Friday Updates - June 24, 2022

Friday, June 24, 2022

DURHAM POLICE CAN CHECK YOUR HOME WHILE YOU ARE AWAY

With summer here and vacations planned, the Durham Police would like to let residents know that while you are away, Durham Officers will check your home to ensure everything is just as you left it. To get your home on the Durham house check list, simply call the department at (603) 868-2324 during normal business hours. The women and men of the Durham Police Department wish you all a safe and happy summer season.

MADBURY ROAD COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT UPDATE – DPW Continues Subsurface Exploration Next Week

Please be advised that the Durham Public Works Department will continue subsurface explorations on Madbury Road as part of the Madbury Road Complete Streets Project on Monday June 20th. This work is anticipated to be completed over the next week.

The roadway will be restricted to one lane in the work area with alternating traffic between 7:00am and 5:00pm.  Access to adjacent residences, businesses and institutions within the work areas will be maintained at all times.  Disruptions to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic are expected to be minimal however we ask that the commuting public seek alternative routes if possible and allow additional time to reach their destinations. We thank you for your patience. 

This schedule is subject to change without notice due to weather, mechanical issues, and other conditions.

 For additional information please contact Durham Public Works at (603) 868-5578

Comparison of Existing and New Pettee Brook Fee Structures

Existing Pettee Brook Fees:

Hours 1-2 no parking fee

Energy fee: $0.18/kWh

Hour 3 to limit: $1.00/hr.

New Pettee Brook Fees (July 1)

Hours 1-2 no parking fee

Energy fee: $0.25/kWh

Hour 3 on if car is still charging: $2.00

If car has stopped drawing current after hour 2, grace period of 1 hour @ $2.00.

After grace period: $3.00/hr.

DPW TO CLEAN CATCH BASINS IN NEIGHBORHOODS AS PART OF STORMWATER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES - Here's the list of upcoming roadways to be impacted...

Durham Public Works will be working with stormwater catch basin cleaning contractor, Eastern Pipe Services, for its Catch Basin Cleaning Program. This program protects our water resources by removing sediment and pollutants from the Town’s catch basins ensuring proper operation. The contractor will be cleaning stormwater catch basins along the following Town roadways from Monday, June 27th through Friday July, July 1st: 

1. Bagdad Road
2. Carriage Way
3. Cowell Drive
4. Griffith Drive
5. Hampshire Avenue
6. Madbury Road
7. Main Street
8. Oyster River Road
9. Pettee Brook Lane
10. Razorbill Circle
11. Sauer Terrace
12. Shearwater Street
13. Surrey Lane

The roadway will be restricted to one lane in the work areas with alternating traffic between 7:30am and 3:30pm. Access to adjacent residences, businesses and institutions within the work areas will be maintained at all times. Disruptions to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic are expected to be minimal however we ask that the commuting public seek alternative routes if possible and allow additional time to reach their destinations. We thank you for your patience.  For additional information please contact the Durham Public Works team at (603) 868-5578.

DURHAM FIRE DEPARTMENT WELCOMES CALL FIREFIGHTER CHRISTINE ROUNDTREE

Please join us in welcoming Christine Roundtree to the position of Call Firefighter at the Durham Fire Department effective May 4, 2022.

Christine is also currently a Volunteer Firefighter for the Madbury Fire Department and works full-time as a Residence Hall Director for the University of New Hampshire.

Christine attended Connecticut College where she received a bachelor's degree in Anthropology. She also attended the University of Vermont where she received her master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration. She is currently taking Firefighter I & II and anticipates beginning an EMT course in August 2022.  

If you see Christine around town, please feel free to say hello and welcome her to our community!

1. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist's impacting the open door of a parked vehicle,
2. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane,
3. Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way,
4. Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists, and
5. Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Guidance:

⁰² The Shared Lane Marking should not be placed on roadways that have a speed limit above 35 mph.

Standard:

⁰³ Shared Lane Markings shall not be used on shoulders or in designated bicycle lanes.

Guidance:

⁰⁴ If used in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking, Shared Lane Markings should be placed so that the centers of the markings are at least 11 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.

⁰⁵ If used on a street without on-street parking that has an outside travel lane that is less than 14 feet wide, the centers of the Shared Lane Markings should be at least 4 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.

⁰⁶ If used, the Shared Lane Marking should be placed immediately after an intersection and spaced at intervals not greater than 250 feet thereafter.

Durham has sharrows on many of its arterial and collector roadways, notably in areas where narrow lanes exist and where cyclists are encouraged to ride away from parked cars. 

The Durham Public Works Department’s Traffic Control Division began refreshing the paint on bicycle “sharrows” this week targeting those on Canney and Bagdad Roads. Bicycle “sharrow” painting will continue along Town arterial and major collector roadways for the next several weeks.

ASSESSOR TO INSPECT PROPERTIES REQUIRING BUILDING PERMITS IN THE COMING WEEKS

It’s that time of year again when assessor, Jim Rice, will be inspecting all properties in Durham during March and April that have recently undergone new construction such as building new homes, additions, made renovations or have recently been demolished.   

If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (603) 868-8064. 

DURHAM PUBLIC WORKS TO COMPLETE SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION ON BENNETT ROAD NEXT WEEK

Previously the Town of Durham, working with it Engineering consultant CMA Engineers, completed conceptual designs and cost estimates for the three culverts on Bennett Road, which include LaRoche, Woodman and Corset Brooks.  Each of these structures exhibited several substantial deficiencies including a preliminary finding that the existing roadway is below the mapped FEMA 100-year flood Elevation for the Corset and Woodman structures and highly susceptible to roadway flooding. In addition, the Woodman Brook crossing includes dry-laid stone retaining wall structures at the culvert and along the adjacent roadway approach which is in poor condition and  requires attention prior to failure.  

Durham Public Works has included a request for $2.5 million dollars in funding within a Congressionally Directed Spending Request through United States Senator Shaheen’s office and is pleased to report that the project has been viewed favorably and has been submitted by Senator Shaheen for the FY2023 appropriations process.  The design and permitting phase work is now underway which includes ground survey, wetland delineation and subsurface geotechnical exploration. The subsurface explorations will take place  from June 29th to July 1st at these culvert locations.  

The roadway will be restricted to one lane in the work areas with alternating traffic between 7:30am and 3:30pm.  Access to adjacent residences, businesses and institutions within the work areas will be maintained at all times.  Disruptions to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic are expected to be minimal however we ask that the commuting public seek alternative routes if possible and allow additional time to reach their destinations. We thank you for your patience.   For additional information please contact Durham Public Works at (603) 868-5578

NEW MARKER INSTALLED AT 66 MAIN STREET - Outlining the history of the former ATO property at this location.

A new marker has been installed at 66 Main Street, the site next to Town and Campus where the Town of Durham recently built the parking lot. The bronze plaque, set into a large granite stone brought onto the site by Public Works, recognizes the history of the grand white house that used to sit atop the knoll. The structure was built in 1806 by Deacon Daniel Mathes. Subsequent owners included Major Benjamin Mathes (brother of Daniel), Town Selectman John McDaniel, Postmaster Jasper McDaniel (son of John), Reverend Henry Talbot, pastor of the Community Church, and distinguished UNH chemistry professor Charles Parsons.  A Greek organization which later became Alpha Tau Omega purchased the property in 1912. ATO closed in 2012 and the house was demolished in 2015.

In consultation with the Town of Durham, the University purchased the lot from ATO after the fraternity closed, in order to ensure that future development would be compatible with goals of the University and the Town. (UNH never contemplated expanding its campus onto the site.) The University and the Town then worked together to identify a developer to create a high-quality mixed use project. Those efforts did not come to fruition and the Town then purchased the site from UNH. The Town continued efforts to oversee a private development of the site but ultimately decided to hold off on that process due to uncertainty and volatility in the market now. The parking lot will serve the community well in the interim. When the site is developed the plaque will be moved to an appropriate spot on the lot.  

The University paid for the plaque but coordinated with the Town on the language and placement.  When UNH purchased the property it made a commitment to ATO to install a plaque recognizing the fraternity’s history on the site

SCRAP METAL NOW COLLECTED IN CONTAINERS AT THE TRANSFER STATIONS

For years, the Durham Public Works Department has stored the scrap metal it collects at the Raymond A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station loosely on the ground near the exit of the facility. In addition to being unsightly and unsanitary, it is difficult to manage contamination in its current location and is frequently the culprit of flat vehicle/equipment tires. In accordance with Best Management Practices outlined by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, scrap metal disposed of at the Transfer Station is now collected in a 40 yd3 roll-off container. This container will be located between the bulky waste and construction/demolition debris containers. Durham Public Works would like to kindly remind residents that unauthorized removal of materials from the Raymond A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center is prohibited. 

Additionally, white goods which contain refrigerant (air conditioners, refrigerators, dehumidifiers, freezers, etc.) will now be collected and stored on the left side of the large green structure. 

ICONS OF DURHAM POSTER - IMAGE #9

The beautiful poster “Icons of Durham” created by Ellie Lonske is now available.  The poster can be ordered through the Town Clerk’s office for a donation to the Durham Historical and Cultural Resource Trust of at least $50.  

Here is a rendering of the Ballard House situated proudly at the corner of Main Street and Madbury Road, at the beginning of the historic district.  The structure is noteworthy for its fine proportions, steep pediment and simple transom window above the narrow black door, first floor window hoods, and paired chimneys. Joshua Ballard built this early Federal-style house in 1790.  President George Washington gave his first state of the union address that year.  The first U.S. census was also conducted showing a population just under 4 million including just under 700,000  slaves.

The Durham Historic Association walking tour says of the building, “Located on the turnpike  between Portsmouth and Concord, it was destined to become a favorite  tavern stop in the early years of the village.  Charles E. Hoitt acquired the property in the late 1800s and remodeled the old house to a home befitting his position in the community.  He was a selectman for more than twenty years, a prominent ‘Granger’ and a county commissioner – all in spite of being Durham’s only Democrat.  It is said that  ‘his popularity was due to his cordial way of meeting people and to honesty and economy in handling the people’s money, the necessary expenses in a new college town demanding wise and strict calculation.’ “

SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING CURBSIDE COLLECTION ROUTE CHANGES EFFECTIVE MONDAY, JUNE 27TH 

The Durham Public Works Department would like to make residents along the following roadways aware of a schedule change to their curbside solid waste and recycling collection day:

1. Newmarket Road (Durham Point Road to Dover Road)
2. Dover Road (Newmarket Road to Route 4 overpass)
3. Schoolhouse Lane
4. Bayview Road
5. Old Landing Road
6. Young Drive
7. Old Piscataqua Road

To improve the efficiency of Monday’s and Wednesday’s curbside solid waste and recycling collection routes, effective Monday, June 27th, 2022, the scheduled collection will change from Wednesdays to Mondays. 

As they have been in the past, solid waste and recyclables must be placed curbside by 7:00am on your collection day. The collection equipment passes through each neighborhood once and will not return for solid waste and recycling that is placed curbside late.

For commercial properties within these bounds that do not participate in our program, please ignore this notice.

We understand that this change may be inconvenient and disrupt normal routines. However, your understanding and cooperation is appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Durham Public Works Department at (603) 868-5578.

NATURE GROUPIE INTERNS HELP DURHAM'S LAND STEWARDSHIP EFFORTS

For two weeks in early June, Dan Persico, Malian Jennings, and Emily Wood - three UNH students that are interning with Nature Groupie for the summer - assisted on various stewardship projects on Durham’s lands.

Projects they helped accomplish include: installing trail sign posts on the Doe Farm and Oyster River Preserves; trail maintenance at Spruce Hole Bog; removing invasive species at the Wagon Hill Living Shoreline; weeding, and spreading wood-chips at the Milne Sanctuary; and sign repair and buckthorn removal at the Longmarsh Preserve. They also attended June’s Land Stewardship Committee meeting to better understand how land stewardship decisions are made at the municipal level.

Our thanks go out to them, as many of these projects would have taken much longer to accomplish without their enthusiastic help! We wish them well during the rest of their summer internship, and in their future natural resource careers! The Town also wishes to thank the staff at Nature Groupie for their ongoing partnership, and for providing the interns to Durham for a few weeks each summer! 

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATIONAL CHANGES IMPLEMENTED WITH UNH MOVING INTO SUMMER SESSION

With UNH now on summer break, the wastewater treatment facility has taken offline, half its treatment process tanks. This includes a primary solids clarifier, one biological aeration train, one secondary solids clarifier, and one chlorine contact tank. With the decrease in student populations, the wastewater flows are cut by half and loadings by two-thirds. This decrease in flows and offline status allows the Wastewater Division team to perform required preventative and scheduled maintenance of this critical equipment.