Friday Updates - September 10, 2021

Friday, September 10, 2021

FOLLOWING LENGTHY STUDY AND DELIBERATION, DURHAM TOWN COUNCIL VOTES 7-2 TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REMOVAL OF MILL POND DAM ON OYSTER RIVER

Following public feedback and thoughtful statements by each member of the Durham Town Council, the Council voted Monday evening, 9/13/21, 7-2 to move forward with dam removal of the historic, head of tide Mill Pond Dam on the Oyster River.   Councilors Wayne Burton and Dinny Watters voted in the minority.  

The following action was approved by a roll call vote of 7-2:

“The Durham Town Council, upon recommendation by the Administrator, does hereby approve the Final Design Contract for Alternative # 5 - Dam Removal to Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. for the sum of $284,226 and authorizes the Administrator to sign said contract with the monies coming from Account #07- 2185-801-36-000 and #07-1784-800-36-000.”

The meeting and discussion can be viewed on DCAT On Demand, Channel 22, or on line at https://durham.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=33eae0e1-70c1-4e07-b4a9-8a85db82....  You can click on the last agenda item and the replay will begin at the start of the Council deliberation.  

Town staff subsequently executed an engineering contract with VHB to commence the aforementioned work as directed by the Council.

A second option was also presented to the Council by the Administrator, which the board opted not to act upon in favor of the prior motion/action.

NO ACTION WAS TAKEN ON: 

“The Durham Town Council, upon recommendation by the Administrator, does hereby approve the final Design Contract for Alternative #3 - Dam Stabilization to Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.for the sum of$247,999 and authorizes the Administrator to sign said contract with the monies coming from Account #07- 2185-801-36-000. Approval of this alternative is contingent upon the NHDES Dam Bureau approving a waiver to regulate the dam as a "non-menace structure". Furthermore, approval of such a waiver request would be contingent upon the abutting property owner recognizing that dam failure would have a detrimental impact on their property and accepting the consequences associated with such an occurrence. NHDES would require that any such agreement would run with the land such that future property owners would also be bound.”

The Council communication with backup material concerning the dam and the two options can be found as the last agenda item at this link: 

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/town_cou...

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DURHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT/HERITAGE COMMISSION SPONSORS HISTORIC PRESERVATION TRAINING FOR INTERESTED BOARD MEMBERS AND RESIDENTS 

The Durham Historic District/Heritage Commission invites interested residents to join them in a special training program about historic preservation.  Two sessions will be provided by the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) on the following two dates:

·        Session 1:  this coming Thursday, September 23, 2021 from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m.

·        Session 2:  the following Thursday, September 30, 2021 from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m.

The CAMP (Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program) training is oriented to historic district commissions but many others will find the subject matter of interest.  Please see the attached two-page agenda showing the schedule for each day.  You can attend just one day or both days; the first session may be of greater interest to the public.  Please send an email to the Town Planner if you would like to join us at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us and specify which session(s) you are interested in attending.  The sessions will be conducted over Zoom.  We will send the link prior to the sessions.

The goal of CAMP is to provide high-quality, engaging and informative training through presentations, hands-on exercises, and group discussions. The program is designed to provide education and support to design review commissions, Downtown and Main Street organizations, neighborhood organizations, local and statewide non-profits, community leaders and public officials.  These two sessions have been customized for Durham.

You can see more information about the program here:  https://napcommissions.org/wp-content/uploads/CAMP-Menu-1.pdf.   We received a Certified Local Government grant to cover the cost for $5,500 and the Town is providing the 40% match through in-kind services.

We particularly hope to encourage members of the HDC, Planning Board, and Zoning Board to take part in the training session.

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OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL BOARD NEWS FOR SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

September 20-24 is Spirit Week at Oyster River High School. Classes have planned planning a number of fun events. Go Bobcats!

Oyster River Middle School will begin offering world language to 5th grade students (previously offered for grades 6-8) around September 30. This change is made possible by teaching world language and music on alternating days and requires no additional staff. Additional schedule improvements will be possible once the new ORMS building is open, with dedicated space for world language, music, art, and other programs.

ORMS will host open houses for alumni or others who would like to revisit the building on September 24th 3:30-5:00 pm and September 25th 11:00am-2:00pm. The current ORMS building will be removed after the new building opens spring of 2022. Contact Middle School Principal Jay Richard (jrichard@orcsd.org) for more details. This also corresponds with events celebrating 60 years of soccer at ORHS on Sept 24-25.

The School Board will hold a public hearing on October 6 regarding proposed changes to Policy BEDH, Public Participation at Board Meetings. The proposed changes are intended to ensure that public comment focuses on those with a vested interest in Oyster River Schools (i.e. residents of Durham, Lee, Madbury, and Barrington which sends tuition students to ORHS). Details of the proposed changes will be published around October 1 with the backup materials for the October 6 meeting. Policy changes require two separate votes of the School Board.

The SASS program, New Hampshire's Safer At School Screening for COVID-19 will be getting underway in Oyster River. Parents of 248 students have opted-in for the initial round of screening, as well as a significant percentage of school staff across all four buildings and various departments. Details will be provided to those who have signed up as schedules are finalized. Parents may opt-in by completing the Consent form in PowerSchool, and may opt-out at any time. FAQ is online here. https://p12cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_538005/Fi...

BUDGET AND CIP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS UNDER WAY FOR FY 2022 

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 been preparing their proposed budgets and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) requests for FY 2022 for consideration by the Administrator, Todd Selig, as part of the annual budget development process.

Beginning in September (next week in fact!) Business Manager Gail Jablonski and Mr. Selig will begin to meet with each of the Town’s department heads and members of their department, as well as many board/committee/commission/trustee members 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 2021-2022 states: “Task the administrator with meeting the following budget goals for 2022. Hold the municipal tax rate at the 2021 level or less. For the medium and long-term, the Town will continue to make an effort to control its spending, broaden the tax base, and explore innovative ways to stabilize or reduce the municipal tax rate.”

A second goal states: “Pursue opportunities to broaden the tax base that are consistent with Council goals and be mindful of the economic impact they may have on the Town’s operational and long-term fiscal health.”

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 had been planned to be presented to and discussed with the Planning Board on Sept. 8th. but this was rescheduled for Sept. 29th at the Planning Board's request.

The budget development and review process is a long, detailed, cumbersome, and time-consuming effort so we apologize in advance if it impacts response time to citizen requests.

DURHAM PUBLIC WORKS PLANS TO COMPLETE REINSPECTION OF MILL POND DAM THIS FALL WITH VHB AND PARE CORP. AS RIVER FLOW ALLOWS

The Department of Public Works plans to reinspect the Mill Pond Dam this fall to monitor structural deterioration of the concrete, primarily one of the ribs nearest the gate structure. This may require lowering the Mill Pond by a few inches depending on flows in the Oyster River. See pictures below. More information will be provided to the public and abutters when the work is scheduled.