Friday Update July 16, 2010

“FRIDAY
UPDATES“

Friday,
July 16, 2010

 

Amtrak Downeaster at the Durham
station

Courtesy Amtrak
Downeaster

 

Today contractors are paving
Strafford
Avenue.  Weather permitting, they will be
finishing Mill Pond
Road and Wednesday Hill Road on
Monday. 

 

       

                                                           
Courtesy Amtrak
Downeaster

 

The
Amtrak Downeaster Services Durham

Many may not be aware that the
Amtrak Downeaster services Durham and the value of its service, which we
hope in the long-term will help preserve our housing and home values.

 

Amtrak Downeaster service in
Durham began
2001, offering a welcome relief to traffic congestion and high gasoline prices.
The Amtrak Downeaster serves the communities of Old Orchard
Beach, Saco/Biddeford, and Wells in
Maine; Dover,
Durham, and Exeter
in New Hampshire; and Haverhill and Woburn in
Massachusetts.
With five roundtrips a day originating in Portland, Maine and
terminating at North Station in Boston, Mass, the service regularly rates well
for on-time service and customer satisfaction.

 

Find the schedule that works for you
at http://www.amtrakdowneaster.com/ and
park for free during the summer months at the Depot Road Parking Lot. 

 

 

Future
Library Site at 49 Madbury
Road Approved by Town
Council

On Monday evening, following a well
attended public hearing the Town Council voted to authorize Administrator Selig
to execute the deed taking possession of the 3-acre parcel located at 49 Madbury
Road to be the site of the future Durham Public Library following successful
conclusion of due diligence in accordance with the terms of the Purchase &
Sale Agreement dated May 20, 2010 and upon receipt of a $100,000 private
donation to be used toward the $600,000 purchase price of the DiMambro
property.

 

Pettee
Brook Lane
Pilot Traffic Reconfiguration Update

The Durham
Traffic Safety Committee and Jim Lawson from the Durham Economic Development
Committee met this week to review and make adjustments as necessary to the
pilot/trial traffic reconfiguration on Pettee Brook Lane.  There were three
main points identified that required immediate
discussion:

Blocked
Vision Exiting Jenkin’s
Court – The majority of concern expressed by residents and
others focused upon the inability for vehicle operators to have adequate sight
distance when exiting Jenkins
Court onto Pettee Brook Lane.  The Traffic Safety
Committee concurred that there was significant difficulty especially when a
large vehicle or box-type truck was parked in one of the three spaces between
Jenkins
Court and the egress to the Store 24 parking
lot.  The decision was to make the area parking for “compact vehicles only”
by placing signs and by changing the parking space size from 22’ x 12’ to 18’ x
9’.  Additionally, by reducing the size of the spaces, parking would be
moved away from Jenkins
Court enhancing the sight
distance.

Pedestrian
Crosswalks – It was concluded that there was adequate sight
distance at the first crosswalk encountered on Pettee Brook
Lane.  This crosswalk is located at the first
left after Jenkins
Court and crosses Pettee Brook Lane into the Pettee Brook
parking lot.  With the placement of a “pedestrian yield” sign at this
location, coupled with adequate sight distance for both pedestrians and
vehicles, this location was deemed to be in good stead as presented. 
However, the second crosswalk, which crosses further west on Pettee Brook Lane,
is located at the end of the very last parking space creating a challenge for
both vehicles and pedestrians to have adequate sight distance.  It was
determined that this last parking space would be removed with a diagonal line
painted thereby prohibiting parking and creating a space for pedestrians to be
observed and to observe.

Street
Markings
– Many of the Traffic Safety Committee members have spent significant time in
this area observing traffic and pedestrians to see first hand how the
reconfiguration is working, or not working.  One issue identified by Jim
Lawson is the lack to clear and distinguished markings at the egress of the
Store 24 parking lot.  There appears to be confusion for those vehicles
exiting the parking lot as they are often observed to the extreme left of the
egress directly in the path of entering vehicles.  It was requested that
the Public Works Department add directional arrows and a dividing line to
delineate where vehicles should be to enter and exit this parking area
safely.

Other
Suggestions Received - There had been several suggestions from the public
that the parking be changed to the right side of Pettee Brook.  This
premise was quickly rejected since the act of opening of a vehicle’s driver door
would be done directly into the path of traffic and each vehicle operator would
be placed immediately into the patch of traffic.  Additionally the
discussion of head-in parking was repeated and again dismissed due to the
backing action into only one lane thereby stopping all traffic and at worse,
leaving an approaching vehicle with no place to avert a potential
collision. 

Addition Parking
Spaces Planned - Public Works has been charged with designing and
determining the feasibility of adding five to seven additional parking spaces
which would have a further calming impact upon traffic through the corridor and
would also mirror the opposite end of Pettee Brook Lane’s two lane to one
convergence but opposite with one lane widening back to two lanes allowing
westbound traffic to stay in its lane while eastbound downtown traffic would
traverse to the left lane.  The target date for this change would be Monday
August 2^nd if determined to be feasible.

Conclusions - So far so good. With careful
attention to the issues and observations of corrective adjustments, the project
appears to offer significant traffic calming while adding much needed parking
spaces.  The Traffic Safety Committee will continue to meet and evaluation
the pilot program through the Month of August and early-
September.

 

 

Downtown
Bus Service to Be Extended Along Madbury and Edgewood Roads – Service Available
and Free for Durham
Residents

The Town has long held
a desire to take
steps to lessen use of vehicles while keeping an eye on sustainability. 
These goals are supported by the Durham Energy Committee and B. Dennis Town
Design, the consultant team that had been retained by the Town to focus on
revitalizing downtown.  An energy-efficient, quiet, small bus connecting
neighborhoods and the University can be one of those steps.  With these
thoughts in mind, the Town initiated discussions with UNH to explore the possibility of expanding bus
routes that would address these concerns and lessen traffic pressures on many of
Durham’s neighborhood streets, as well as offer
alternative means of transportation for Durham residents. 

 

These discussions dovetailed with
UNH’s desire to have a fleet
consisting of smaller buses fueled by compressed natural gas that are highly
efficient and significantly quieter than any buses in the existing fleet. 
These buses will compliment a transportation system which is efficient while
respectful of the neighborhoods.  To this end, the Town Administrator has
requested that UNH reroute the
existing UNH Woodside’s Campus
Connector to include Madbury and Edgewood Roads with the small CNG
buses.   In response to a letter sent to area residents about the
concept, there was generally positive feedback from with only a few residents
expressing concerns. 

 

Durham Public Works has one bus
shelter and it was suggested that UNH and DPW coordinate the placement on some portion of the
new route along Madbury
Road.

 

A
Structured Parking Idea for Downtown Durham – The Wöhr Multiparker 750

For those residents and business
owners in Durham who have an interest in thinking
creatively about structured parking to support downtown Durham, the following link (http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/budapest_m730/index.htm)
is a very interesting approach which has been implemented in downtown
Budapest. 

 

On the
homefront, the Town has again engaged the services of LeMay Erickson Wilcox
Architects, the company which has evaluated various locations to date for a
future Fire Department location, to investigate on behalf of Durham and
UNH whether C-Lot located across
from the Mill Plaza on Mill Road would be a viable location for a combination
Fire Department/Structured Parking/Affordable or Graduate-Faculty Housing
structure. 

 

Town
Council Adopts Ordinance # 2010-07 to Allow Single Family Homes and Duplexes in the Office Research &
Light Industry (ORLI) Zone
as a Conditional Use and to
allow Single Family Homes in the Multi-Unit Dwelling/Office Research (MUDOR) Zone as a Conditional
Use

 On Monday, July 12, 2010, the
Council adopted a zoning change by a vote of 6-2 to amend the zoning in the ORLI
District to enable the development of properties in the district with a mix of
housing choices.  In reviewing the Table of Uses it was discovered that the
ORLI District did not allow single family or duplex dwelling units and the MUDOR
District allowed duplexes but not single family dwellings.  In addition to
allowing a mix of housing types within a development, the adopted amendments now
make current nonconforming single family and duplex dwellings in these districts
conforming, and allow new single family and duplex units only by Conditional
Use.  Following the Vote, the Council unanimously asked the Planning Board
to move forward with an additional zoning change to amend the Conservation
Subdivision Ordinance to include the ORLI and MUDOR zones and to make "convenience store  with gasoline
sales" a prohibited use in ORLI.

 

RFP
for the Grange (H.A. Davis
Building) to be
Re-Issued

The Grange (H.A. Davis
Building) is located within the heart
of downtown Durham on the southerly side of Main Street at the
Madbury
Road intersection directly across from the U.S. Post
Office. 

 

The main level of the Grange
includes a large open area, rear stage, kitchen with sink and older style
cabinetry, and ½ bath.  A steep front stairway and rear spiral staircase
provide access to the second floor.  A stairway accesses the
basement.  The second level includes an open landing area, two small
offices, a large open area, ½ bath, and rear
storage.

 

The Grange was originally
constructed as a single-floor structure around 1880, with a second level added
in 1897.  It has a gross building area of approximately 2,945 +/=
s.f.  Of that total, 1,674 +/- s.f. is first floor space and 1,271 +/- s.f.
is on the second level.  The unfinished basement consists of 1,271 +/-
s.f.  The construction is wood framing. 

 

Over the last eleven years, there
have been discussions locally of selling the land and improvements outright,
moving the historic Grange structure to an alternate location, or entering into
a lease with a prospective new tenant to preserve municipal ownership of the
parcel while at the same time allowing long-term productive reuse/redevelopment
flexibility on the site and preserving the historic character of the
structure. 

 

The location of the Grange site has
been envisioned as part of the 2000 Master Plan and 2008 Mill Plaza Study
Committee Report as a possible vehicular/pedestrian access point to the Mill
Plaza area located directly behind the Grange and as such the building and/or
building site could play a future part in the redevelopment of the Mill Plaza at
some juncture.  There currently exists a paved walkway that connects the
Mill
Plaza with Main Street allowing
foot traffic only. 

 

The Grange most recently housed the
Durham Art Association and the infant and toddler site for Growing Places
Daycare, a non-profit organization, for many years until it was vacated in
February 2007. 

 

The building was constructed as a
grange hall and is in below average condition.  There has been a limited
amount of updating over the years.  The furnace is in need of
replacement.

 

The Grange is listed in the National
Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure in the Durham Historic
District.  Most building improvements are original. 

 

To gauge continued interest
expressed by potential purchasers/investors, the Town Administrator intends to
reissue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the structure in the near future. 
An RFP was issued in June 2009 but the single respondent has not been able to
move forward with the envisioned project to date. 

 

 

DURHAM SWAP SHOP
FEATURED IN PORTSMOUTH PUBLICATION, THE WIRE

Durham’s Swap Shop was featured in an
article published in The Wire
this week relating to swap shops at transfer stations around the seacoast. To
view the article, visit: http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Stories/The_best_shop_in_town_201007134273.html

 

PACE,
Part 2: Do you want to participate? – Gauging Interest in Durham

Last week the Friday Updates alerted
readers to the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, which allows
property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements
using low‐interest bonds arranged by the municipality.



Durham is not there yet, but the Energy Committee
is working with the Town Administrator to make it happen.



This is how it works: Residential and commercial property owners may opt in
to the program to receive long-term financing (up to 20 years) for improvements.
They then repay the loan through a separate property tax assessment. This
arrangement spreads the cost of clean energy improvements – such as energy-efficient
boilers, upgraded insulation, new windows, solar installations, etc. – over
the expected life of the improvement. The program also allows for the repayment
obligation to transfer automatically to the next property owner if the property
is sold.



Here's an example of how this would work. Let’s say a homeowner receives PACE
funding for a solar photovoltaic installation. For a typical system of 3 kW,
the net cost would be on the order of $8,400 (assuming $6/watt installed,
a $6,000 rebate from NH, and a 30% tax incentive from the federal government).
This system would be expected to produce approximately 4,800 kW-h per year
-- or about $720 of electricity per year, assuming a constant electricity
cost of 15 cents per kW-h. (This example uses a 3 kW system that produces
about 13 kW-h per day, which is enough to run an energy efficient house.)
The loan repayment over 20 years would amount to approximately $610 per year,
depending on the interest rate on the loan. 

 

You do the planning and the math for
your property under PACE. We would do the setting up of the program for the
town. 

Interested in
participating? Please send a brief note to the Chair of the Energy
Committee via this link dec@ci.durham.nh.us. Describe what kind of
energy efficient improvement you are considering. (Note: This is just a feeler,
to get a sense of community interest. Details on your anticipated installation
cost will be required before we proceed to the next step of setting up such a
fund.)  

 

Responses must be received by August
25 for this first round.

 

 

Durham
Fire Department Deputy Chief to Participate in Pan Mass
Challenge

Durham’s Deputy Fire Chief Steve McCusker
will be participating in the 31st Annual Pan Mass Challenge to be held August 7
and 8th to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Foundation.  This is a two-day
bicycle ride from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown to benefit Dana Farber for the
purpose of cancer research.  For more information regarding this ride, go
to: www.pmc.org, or contact Deputy Chief
McCusker at smccusker@ci.durham.nh.us.   

 

UNH
OUTDOOR POOL EVENTS AND INFORMATION

§        
Swim under the lights at the UNH Outdoor Pool and
enjoy some BBQ on Wednesday, August 11^th from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. 
Membership or day pass required.  Hamburgers, chips, and soda will be
available for purchase.

§        
Come and cool off in the UNH Outdoor Pool this
summer!  New family memberships available! Pool hours are Noon to 7:00 PM,
7 days a week.

§        
Ice Cream Social August 4^th at 2:00
PM.

 

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. 

 

Zoning Board of Adjustment –
Tuesday, July 20, 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 DAY
2010

The
date for Durham Day 2010 has been set for Sunday, September 26^th from
12:30 – 4:00 PM at Wagon Hill Farm. All Durham based Committees, Commissions or
non-profit groups are encouraged to setup their own individual table display at
the event.  If you are interested in securing a table display area or are a
resident interested in volunteering at Durham Day please contact P&R
Director Michael Mengers at mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us,
817-4074.

 

Live
Folk Music and Guided Trail Walk at Wagon Hill Farm on Friday, July
23^rd

Join
the Parks & Recreation Department for an evening of great music, family,
friends, and a fantastic view of the Little Bay.  At 6:00 PM Durham’s very
own Clearly Related String Band will perform their unique style of “Old Timey
Music from the Northern Appalachians” that is rich with Folk, Country, and
Bluegrass style. So come on down and bring a picnic, a blanket, a lawn
chair, and your dancing shoes.  Before the show, at 5:00 PM, enjoy a guided
trail walk of Wagon Hill Farm organized by the Conservation Commission. 
Member Malin Clyde will discuss shoreline habitat, identifying wildflowers,
looking for signs of wildlife, and an overview of Appalachian oak-pine
habitat.  The walk will meet at the Wagon Hill parking lot.  The
concert and trail walk are free, with donations accepted and going to the
band.  Contact Michael Mengers, mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us, 817-4074 with any questions. Please
click HERE for more
information.

 

Join
the Durham
Parks
& Rec Tennis Ladder

Interested in a friendly tennis
competition with other Durham resident?  Join the Durham Parks
& Rec tennis ladder.  Tennis ladders are listings of players interested in
playing tennis matches with other players in their community.  Players can
challenge others on the list and are then ranked by the number of wins and
losses.  Visit www.globaltennisnetwork.com and join tennis ladder
#1443.

 

DURHAM PARKS AND RECREATION
PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

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 or mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us or visit the
Town Clerk’s Office.

 

§        
Wed., July 14, Noon – 1:00 PM: 
Free Yoga at Wagon
Hill Farm

§        
Thu., July 15, 5:30 PM:  Thursday Evening
Yoga Begins – Preregistration
required

§        
Mon., July 19, 6:00 PM, ORHS Field:   Adult/Teen Pickup Field
Hockey

§        
Wed., July 21, Noon – 1:00 PM: 
Free Yoga at Wagon Hill Farm

§        
Fri., July 23, 5:00 PM:  A Band by the
Bay. The Clearly Related String Band and a guided trail walk of
Wagon Hill Farm.

§        
Sat., July 24, Churchill Rink: :  Puppy
Class (9:00 AM) and Dog Obedience Class (10:00 AM) begins

 

COMMUNITY
EVENTS

§        
Sat., July 24, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Durham Evangelical Church:  PC Clinic. Bring in your “sick” PC and the
DEC tech team will run basic diagnostics tests for free. For more information,
contact Tech.Team@durhamE.org.

§        
Aug. 2-6 and Aug. 9-13, Museum of Art, UNH Paul
Creative Arts Center:  Summer
Art Camp. For complete description of
classes or to register on-line, visit www.unh.edu/moa or contact Catherine A. Mazur
at Catherine.mazur@unh.edu,
862-3713.

§        
MUB Summer Series 2010 begins July 7^th.
Everything is FREE and OPEN to all! For more information and to view schedule of
events, go to www.unhmub.com or call Dave at
862-1586.

 

Durham
Public Library Programs and Events

Visit our website at www.durhampubliclibrary.org for
more information.

 

§        

Tue., July 20:  Summer Reading Program “Make a
Splash, Read.  Make Waves At Your Library” in its fun fourth week for
children and teens which runs through July 29th. 

§        
Tue., July 20, 10:30 AM:  Pre-school Storytime –
Boats

§        
Tue., July 20, 6:30 PM:  9-12 yr. old program
– Marine Biologist will
visit

§        
Wed., July 21, 6:30 PM:  All ages – Jane Cowen-Fletcher, Popular Children’s
Author/Illustrator will visit.
Jane will read from her new children’s book “Hello, Puppy”, show how
she illustrates, writes and will sell her books after with an autograph
session.  Jane’s books include, “It Takes A Village”, “Farmer Will”, “Mama
Zooms”, Baby Angels”, and Nell’s Elf.  Don’t miss this fun visit for all
ages.

§        
Thu., July 22, 3:00 - 4:00 PM:  6-8 yr. old
program – Theater Workshop. Come
and do some role playing and fun theater activities with two local
actors.

§        
Thu., July 22, 4:00 – 5:00 PM:  Young adult program
– Teens working on the dplteenblog will meet. Interested in writing a review
of a book, play, movie, event?  Email the children’s librarian at ekleinmann@ci.durham.nh.us 
or stop by the circulation desk and we’ll put you in contact with our partner,
YA author Megan Frazer, who is helping us with this blog.

 

Eagle
Scout Project – Car Wash Fundraiser

Kyle Mullaney, of Boy Scout Troop
154 will be holding a car wash at Durham Marketplace (7 Mill Road, Durham, NH)
on Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 3:00 – 6:00 PM. The car wash is being held to
raise money for Kyle’s Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.  His project
involves leading the construction of an observation deck for the Town of
Durham at Jackson's Landing. 

 

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

“For the most part, business in the
first part of the nineteenth century concerned road building and maintenance,
water and sewer operations, and fire protection. By the last decade of the
century, extraordinary changes had occurred. In 1894 a telephone line was strung
in Durham. The
telephone office was in Caverno’s store on Main Street, across from Thompson Hall. In
1898 Durham’s selectmen authorized the New
England Telephone and Telegraph Company to install poles and wires ‘from the
point opposite the Agricultural College to the residence of C.H.
Waterhouse’. Telephone service to other parts of town followed rapidly.”
Published in 1985 by the Durham Historic
Association.

 

Have a good
weekend.

 

Todd