babies, toddlers, moms and one dad
from Oyster River Parents and Preschoolers had a ball at the Parks &
Recreation space this week.  Parks and Recreation Director Mike Mengers and
Jenna Roberts from ORPP worked to put together a new weekly event--Wild Rumpus
Room.  The first week was a huge hit with 15 children attending. 
There were bouncy balls, music, tunnels, toys, and a parachute for the children
to enjoy.  If you are a member of ORPP or a resident of Durham, you are invited to
RSVP to this free event with your child (open to ages 5 and under).  Wild
Rumpus Room is held on Tuesday mornings between 10:30 AM and 12:00 noon at the
Parks & Recreation building (parking is next to the building or in the Town
Hall lot).  Space is limited to 15 children.  RSVP to Jenna Roberts
at: jennajroberts@yahoo.com.

NEW
HAMPSHIRE
TRIVIA & TIDBITS

In May 1939, the U.S.S. Squalus
submarine, built at the Portsmouth (pop. 20,784) Naval Yard, sank in
nearly 250 feet of water during a test dive. Thirty-three of the 59-member crew
who survived were rescued from the sub with the McCann Rescue Chamber, a revised
version of a diving bell, despite nail-biting setbacks that included a tangled
guide cable. AmericanProfile Magazine –
first appeared:
11/29/2009

Have a good
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

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