Friday Updates - August 25, 2023

Friday, August 25, 2023

A rainbow appeared over Tideline Public House after last Friday's rainstorm Courtesy, Todd Selig

Congratulations to Durham Police Sergeant, Brett Pestana, on the birth of his daughter Evelyn Collette on August 21, and to Parks & Rec Assistant Director, Kellie DeSimone, on the birth of her son Westin Keller on July 19! All are doing well.

Speaking of Parks & Rec - a big shout-out to Parks & Rec Director, Rachel Gasowski, for all that she has done running this year's summer programs while being short-handed on staff. Durham appreciates Rachel's hard work!

The first day of school for Oyster River School District grades K thru 12 is Wednesday, August 30, 2023, and the first day of school for preschool students is Thursday, August 31. There will be no school on Friday, September 1, and Monday, September 4, in observance of Labor Day. Bus routes and schedules may be found on the ORCSD website HERE.

EDGEWOOD ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND UNH MOVE-IN CHANGES TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR AUGUST 25 & AUGUST 27

Due to the construction project on Edgewood Road and considering the arrival of the new students at UNH on Friday, August 25th and Sunday, August 27th, traffic on Edgewood Road from Main Street to Strafford Avenue will be one-way only. Traffic may still enter Edgewood Road from the Madbury Road intersection. It will be diverted at the Strafford Avenue intersection where it may continue and access Main Street from Garrison Avenue. All one-way traffic will flow from the Main Street entrance to Edgewood Road towards Strafford Avenue. Any traffic that wants to continue all the way to Madbury Road will be allowed to do so.

There will be police officers posted along Edgewood Road at the intersection of Main Street, the Congreve Hall loop, the entrance to the Visitor's Lot at the Hamel Recreation Center, and at the intersection of Edgewood Road and Strafford Avenue. Electronic message board signs will provide move-in instructions. Specifically, the Edgewood Road traffic pattern will have at least three electronic message boards signs, i.e. one on Main Street in front of Kendall Hall, another on Main Street in front of Congreve Hall, and one on Edgewood Road as vehicles approach from Madbury Road. Traffic impacts should start to improve my 3:30 at the latest on both days. 

Durham’s department heads, as well as the Town’s various boards, committees, and commissions (as well as external organizations to which the Town makes payments for services such dispatch, ambulance, social service agencies, etc.) have begun the process of submitting their proposed budgets and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) requests for FY 2024 for consideration by Business Manager Gail Jablonski and Administrator Todd Selig as part of the annual budget development process.

Ms. Jablonski and Mr. Selig are actively considering how best to prepare the 2024 Budget and CIP requests for the Town Council. Since wages and benefits are fixed by contracts and some benefit rate increases and external cost drivers remain unknown at this time. 

U.S. inflation slowed considerably in the past year, dropping to 3.2% for the 12-month period ending July 2023. In June 2022, the inflation peaked at 9.1%!

Beginning in September Ms. Jablonski and Mr. Selig will begin to meet with each of the Town’s department heads and members of their departments to better understand budget requests, as well as departmental CIP requests. Members of the Town Council will also be invited to each of these meetings if they have an interest in doing so.

One of the Town’s Council’s approved goals for FY 2023-2024 states:

“Pursue long-term economic strength and resiliency, anticipating the community’s, the region’s, and the nation’s economic characteristics and opportunities. Task the Administrator with meeting the following:

     a. Holding the updated (post revaluation) municipal tax rate at the 2023 level or less;

     b. Continue to make an effort to control spending, enhance revenues, broaden the tax base and explore innovative ways to stabilize or reduce the municipal tax rate.”

Per Town Charter, the Administrator is charged with the development of the annual budget and CIP program. The proposed annual budget must be submitted to the Town Council by the last business day in October. The Town Council by Charter then has until the last business day in December to adopt a budget or the Administrator’s budget becomes the budget of the Town by default.

The requested CIP projects will be presented initially to the Planning Board in September (9/13/23) for the board’s feedback and then integrated into the formal budget proposal for FY 2024 by Administrator Selig for the end of October as described above.

HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETS WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP

The Durham Housing Task Force had a fascinating conversation with Marty Chapman, Executive Director of The Housing Partnership, about workforce housing at its meeting last week. The Housing Partnership is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and managing affordable housing in the greater Seacoast region. Mr. Chapman said that the current housing market is the worst that he has seen in many years in terms of cost and availability of housing, both for units for rent and for sale. The cost of housing is driven by the 5 L’s: costs of land, labor, lumber (i.e. materials), loans (i.e. financing), and laws (zoning regulations).  You can watch the discussion HERE on DCAT (Item 7).

The federal low-income housing tax credit is the main tool for creating affordable rental housing. The developer (a non-profit or a for-profit developer) sells the tax credits to private investors who accept a lower return on the project, allowing for lower rents, in exchange for tax benefits. For single-family homes or condominiums offered for sale, often the local zoning ordinance allows a density bonus in exchange for including a percentage of affordable houses in the mix, generally ranging from 5 to 20% of the total, with the larger number of market-rate houses subsidizing the inclusion of the affordable units. The affordable units must remain affordable for many years (typically rising in cost no more than the rate of inflation), so that a person of moderate means cannot buy a subsidized unit and then sell it for a windfall.

“Workforce housing,” by definition, is affordable to people and families with moderate/middle incomes, including teachers and firefighters, for example. The definition of “affordable housing” is more fluid, meaning, variously, housing that is affordable to a broad range of people; housing that is affordable to those with low-moderate incomes; or housing that is affordable to a particular person/family, of whatever income level. Housing is considered “affordable” if a person/household pays no more than a certain percentage of their gross monthly income on housing (typically 30% or so): including the mortgage, taxes, and insurance for home buyers and the rent and basic utilities for renters.

You can see the charge of the Durham Housing Task Force HERE. The task force usually meets on the second Monday of each month at 10:00 am in Council Chambers. The public is welcome to attend their meetings.

A view from Scammell Bridge looking towards Dover Courtesy, Todd Selig

The Town recently granted the certificate of occupancy for the newest multifamily building at 30 Madbury Road. The structure, at the corner of Garrison Avenue, was developed by AAM Durham Residences LLC based in Burlington, MA. It shares the parcel with an older student apartment building at 32 Madbury Road, located up the hill.  The applicants and their engineer and architect worked closely with the staff and the Planning Board to create a handsome, optimally-sited, and highly-functional building which will be a welcome addition to Madbury Road. The outcome is a testament to the value of Durham’s Architectural Regulations which steered the design.

CEMETERY COMMITTEE UPDATES THE REGULATIONS REGARDING BURIAL AT TOWN CEMETERY - Updates to go into effect September 1, 2023

At its June 23 meeting, the Cemetery Committee voted to adopt updated Procedures and Regulations regarding burial at the Town Cemetery, including increased prices for burial plots. The updated regulations will go into effect September 1, 2023, and can be read HERE.

A sign for Oysters at the Scammell Bridge Courtesy, Todd Selig

A PORTION OF PACKERS FALLS ROAD IN LEE TO BE CLOSED BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11

The Town of Lee has notified Durham that Packers Falls Road from the 155A intersection through Jenkins Road in Lee will be closed beginning September 11, 2023. The Lee Public Works Department, in partnership with Streamworks, PLLC, will be working on the Chesley Brook drainage. A detour will be in place, please follow the detour signs accordingly.  The project is estimated to end on October 15, 2023.

Durham Public Works, in collaboration with project contractor, Apex Construction, continues to make steady progress in constructing the new drinking water booster pump station located on Technology Drive. This project is entirely funded through the State of New Hampshire’s MTBE program and will provide reliable, state-of-the-art system pumping capacity for the Lee Well drinking water supply and Beech Hill storage tank located in the town’s high-pressure system. This past week subcontractor Bourassa construction completed the directional drill placement of two electrical conduits under Tech Drive, as well as establishing subgrade and placing the crushed stone base necessary for the stone retaining wall construction. Delivery of the self-contained booster pump assembly and building to be placed on the concrete pad is scheduled for December 1st. It is expected that the station will be substantially completed by January 30, 2024.

FUNDING UPDATE FOR THE REMOVAL OF MILL POND DAM ON OYSTER RIVER

On Thursday August 24th, Durham Public Works was notified that the Town’s $100,000 grant request from the National Fish Passage Program through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, was awarded and released! This award will be brought forward to the Town Council for acceptance in September.

In addition, Public Works will request that the Town Council authorize the acceptance and expenditure of $290,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the design of a fishway at the Oyster Reservoir Dam.

MILL POND DAM REMOVAL PROJECT - Third Meeting Scheduled for Section 106 Historic Mitigation Process on September 18, 2023

All federally funded, licensed, or assisted projects in New Hampshire are subject to the review requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, implemented by the procedures of the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The Mill Pond Dam on the Oyster River removal project falls under this process.

Federal agencies or their legal designees are required to take into account the possible impacts of their projects on historical resources, and to submit proposed projects to the Director/State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) of the Division of Historical Resources, for a determination of potential effects on properties that are listed, or are eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places. The Mill Pond Dam is so listed. 

Section 106 Process. The "Section 106" procedures occurring over many months require public participation and consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer and others for each part of the process:

1. INITIATION: defining the undertaking, determining the area of potential affect, developing a public participation plan, and identifying other consulting parties.
2. IDENTIFICATION / EVALUATION OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES: identifying those properties already listed in the National Register of Historic Places, preparing documentation for potentially eligible properties, and making a "determination of eligibility" to determine whether a property or district is eligible for the National Register. Section 106 gives equal consideration to properties that are listed in OR determined to be eligible for the National Register.
3. DETERMINATION OF EFFECT: applying the Advisory Council's "Criteria of Effect" and making a "determination of effect.” 
4. RESOLUTION OF ADVERSE EFFECTS: if adverse effects of state or federal projects are identified or appear to be likely, consultation continues to identify ways to achieve the project purpose and to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects, taking into consideration the values of the historic property or district, the parts of the undertaking that are essential to achieving the purpose of the project, and the adequacy of planning and of funding to achieve both the project objectives and a satisfactory resolution of adverse effects. Mitigation may include avoidance, alternative treatments, redesign, relocation, data recovery, documentation, public education initiatives or interpretive measures.
5. COMPLETION: if consultation is successful, a Memorandum of Agreement is prepared. The MOA is a legally binding document with stipulations that describe the measures that the project sponsor and/or lead agency (the Town of Durham) will take to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects. If there is no agreement, the lead agency continues consultation with the Advisory Council, and the Council's final comments must be taken into account by the agency.

Durham Public Works is excited to be working again this year with the UNH Pre-Orientation Volunteer in Service (PrOVES) Program. During the past weeks students worked with Water Division Chief Operator, Dwight Richard, to clean and paint many of the over 336 fire hydrants located around Durham. Newly arriving freshmen who participated in this important program broke into 2 groups, with UNH junior and senior team leaders, to clean, prepare, and paint the hydrants. The assistance from the PrOVES team helps keep the Town’s infrastructure in tiptop shape and is very much appreciated.

BENNETT ROAD STORMWATER AND FLOOD RESILIENCY PROJECT - Durham to Receive $2,040,000 

Durham Public Works was notified this past year that the Town’s application to replace up to three critical culvert crossings on Bennett Road was identified for funding in the FY 2023 Appropriations Act. The three culvert crossings included in the conceptual design analysis completed by CMA Engineers are Corsey Brook (nearest the Packers Fall Road intersection), Woodman Brook, and LaRoche Brook. Each culvert is hydraulically insufficient and shows varying degrees of failure and structural deficiency requiring action.  The next step in the process is to complete an EPA Community Grant online application that Public Works is currently working on. This $2,040,000 federal grant includes funding to complete immediate final design and permitting, as well as construction funding in a later phase for up to 3 culvert replacements. Total project cost is $2,550,000 which includes a required local 20% match in the amount of $510,000. 

Following the completion of the watermain project which replaced over 2,500 lineal feet of 6” and 8” cast iron water main, fire hydrants, valves and incorporated a new natural gas line within the Phase 1 project limits of Emerson Road, the entire project has now entered the final phase of construction. This final phase involves the reclamation of the existing roadway, drainage improvements and installation of new binder and wearing coarse pavement along with sidewalk reconstruction and paving. Paving of binder coarse pavement was completed on Friday August 24th, with final coarse paving planned for summer of 2024. The installation of binder coarse allows for the pavement and watermain/gas trenches to experience one complete freeze/thaw cycle to ensure optimum compaction, eliminating roadway settlement, while also verifying stormwater flow patterns.  

Today, members of the Durham Police served pizza to 215 incoming freshmen at Oyster River High School. A good time was had by all, and a lot of pizza was served. Thank you to our friends at Durham House of Pizza who worked tirelessly preparing the pizza and best of luck to this year’s in-coming class!

The Durham Police Department is excited to announce a partnership with the Be SMART for Kids Campaign to raise awareness for secure gun storage. Please visit the Durham Police Department Facebook or Instagram page daily between 08/28/2023 through 09/02/2023 to learn more about secure firearm storage, tips for talking with children about firearms, facts and resources on child firearm suicide, and more.

On Tuesday, at the end-of-summer department meeting, senior staff from SHARPP presented training to the entire Police Department. The training included such topics as SHARPP protocol, interview techniques, collaboration strategies and several topics to aid police in establishing a rapport with survivors.  For more information on SHARPP, please click HERE.

INVITATION TO BID FOR BUILDING AND PURCHASE OF CUSTOM HEAVY RESCUE APPARATUS - Deadline for sealed bids extended to August 31, 2023, at 3:00 pm.  

The Town of Durham Fire Department will receive sealed bids until no later than 3:00 pm, prevailing time, August 30, 2023, at the Durham Fire Department Chief’s Office, Durham Fire Department, 51 College Road, Durham, New Hampshire for Contract #2023-DFD-Heavy-Rescue for building a custom heavy rescue truck to include all necessary labor, equipment, and materials as outlined in the full specifications for the Town of Durham Fire Department at the following link HERE.

The Durham Professional Firefighters Local #2253 would like to introduce Smokey the Fire Dog. Smokey will give short tips on Fire Safety, weekly so Parents and guardians can generate conversation with their children about Fire Safety. Keep an eye out in the weekly updates These small questions and tips are a great way for you as a Parent to teach your kids about Fire Safety, the more they know the safer they will be.

WEEK #33

While we are outdoors, we need to be careful of some of the plants around us. For some helpful tips, click HERE.

COMMUNITY INVITED TO PROVIDE INPUT FOR THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT OYSTER RIVER SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

Superintendent Morse has announced his coming retirement at the end of the current school year and the ORCSD School Board has officially announced the search for his successor. The School Board invites highly qualified and future-focused candidates to apply for the position of Superintendent of Schools, with a start date of July 1, 2024. The district has hired The New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to assist with the search. Applications are due on Oct 27, 2023.

The School Board invites the community to take part in the search by providing input during the search process. A survey will be provided on the district’s website in September and shared with targeted stakeholders. Community members will also be invited to attend focus groups during the month of September. 

The information gathered at these meetings and through the survey will be used to establish a profile of the preferred candidate. More information, including dates and locations, will be provided soon, including on the Superintendent Search page on the district’s website. The webpage also contains more information about the entire search process, which is anticipated to run through the end of December 2023. 

Community members interested in reading the School Board's letter and obtain additional information regarding the superintendent search process, can visit ORSCD's website HERE.

UNIVERSITY DAY IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 - Rain Date: September 14

UNH will be hosting University Day on Thursday, September 7th (Rain date: Thursday, September 14th). Main Street will be closed from Garrison Avenue to Edgewood Road for the event from approximately 10 AM to 8 PM.

The event will take place on both sides of Main Street. Citizens may wish to plan ahead for any travel plans they may currently have scheduled for those dates.