Friday Update July 11, 2008

“FRIDAY
UPDATES”

July
11, 2008

The traffic island located at the
intersection of Main
Street and Madbury Road (left) was renovated in 2007
due to the water main replacement project that was completed last year. The
traffic island located at the intersection of Madbury Road and Pettee Brook Lane
(right) was completed this year. Renovations on these islands consisted of
resetting the granite curbing, new signage, and some new plantings. (Photo courtesy Dept. of Public
Works)

This week the Public Works
Department took delivery of a new skid steer loader for the Transfer Station.
 The John Deere 328 will be a fine addition to the daily operation of the
Transfer Station. 

ROAD
PROGRAM UPDATE

Final asphalt coating has been
applied to Morgan
Way, Tirrell Place, and Williams Way. 
Shoulder gravel for edge backup will take place within seven days. All
other roads will be completed by mid-August. 

INCINERATOR
DECOMMISSIONING UPDATE

The incinerator decommissioning
began this week, with completion expected by the end of next week. There should
be no disruption to residential access on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Transfer
Station. 

ANNUAL
WATER QUALITY REPORT

The annual Water Quality Report was
mailed out recently and all residents on the water system should have received
them by now.  As a reminder, this is the pamphlet that the Town is required
to mail out each year reporting on the municipal water system.  Should you
have any questions or need additional copies, please feel free to contact the
Department of Public Works at 868-5578. 

PLANNING
BOARD UPDATE

The Planning Board met on Wednesday,
July 9, 2008, and held public hearings on Town Council-initiated amendments to
the definition of “Habitable Floor Area” and to Section 175-54, Table of
Dimensional, to lower the minimum lot area per dwelling unit in the Central
Business district and the Church Hill district.  All three amendments were
recommended to be adopted at the Town Council.  The amendment to the
definition of “Habitable Floor Area” was recommended unanimously but the two
amendments to the Table of Dimensional Requirements both passed by a 4-3
vote.  In addition, the Board began deliberations on the 9-lot Sophie Lane
Subdivision on the corner of Bagdad and Canney
Roads.  Deliberations will continue on August 13, 2008. 

DOG
LICENSES

A reminder that dog license renewals
are due to the Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s office. Late fees of $1.00 per month
began June 1^st and will continue until the dog(s) license is
renewed.  Civil Forfeitures will be issued in July for any dogs that remain
unlicensed.  Civil Forfeitures carry a $25 fine and a summons to court if
dog(s) are not licensed by the specified date. 

AUTOMOBILE
REGISTRATIONS

The Town Clerk’s office is becoming
more familiar and comfortable with the on-line automobile registrations
utilizing the State of New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles’ motor vehicle
database. A reminder that registration renewals may also be done on line
through E-Reg by logging on to the Town web site at www.ci.durham.nh.us, or by mail. Having
checks written out with payment amounts prior to coming into the Town Clerk’s
office will also save time.  New registrations must be done in
person at the Town Clerk’s office. If registering a new vehicle, residents are
reminded to please bring their old registrations or renewal notices with them
when registering their cars.

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

The following public meetings are
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.

Durham Energy
Committee – Monday, July 14, 2008 (4:30
PM)

Integrated Waste Management Advisory
Committee – Tuesday, July 15, 2008 (7:30
AM)

Parks and Recreation Committee –
Thursday, July 17, 2008

To view an agenda for the meetings
listed above, please click HERE. 
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.

DURHAM
PARKS
AND RECREATION COMMITTEE LOOKING FOR PHOTOS

If you have digital photos enjoying
an activity or natural beauty in one of Durham's many parks, please email them to jennajroberts@yahoo.com. A few will be
selected for the upcoming brochure being created by the Durham Parks and Recreation Committee. Please
include your name and location of where the photo was taken. 

TNC
SEEKING VOLUNTEERS TO RAISE YOUNG OYSTERS

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is
looking for volunteers with access to a suitable dock to raise oysters that will
ultimately be used to restore historic reefs in the Great Bay system. Volunteers are trained to care
for young oyster spat and raise them to the size needed for placement at
restoration sites in the estuary. The volunteers are provided with approximately
500 young oysters in a small mesh cage, the necessary supplies to raise them,
and detailed information on oysters (life history and ecology) and how to care
for them. After initial training (approximately 2 hours), time commitment is
less than one hour per week during the summer/fall growing season. TNC is
especially interested in volunteers who have docks that would be suitable for
deploying a cage of young oysters, but there are ways to help with the project
in another capacity if you do not have a suitable oyster-rearing location. The
program is collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the University of New Hampshire.  More information is
available at http://www.oyster.unh.edu/oyster_conservationists.html. 
Please contact Krystin Ward at krystin_ward@tnc.org or Ray Konisky
at rkonisky@tnc.org for
details. 

GREAT
BAY ROWING

Great
Bay Rowing is
looking for kids going into the 7th, 8^th, and 9th grades
interested in learning how to row.  Great Bay Rowing is holding two youth summer
rowing camps. The first is July 28-August 1, 2008 and the second is August
11-15, 2008. Both camps run from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. For more information go to
www.greatbayrowing.org or contact greatbayrowing@comcast.net.

UPCOMING
EVENTS AT THE MILL
POND CENTER FOR THE
ARTS

Saturday, July 12, 2008,
12:30-3:30 PM. Nice and Naughty CD
Release Party. No admission fee. Enjoy a casual picnic and barbecue on the
grounds.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008,
6:30 PM. Theatre in the Meadow. The
New England Shakespeare Festival presents “Much Adoe About Nothing”.
Tickets:  Adults, $5.00; Children, $3.00; Children 5 and under, Free. Bring
picnic basket and blanket.

For more information or to purchase
tickets, call (603) 868-8999 or visit www.millpondcenter.org.

FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976

“1792 – Off the Dame Road is a
boulder, computed to weigh 60 to 70 tons. It was once so perfectly poised on
another rock as to be easily moved by one finger. Some years ago curious
visitors pried it off its balance. This is a matter of record in Jeremy
Belknap’s History of New
Hampshire.”

“1792 – The Third Meeting House,
financed by sale of pews, was built on site of 2^nd House. It was 50’
x 40’ x 29’ high, with balconies on 2 sides, steeple for bell and spire for
weathervane. Torn down in 1849, the lumber was used to build boarding houses at
Great
Falls.”

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

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