“FRIDAY
UPDATES”

May 8,
2009

 

 

A rainbow
stretches over Durham at the
intersection of Route 4 and Back River
Road/Cedar Point Road last week
following an early evening rain shower. 
While there has been much
rain this week, the grass and water tables
appreciate it.

 

GOV. LYNCH ORDERS FLAGS TO
HALF-STAFF

Governor John Lynch has
directed all flags to half-staff Today, May 8,
2009, to mark New Hampshire
Law Enforcement Memorial Day in New
Hampshire.

 

DURHAM PLANNING BOARD SELECTS NEW
OFFICERS                   

The Durham Planning Board
held a special work session on Wednesday evening in which a new slate of
officers was selected and committee assignments were made as
follows:

 

Chair—Lorne
Parnell

Vice Chair—Susan
Fuller

Secretary—Stephen
Roberts

Planning Board Rep to the
Conservation Commission—Stephen Roberts

Planning Board Rep to the
EDC—Susan Fuller

 

A sincere thank you is
extended to William McGowan for his service as past
Planning Board Chairman. 
The Planning Board also discussed a Request for Proposal for Master Plan
services as we move forward with updating the 2000 Master Plan.  State statue suggests updating a
community’s Master Plan every 10 years. 
In 1998/1999, the Town last embarked upon a Master Plan update.

 

DOWNTOWN HOTEL/CONFERENCE CENTER
DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE

On
Thursday afternoon, Administrator Selig and Council Chairman Neil Niman met with
representatives from ProCon Construction and The Kane Company to continue
discussions relative to the development of a hotel/conference center facility in
downtown Durham.  Both ProCon and The Kane Company
indicate that there is still interest in this project and the development team
continues to evaluate strategies in which to bring the project to fruition.  When additional information becomes
available, we will endeavor to keep the community informed.

 

UNH
BUSINESS
SCHOOL To BE BUILT DOWNTOWN

Foster's
reported on Thursday that the
UNH
Business
School is
likely to be built in the downtown area along
Garrison
Avenue.  The probable site of the school would be
at the corner of Garrison
Avenue and
Rosemary
Lane,
across from Stoke Hall. 

For
more information, go to http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090507/GJNEWS_01/705079798/-1/FOSNEWS0102.  

To review a story in today's The New Hampshire
regarding the location of the new business school, go to:

http://www.tnhonline.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=ff294690-5817-4ae7-85dd-4049090f9e95.

 

DURHAM BUSINESS ASSOCIATION FORUM WITH DAVID MAY, UNH ASSISTANT VICE
PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS

On
Wednesday morning of this week, the Durham Business Association coordinated an
extremely useful and productive meeting with the University and the Town to
discuss on-campus business operations and potential impacts, both positive and
negative, that these practices may have upon
Durham's
downtown business district.  David
May, UNH
Assistant Vice President of Business Affairs, candidly discussed the various
dining opportunities and business services offered on campus to
UNH
students. 

 

The
University works hard to remain competitive with its peer institutions to
attract and retain today's "Generation Y" students and to that end, Mr. May
provided an overview of the kinds of on-campus amenities offered by its peer
institutions.  Mr. May also outlined
a number of strategies which have been implemented on campus to support local
businesses, one of which several years ago was to allow students to utilize
their Cat's Cache cards off campus in downtown
Durham. 

 

Last
year, the UNH
Computer Information Systems (CIS) Department also designed a web site on Black
Board (the on campus web site utilized by students and faculty for a variety of
purposes) that allows Faculty to communicate their assigned booklists
electronically.  Mindful of its
partnership with the community, CIS designed the site so that the Durham Book
Exchange would also get the lists. 
UNH did
not want to create a competitive advantage for Barnes and Noble.

 

Mr.
May also outlined the fact that his dining/housing staff conduct regular surveys
of students in an effort to better understand the kinds of services today's
college students demand in order to most effectively meet their
needs.

 

During
the meeting, University representatives offered
to:

 

·       
Investigate
the feasibility of placing a VTS
machine (a machine that allows students to add funds to their Cat’s Cache card;
several are located around campus) somewhere off campus in the downtown area.
Status: Underway
now.

·       
Add
some questions about students’ perceptions about downtown
Durham and
their use of downtown Durham to
the focus groups his dining/housing staff do with students in residence halls
every fall. Status:
Start of fall 2009 semester.

·       
Durham:
It’s Where U Live (DIWUL) will explore ways to have its Web site be seen as more
of a “one-stop site” for the community to learn what is happening on campus so
that residents can take better advantage of these activities. There are
currently links to the Town, a list of businesses, calendar,
UNH
resources, etc. This will be a good place for a comprehensive
UNH
calendar to exist as well for links to sports schedules and activities at the
Paul
Creative
Arts
Center.
There is also a link to the Durham
Business Association. The DIWUL site can be viewed at: http://www.diwul.org/. Status: Discuss at next several DIWUL meetings.

·       
MUB
Manager MaryAnn Lustgraaf, the Durham Business Association board, and DIWUL will
work together to explore the possibility of developing a survey over the summer.
The survey would go to Town residents,
UNH
students, and UNH
faculty and staff to find out what they know about downtown, what they
like/don’t like, what they would like to see, etc. Status: 
Discuss at the next DBA board meeting and with the
Durham Economic Development
Committee.

 

The
meeting was very productive with an air of cooperative spirit on the part of all
attendees. A thank you is extended to the Durham Business Association,
UNH,
Erika Mantz, and David May for working together in this regard.

 

 

A
bulletin board within the UNH
Woodside residential community promoting

things
to do around Durham
for students.

 

Fall 2009
UNH Enrollment
Update

A total of 3,200 students have sent in their deposits
to be part of the Fall 2009 UNH entering class.  To view a link to President
Huddleston’s latest communication with the campus on enrollment, go to:
http://www.unh.edu/president/markhuddleston/speeches/huddleston_enrollment0509.htm.  This information may be of great interest
to business owners and professional landlords within the Durham community.

 

DURHAM BUSINESS ASSOCIATION FORUM ON
CODE/ZONING ENFORCEMENT

On
May 1st, The Durham Business Association (DBA) and the Town coordinated a forum
for DBA members to meet with Code Enforcement Officer
Tom
Johnson to
discuss code/zoning enforcement in
Durham and
ways in which we enhance the business climate that is present within the
community.  Attendees were able to
listen first-hand to the problems and opportunities as perceived and experienced
by the DBA members. 

 

Several
ideas emerged from the meeting, including the opportunity to help
Durham
business owners with some much needed signage directing people to the downtown
area.  To this end, the Planning
Office has reached out to the N.H. Department of Transportation to discuss the
possibility of locating signage along Route 4 directing motorists to our
downtown business district.  In
addition, we have dusted off a kiosk proposal from 2001/2002 to tastefully
provide better information at the corner of Jenkin's Court and
Main
Street to
let motorists and pedestrians know what businesses are located along Jenkin's
Court.  Finally, we are evaluating
whether the Town might utilize its downtown island informational signs to
promote the entire downtown area on an ongoing basis. 

 

Tom
Johnson provided a helpful overview of the codes that are in place in Durham,
encouraged business owners to meet with him early in the development process to
discuss how to move projects forward efficiently and effectively, and explained
that the year in which projects were initially constructed often has a bearing
on the zoning regulations which are applicable for that structure. 

 

A
great deal of discussion also took place centering around the interest of
business owners relative to issues surrounding student housing and the
opportunities for increased density and changes in the zoning requirements in
the downtown area that could benefit their businesses and help address housing
issues throughout the town. 
Attendance at this forum was limited so it may make sense for Mr. Johnson
to provide an overview of this issue to the Town Council to answer questions
that Councilors may have regarding efforts presently under way to promote
development to broaden the tax base in
Durham.  In this way, we hope to increase
affordability for residents while also maintaining quality of life issues so
important to the community.  A thank
you is extended to the Durham Business Association and Tom Johnson for
participating in this useful forum.

 

DURHAM TRAIL MONITORING
PROGRAM

The Parks &
Recreation Committee is looking for people interested in taking part in a trail
monitoring program to begin in late May. 
Details will follow, but basically the committee is looking for people
who enjoy Durham's trails and would like
to help ensure that the trails remain in good condition.  Citizens interested in having their
names added to the information list are asked to please send an email to durhamtrails@yahoo.com and someone from the Parks
& Recreation Committee will be in contact with more information.

 

DURHAM RECEIVES
TREE CITY
USA AWARD FOR 31st YEAR

The Town has been recently notified that it has won
the Tree City USA award for the 31st consecutive year.  The award is presented annually by the
Arbor Day foundation to honor communities that have committed to the health of
trees.  Being the 31st year,
Durham is the longest running
Tree City award recipient in the State of
New
Hampshire.  The Town will be presented with the
award at a future date.   

 

JACKSON’S LANDING WINS NEW HAMPSHIRE
BEAUTIFICATION AWARD

Last Friday, members of the Jackson’s Landing
committee, Robbi Woodburn and Dwight Baldwin, as well as Public Works Director
Mike Lynch, traveled to the Governor’s office to receive the New Hampshire
Beautification Award.  The award is
sponsored by the New Hampshire arbor association for an outstanding community
landscaping project. 
Durham earned the award in honor of the recent renovation
of Jackson’s Landing to eliminate erosion and enhance water
quality in the Oyster river.  If you
haven’t been down to Jackson’s Landing since the renovation, please go check it
out!

 

NEW GRANITE BENCH AT MEMORIAL
PARK

Town resident Joan Drapeau graciously has donated a
granite bench to the Town.  After
review of a few sites, Joan and Town staff settled on placing it in Memorial
Park.  Memorial Park is in the
traffic island at the intersection of Main Street and Mill Road.  We
extend thanks and appreciation to the donation

 

SEWER EXTENSION
WORK ON
OLD CONCORD
ROAD

You may have recently seen construction activity out
in the west end of town near Technology
Drive.  This is the sewer extension for the new
Rivers Edge apartment complex.  The
work includes some open excavation as well as some underground directional
borings.  Work should be completed
in the next two weeks. 

 

WAGON HILL COMMUNITY GARDENS PROGRESS
REPORT

Progress is being made in
preparing the land identified for a pilot community garden program at Wagon Hill
Farm.  Committee and community
member Fil Glanz reports that because the sod was so deep it became clear that
it was necessary to turn it and harrow it. Last Sunday, Chuck Cox brought his
plow and harrow out and in about two hours he had turned the sod and harrowed
it. It is reported that the soil smell was very encouraging as was the texture
and color of the soil. No Durham Marine clay was found. Chuck said that the soil
looked very good but it needs to dry out for a few days.  Yet we have had rain for the last five
days. After the ground has dried out, Chuck Cox will do another pass to help
smooth things out. The group found a few rocks in the far end of the 60' x 60'
plot, most of them small but a few larger and one they did not get out - it
seemed to be down over a foot.

 

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY’S SPRING BOOK

On May 8 and
May 9,
2009 The Library will have
over a thousand donated books, audios and videos for sale, most between 50 cents
and $2.00.  A special Preview Sale
was held on Thursday, May 7th from 6 – 8
pm, with a $10 admission
fee.  The Public Sale will be
Friday, May 8th from 10-5 and Saturday, May 9th from 10-2 (admission for the
Public Sale is FREE!)

 

BOBCAT BOLT 5K/10K AND OYSTER RIVER
FESTIVAL

A reminder that this
coming Saturday, May 9, 2009, the inaugural Bobcat Bolt 5K/10K and Oyster River
Festival, presented by Gault Builders, will be held at the Oyster River High
school where the race will begin. Residents should expect traffic delays;
especially in the area of the Oyster
River
High
School.

 

DURHAM GARDEN CLUB PLANT
SALE

On Saturday, May 9th,
from 9:00
AM to 2:00
PM the Durham Garden Club
will hold its annual plant sale at St.
George's Episcopal Church. Look
for perennials, annuals, a few bushes and small trees, and a variety of
vegetable and herb plants. Regulars know to line up before 9
AM so as to get the best
selection when the doors open. As usual, Master Gardeners will be on hand to
answer questions. Funds raised from this sale support two $1,000 scholarships
for UNH students pursuing a gardening-related major, as well as community
projects such as the Joe
B.
Parks
Public
Garden in
Dover. One of the scholarships
is named for Marjorie Milne, a long-time Garden Club member. Indeed, later this
spring the Garden Club will be creating a wildflower garden on the Milne land
bequeathed to the Town, as Marjorie proposed.

 

SPRING
CLEANUP

Starting tomorrow, May 9th, folks can begin putting
things out for the annual bulky waste collection, which will be held starting
Monday, May 11th, all items out by 7AM.  This
is the Spring Cleanup where residents may put out their bulky waste for
collection instead of bringing it up to the Transfer Station with a coupon.  Remember that electronics will still
need to have their stickers attached in order to be collected.  The details for the collection were in
the Spring Newsletter which residents should have received by mail about a month
ago. 

 

SEACOAST LYME DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP

On Tuesday, May 12,
6:00
pm Come and learn about
Lyme and other tick-borne diseases - how to protect yourself and what to do if
you are infected.  May is Lyme
Disease Awareness Month, and the Durham Public Library will be hosting a viewing
of “Under Our Skin,” the award-winning. 
A dramatic tale of microbes, medicine & money, this eye-opening film
investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than
AIDS. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, told that their
symptoms are "all in their head." Following the stories of patients and
physicians as they battle for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into
focus a haunting picture of our health care system and its inability to cope
with a silent terror under our skin.

 

ANNUAL CHURCHILL RINK PLANNING
WORKSHOP

On Wednesday, May 13th at 6PM, the Churchill Rink Committee will be having their
annual workshop at the Public Works building,
100 Stone
Quarry Drive,
to plan out the following year.  If
you are interested in learning about how the rink is run or if you have any
comments, this meeting would be a good time to do it.  Feel free to join if so. 

 

NH HUMANITIES COUNCIL PROGRAM

On Monday, May 11th,
7
p.m. at Oyster River High
School Library Scandals in business, governments, and schools have become
commonplace, but has it always been so? 
Is the societal moral compass spinning out of control, or do we merely
have a “different” value orientation?   These questions and more will be
addressed by Aine Donovan, Associate Professor at the Tuck School of Business at
Dartmouth
College and Executive Director
of the Ethics Institute, a consortium of Dartmouth faculty concerned with
teaching and research in applied and professional ethics.  The program, From Honor to Integrity: An
Exploration of What it Means to Adhere to the Common Good, will be held on
Monday, May 11,
2009 at 7
p.m. in the Oyster River High
School Library in Durham.  The presentation examines the notion of
“honor” as an element of social cohesion and explores whether “honor” exists in
the 21st century.  It’s a timely
program organized by the New Hampshire Humanities Council and open to the
public.  Sponsors include the PTO of
the High School with cooperation from the public libraries in
Durham, Lee and Madbury.  All are welcome to attend what should be
a lively discussion.  Refreshments
will be served.  The high school is
located at 55 Coe
Drive in
Durham, NH; for more information,
call 603-868-2375, x1150.

 

WALK NH 2009
EVENT

On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, the University of New
Hampshire (UNH) and Durham will celebrate Walk NH
Week 2009 with a 3-mile walk around the UNH campus and the Town of Durham. New Hampshire Governor
John Lynch has proclaimed June 1-7 Walk NH Week as a way to promote walking
and help keep New Hampshire residents on a healthy
path. The goal of Walk NH Week is to inspire participants to continue walking
as part of a healthy lifestyle long after the June events end. For more
information and to register online, visit http://www.unh.edu/hr/walkNH2009.html.  Questions regarding the walk can be addressed
to Christina VanHorn at 862-0519, Chris.VanHorn@unh.edu.  

 

MADE IN NEW ENGLAND PRODUCTS SOUGHT FOR FIRST SEACOAST
PUBLIC MARKET

Do you make a high quality product that is made in
New
England and are struggling
for an affordable way to promote or sell your goods in this economy? Tastes of
New
England in
Durham is seeking local manufacturers of food, gifts and
art to sell their wares at Seacoast, New Hampshire’s first-ever public market at the
Frank Jones Center in Portsmouth. The event starts on Saturday, June 6,
2009 and three additional
June and August dates are planned. The cost to participate on all four dates is
$100. The deadline for space reservations is May 19, 2009 and is first come, first serve. Specialty, gourmet,
and prepared food vendors must be appropriately licensed and will need to apply
for a temporary permit with the City of Portsmouth. To apply or for more information, contact Tastes of
New England at (603) 762-4155 or via email at info@tastesofnewengland.com.  

 

ONE
WORLD LANGUAGE SCHOOL @
MOHARIMET ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL

Early language education provides a lifetime of
opportunities.  The
One World Language School will hold a Registration and Information Night on
Wednesday, June 10th from 4:30-6:30 at the Mohariment Elementary
School.  Learn about and register for our French,
German, Spanish, and Chinese classes for children ages 3 and up. Classes are
held Wednesday afternoons at Moharimet. 
The 2009-10 academic year starts in September.  Classes fill quickly so register
soon!  For more information, please
contact Julie Reece at julie.reece@oneworldlanguageschool.org or 866-0364.

 

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
CONSULTANT

The Town has sent out "Request
for Proposals” for professional services (Consultant) for the review of
the zoning in the Central Business District (CBD) and recommendations for
amendments to the Zoning Ordinance. The Town seeks a Consultant to assist
with strategic planning in the CBD and downtown commercial core and for
planning services on an “as needed” basis to potentially include an upcoming
Master Plan update process. Proposals are due no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, May 29, 2009 at which time all proposals
received will be opened. To view the document, go to http://ci.durham.nh.us/generalpdfs/RFP%20for%20Zoning%203.pdf.  

 

GROWING PLACES SUMMER
CAMPS

Growing Places, a non
profit early education and youth recreation agency, offers three different camp
programs for children! 
Camp
Cowabunga is for children ages 5-7
and offers arts and crafts, games, swimming, and a field trip every week. Bridge
Camp, for children ages 7-9, offers a more active day with team building games,
sports, and enrichment activities, daily swimming and field trips.  At Adventure Camp, for ages 10-14,
children are involved in more challenging activities, including outdoor
adventures, service projects, water sports, and camping trips. All programs are
licensed by the state of New
Hampshire and have low staff to
camper ratios.  Programs run for 8
weeks starting on June 29.  Part
time, full time and extended care is available.  Tuition assistance is available for
eligible families.  Please contact
868-1335 for more information and a registration packet.

 

2009 UNH OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL
VOUCHERS

The Town is assisting the
University once again with the cleaning of the outdoor pool in preparation for
the 2009 summer season. 

 

Pool pass vouchers will
be available at the Town Hall, Town Clerk’s Office,
15 Newmarket
Road beginning
Tuesday, May 26,
2009. The Town Clerk’s Office
is open 8:00 AM to 5:00
PM, Monday through Friday.
This year there will be 447 pool vouchers available only for
Durham youths ages 2-17 and
senior citizens 62 years and older to receive a $45.00 discount off the full
price of a season pass. This is an additional $10.00 discount over last year.
Vouchers are issued on a first come, first served basis. Pool pass vouchers must
be picked up BEFORE purchasing a pool pass, and are sold at the Front Service
Desk at the Hamel
Student
Recreation
Center, located next to the
Whittemore
Center on the
UNH campus.   

 

More information as to
when pool passes will go on sale and when the UNH outdoor pool will open
for the season may also be obtained by calling the UNH Campus Recreation Department
at 862-2031 or visiting their website at http://campusrec.unh.edu.

 

Concerned about pool
parking?  See the next “Friday
Updates” item …

 

FREE PARKING FOR THE UNH OUTDOOR POOL
AVAILABLE

A reminder to residents utilizing the
UNH Outdoor Pool this summer that free parking is
available. 
UNH annually makes its Woodside Lot available to
Durham residents. 
A parking permit is required and may be picked up free of charge to
Durham residents at the UNH Transportation Services located at
295 Mast
Road.  (From Route 4 West take the exit for
Route 155A. At the bottom of the ramp take a left. Follow
Main
Street
approximately 3/4 mile. Take the second left on to
North
Drive. At the
first intersection along North Drive take a right onto
Mast
Road. The
Visitor Information Center is the second building on your left (white with
green trim), 295 Mast Road.) 
Residents can also park for free during the summer months at the
Town-owned
Depot Road
Lot located behind/next to the
UNH Dairy Bar.  

 

COMPUTER TOURING ON TUESDAYS WITH THE
EMILY’S

The Durham Public Library
is fortunate to have two volunteers, Emily and Emily, who will be available
on Tuesdays from 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm to assist patrons with
their computer questions.  Need
help with E-mail?  the Internet?  Word processing…? No question is “wrong”. 
Patrons are gently reminded that Emily and Emily will not be able
to offer advice regarding finances, health, legal issues or other such matters
that you are researching on the Internet; please abide by the Library’s
computer and Internet usage policy, which can be found in full on the Library’s
website at  http://durhampubliclibrary.org/internetuse.html. 

 

BICYCLE HELMETS

McGregor Memorial EMS is pleased to be leading a
coalition of Oyster River community members in an effort to promote the
wearing of helmets.  Working with
Safe Kids NH McGregor is able to offer brand new
Bell helmets to the public for $7.50 through bulk
purchasing.  Through McGregor's
partnership with the Brain Injury Association of NH we are able to offer free
helmets to those who can not afford them. 
Please contact McGregor EMS via e-mail at nduclos@mcgregorems.org to find out how to obtain a helmet.

 

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.

 

Lamprey
River Management Advisory
Committee – Tuesday, May 12,
2009 @ Lee Safety Complex
7:00 –
9:30PM

Zoning Board of
Adjustment Tuesday, May 12,
2009

Planning Board –
Wednesday, May 13,
2009

Durham Conservation Committee
Meeting – Thursday, May 14,
2009

  

DURHAM CABLE ACCESS TELEVISION PROGRAMMING
SCHEDULE

To view a listing of the
DCAT programming schedule, go to http://ci.durham.nh.us/COMMUNITY/channel_22/calendar.html. 

  

WEEKLY POLICE ARREST
REPORT

Week - 84           
                              53
UNH (63%)          
31 Other (37%)

*2008/09 Academic Year
-855      
  545 UNH (64%)        
310 Other (36%)

Calendar Year –378                        
239 UNH (63%)        
139 Other (37%)

*Commenced
September 1,
2008 

 

HISTORICAL DATA FOR THE SAME WEEK

 

 

 

FROM HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600
– 1976

“1911 – The
railroad tacks were moved west to eliminate a curve.  The station at
Lynn,
Massachusetts was
dismantled and reconstructed here, serving the town and campus until 1964.  Bamboo poles, used to convey messages to
the passing train engineers are still in existence.  E-7 & M

 

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

 

Our weekly
“Friday Updates” provide updates and announcements concerning the community for
interested individuals and we’ve now made it even easier to subscribe.  Please visit this link and fill out our
new form to sign up.