Friday Updates - July 7, 2017

                    NEWS & HAPPENINGS...

Friday, July 7, 2017

Moon over Main Street.  Courtesy Todd Selig

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On Monday evening, July 3rd, Town Councilor Kenny Rotner asked the Durham Town Council to consider sending a communication to the State of New Hampshire objecting to a request for voter information from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. The resolution would be sent to New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner, who was named by President Donald Trump to sit on the commission. The majority of the Council supported this action. Administrator Selig will therefore work with Councilor Rotner to craft a statement that will either be brought back to the Council as part of a resolution at the board’s next scheduled meeting on July 17, or if it is necessary to act sooner, Mr. Selig will send a letter under his signature on behalf of the Town.

PLANNING BOARD TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED RIVERWOODS MARKETING CENTER - JULY 12TH

At its meeting on Wednesday, July 12, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed Riverwoods Marketing Center.  The site is located on the right side of Dover Road/Route 108 just north of Route 4, adjacent to the parcel for the proposed Riverwoods continuing care retirement community. 

The yellow barn on the subject lot will be renovated for the marketing center. Revised drawings have been submitted for the barn at 56 Dover Road Riverwoods presented these drawings to the Durham Heritage Commission at a public hearing held on Thursday evening this week. The drawings that were submitted to the Heritage Commission can be viewed HERE.

Updated plans can be viewed HERE.

Residents are invited to attend the public hearing or email their comments to the Town Planner at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us.

PLANNING BOARD TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON AMENDMENTS TO ITS RULES OF PROCEDURE - JULY 12TH

At its meeting on Wednesday, July 12, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on numerous amendments to the its Rules of Procedure. 

Proposed changes can be viewed HERE. 

Residents are invited to attend the public hearing or email their comments to the Town Planner at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us.

The old porch railing guard has missing and broken pieces. The carpenters have made replacement parts to match.

PROGRESS IS BEING MADE ON THE FORMER TOWN OFFICE BUILDING AT 15 NEWMARKET ROAD

Headway has been made on the historic renovation of the old Town Hall building at 15 Newmarket Road, which was purchased by local residents Carrie and William Salas in order to relocate their business, Geo Solutions, to Durham.

The Salas’s were awarded a Federal Historic Grant, and the building is being carefully renovated to meet the requirements of that grant. Much of the work to date has concentrated on reframing spaces on the interior. 

According to the grant, 60% of the old siding must be kept and restored, and the balance of the siding may be removed and replaced with new siding that matches. EnviroVantage, an environmental & remediation contractor, was hired to test and remediate hazardous materials.

REPORT ON DURHAM POLICE DELIVERED - National CALEA Reaccreditation Process for Durham Police Department
Many residents may not know that the Durham Police Department is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). This non-profit credentialing authority was founded with the express purpose to establish a set of standards that a modern, effective and ethical police agency should incorporate and adhere to as their guiding policies and procedures.

The standards are broken into subject matter to include such diverse topics as law enforcement role and authority; organization, management and administration; the personnel structure; law enforcement operations and communications to name a few. Within these subsets are found additional standards that govern the recruitment and selection of new police officers; training, performance evaluation and promotions; patrol tactics; investigations; evidence collection and storage and budget activities. Overall, there are 459 standards considered “basic” to the proper management of a law enforcement agency.

The essence of the CALEA accreditation program is to ensure that a law enforcement agency’s policies and procedures are in-line with the industry standards and most importantly, these procedures are followed and adhered to by the agency! Unfortunately in the law enforcement field it is a common trait that contemporary policies and procedures are in place yet all too often routinely ignored when “inconvenient” or too difficult. Saying the department follows policy is not sufficient as accreditation consists of an “on-site assessment” that is accomplished when two (2) out-of-state police managers inspect the department to ensure that the agency in fact following standards. That exercise occurred this spring and during their visit, the team conducted an extensive review of our policies and procedures; they interviewed staff; conducted inspections of our facilities and equipment; and often accompanied officers on patrol to observe their actions. Additionally they met with various members of the community such as Superintendent James Morse, County Attorney Tom Velardi as well as Town Administrator Todd Selig. From this inspection the assessment team has completed a written report of their findings, which will be reviewed by the full board of CALEA Commissioners in July of this year at a meeting in Providence, RI.

At the hearing in July before the full CALEA board, Chief Kurz, along with members of his staff and Admin. Selig, will be subjected to questions gleaned from the teams’ report. Once the Commissioners are satisfied that they have heard all applicable information related to the Durham Police Departments’ ability to meet the standards, they will vote on whether to recommend to the full Commission that Durham be reaccredited for the next three-years.

View the full report from the CALEA assessment team HERE.

The Eversource Seacoast Reliability Project being proposed by Eversource would run from Madbury through Durham and Newington en route to Portsmouth.

EVERSOURCE EXPERTS ADMIT TO MODELING ERROR – Update on the Seacoast Reliability Project

Eversource consultants are revising a study related to its Seacoast Reliability Project after acknowledging a “coding error” in the initial submission.

The utility and its consultants from Normandeau Associates downplayed the mistake, related to sediment dispersion in Little Bay from tidal forces, and suggested the revised findings would not change dramatically.

Eversource is seeking state approval to build the 13-mile electrical transmission line running from Madbury to Portsmouth. Some residents have raised concerns about the project, particularly one-mile section to be buried under Little Bay. The NH Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) has sole permitting authority regarding the project.

Eversource indicates that it remains confident that the proposed crossing can be accomplished safely and effectively, without harm to the bay and the surrounding environment, and that the ongoing rigorous state permitting process will bear that out.

Durham has spent $65,000 on outside consultants hired to review Normandeau’s data. The team, consisting of GeoInsight and The Woods Hole Group, spotted the coding error along with other potential shortcomings in the data.

Eversource’s consultants submitted new modeling data late last week to the SEC to meet a July 1st deadline, which Durham’s independent experts are in the process of reviewing at this time. Additional technical sessions before the SEC will be held on July 11th, where parties to the case are able to question Eversource’s experts concerning the new submissions and other relevant data.

View an article in Foster’s Daily Democrat regarding the issue HERE.

In addition, a group of Durham residents, called Seacoast Friends, is planning an event entitled, "Protect our Great Bay from Eversource's Seacoast Reliabilty Project" on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, from 3:30 - 5:30 PM, sidewalk gathering, at the NH Department of Environmental Services located at 222 International Drive at Pease.  For more information, email nicolessmith916@gmail.com.   

One of the questions prepared by the Future Land Use Subcommittee.  Courtesy Barbara Dill

FUTURE LAND USE SUBCOMMITTEE CONTINUES TO SEEK FEEDBACK
The community held a Future Land Use Forum on Saturday, May 13, as part of the master plan process. Last month, we received the final summary from facilitator Peggy Kieschnick. The summary will be used to help write the Future Land Use Chapter. The forum was a highly successful event with over 100 participants. At the same time, the subcommittee desires to continue the process of collecting input from as wide a variety of Durham residents as possible.

To that end, be on the lookout for comment cards that the subcommittee will be distributing at various Town events and at some local venues.

Last week, for example, subcommittee chair Bob Brown attended the Parks & Recreation camp out at Wagon Hill Farm and obtained feedback from families there. One young participant answered the above question with, “Flying cars!” 

View the Final Summary of the May 13th event HERE.

The UNH Interoperability Lab recently conducted a Community Service landscaping project in the Pettee Brook metered parking lot. Above, the IOL volunteers took time out of their busy afternoon to take a team photo.

BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS DURING THE SUMMER - Permit approval process can take up to two weeks in summer.

Residents are reminded that due to increased numbers of building permit applications submitted during the summer months, approval of a residential building permit can take up to two weeks.

Residents are encouraged to submit building permit applications for their projects well in advance of the start date to ensure that they will have a building permit before the project begins. 

No work is allowed on a home without a building permit.

DURHAM FARMERS’ MARKET OPEN MONDAY AFTERNOONS AT JACKSON’S LANDING
The Seacoast Growers Association is operating the Durham Farmers’ Market on Mondays at Jackson’s Landing, 10 Old Piscataqua Road, from 2:15 – 6 PM. The season officially opened June 5th.

In addition to the Wagon Hill Farm barn project, Heritage Commission members also heard on July 6th from representatives from Riverwoods regarding the yellow barn on the subject lot that will be renovated for the marketing center. Courtesy Todd Selig

WAGON HILL FARM BARN PROJECT UPDATE

The Durham Heritage Commission met with Public Works Director Mike Lynch on Thursday night of this week, July 6th, to discuss the ongoing barn project at Wagon Hill Farm.

View the meeting on DCAT On Demand HERE.

View an article in Foster’s Daily Democrat concerning the barn project from last week HERE.

Work has begun at the Durham Police Department, pictured above.  Courtesy DPD

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES AT DURHAM PD
Work at the police department this week was focused upon replacing the septic system holding tank and preparing the rear of the facility for footings that will be the addition to the rear. A new entry into the Break Room has begun that will allow the officers access to the ground floor while the addition begins in earnest.
 

Chief Kurz wants to express his appreciation to Chief Dean of the UNH Police Department who has graciously opened his agency’s facility so that Durham Police can accomplish booking of arrestees during construction and renovations ongoing at the Durham Police facility.

It is an outstanding attribute that we can count on our neighbors to assist us during such times.

DURHAM POLICE SERGEANT KATHRYN MONE BEGINS ASSIGNMENT TO THE FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY IN QUANTICO, VA

Police Sergeant Kathryn Mone, a 15-year veteran of the Durham Police Department, begins her assignment to the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia on Monday July 10th. This is a highly regarded, invitation-only professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers nominated by their agency heads because of their demonstrated leadership qualities.

The 10-week program provides coursework in management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science and serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.

Sergeant Mone will join over 200 law enforcement practitioners for this session from every State and a number of foreign countries at the FBI campus in Quantico, Virginia. Less than 1% of police managers in the United States are invited to attend this prestigious training. Upon her return to Durham in September, Kathryn will be joining Chief Kurz, Deputy Chief Kelley, and Captain Holmstock, all of whom are FBI National Academy graduates.
 

The PDCA Cycle (shown above) can be used as tool as part of the Kaizen process

KAIZEN SESSION HELD REGARDING UNH STUDENT IMPACTS IN DURHAM

There are numerous benefits associated with hosting UNH and interacting with energetic, intelligent, and youthful students within the broader Durham community. At the same time, student & non-student activity on and around the UNH core campus can have negative social impacts for community (noise, alcohol, trash, gatherings, quality of life). Some examples of this include:

Cinco de Mayo – Inappropriate characterization of minority populations, large crowds, noise, inhibiting downtown business, impacts public school operations, socially unacceptable behavior, alcohol, trash, negative perception of UNH students, very negative portrayal for UNH as institution, extensive police mobilization & social/financial cost.
Warm spring/fall days – Impacts equivalent to “Cinco light.” Heavy concentrations of student activity and alcohol consumption in broad daylight. Off-putting/disturbing for community, yet not necessarily illegal.
Weekend evening activity (Thursday – Sunday) – Binge drinking, sexual assaults, enhanced police, fire, EMS presence, trash, noise, disruptive behavior (though not necessarily illegal) for neighborhoods.
Weekend daytime activity (Saturday-Sunday) – Very active for police, negative impacts for neighborhoods.
General off campus environment – Trash, cars parked on lawns, unsightly environment, noise, concerns about over occupancy, unsatisfactory impacts on neighborhoods, a feeling of helplessness by townspeople.

The result is a conflict of lifestyles impacting the on and off campus environment – Students doing what they do, often without ill meaning, but oblivious to neighborhood impacts, with significant societal implications. (“Oh, that’s upsetting you?”)

While Durham and UNH have separately and in partnership implemented numerous strategies over the years to address these issues, the Town Council earlier this year asked Admin. Selig to evaluate whether enhancements could be made to existing protocols. To that end Mr. Selig invited a number of Councilors, department heads, and representatives from UNH and the community to join him this week to participate in a Kaizen (a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices) session focusing on the topic. Included were: Town Councilors Kenny Rotner and Jim Lawson, Code Officer Audrey Cline, Police Chief David Kurz, Fire Chief Corey Landry, UNH Dean of Students Ted Kirkpatrick, resident (and former UNH Dean of Liberal Arts) Ken Fuld, and MUB Director MaryAnne Lustgraaf.

The group generated some initial ideas that will be further evaluated at a future continued Kaizen session later this summer. Some initial ideas included:

• Landlords establishing clear/enforceable expectations for off campus behavior on private property, and holding their tenants accountable for meeting established expectations, is absolutely essential.
• Re-examine the Disorderly House Ordinance to more effectively hold landlords accountable who are choosing not to monitor and hold tenants responsible for inappropriate behavior.
• Posting all Durham Police Department booking photos on line/Facebook.
• Enhanced code enforcement dealing with trash violations on weekends & clarification of process.
• Could Durham residents somehow be involved as part of the orientation process for incoming UNH students to emphasize that Durham is a community and that the University is part of this community?
• Establishing clear expectations for athletes living off campus both in terms of behavior, consequences for inappropriate behavior, and apartment locations.
• Are there bottom up opportunities to undertake more activities that involve both students and traditional Durham residents to force stronger positive relationships?
• Evaluate the possibility of expanding the UNH “Red Coat” program to include some townspeople.

Durham Fire Department's utility vehicle with new florescent chevron striping

NEW HIGHLY FLORESCENT CHEVRON STRIPING BEING INSTALLED ON DURHAM EMERGENCY VEHICLES
Durham is in the process of evaluating and in many cases equipping its various emergency and public works vehicles with new highly florescent chevron striping in an effort to make the vehicles more visible during emergency scenes and while simply engaged in routine business. The Fire Department installed the new chevron patter on its utility vehicle this week. The front line fire trucks have this pattern on the rear already. The Police Department has selected a pattern for its marked cruisers. And DPW is evaluating patterns for the trash collection vehicles, plows, and other vehicles. The goal is enhanced safety for staff, residents, and other travelers who pass our vehicles on the road. In addition, fewer accidents means lower insurance premiums which is good for our bottom line.

4-H GROUP VISITS DURHAM POLICE

UNH hosted a 4-H camp that provides opportunity for teenaged students to focus upon leadership while engaged in a number of STEM activities which is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Detective Sergeant Jack Dalton and Detective Tom Kilroy presented a criminal forensic presentation on the sciences involved in solving crime.

They delved into the series of arsons that occurred in Durham in 2015 where DNA evidence, coupled with other technology was used to solve the case and ultimately result in a conviction of the arsonist.