Friday Updates - September 2, 2022

Friday, September 2, 2022

A MESSAGE FROM THE SWAP SHOP - Please use the Overflow table if you are making a large drop off. 

The Swap Shop continues to be a great success thanks to everyone's donations and the great crew of volunteers who donate their time to making the shop work — but we need your assistance when you deliver many items at one time. 

Recently we’ve had generous donations come in, and the number of items has created a bit of a snarl at the front table. 

To reduce this congestion when multiple people arrive at one time, we will ask people with three or more boxes to take them to the Overflow table located by the garden items and bicycles. 

This will allow volunteers to assist others and efficiently find homes for additional items arriving at the same time.  

We appreciate your donations and your support.

SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING DISPOSAL PROCEDURES – A Reminder to Residents

Durham Public Works would like to kindly remind residents of the following: 

1. Solid waste collected curbside must be in a tied bag and preferably placed into a lock-on style container for ease of disposal. The collection vehicles are operated by a single employee who on average handles between 10,000 – 14,000 pounds of solid waste per day. 
2. Commingled and mixed paper recycling are collected on alternate weeks. A container which includes a mixture of these materials will not be collected. Please refer to the image above which illustrates common commingled contaminates.
3. Our collection vehicles do not handle large boxes well. They get caught at the top of the compaction hopper, causing other materials to back-up and eventually overflow. This is particularly dangerous when the truck is driving down the road, as the cardboard is prone to flying out of the hopper. We kindly ask that all cardboard be cut into 2’x2’ pieces before being placed in your blue bin or other recycling container and when disposing of at the Transfer Station. We also ask that loose cardboard left beside containers be tied with string for ease of handling. Please refer to the image above which illustrates common cardboard contaminates. It is important to note that when disposing of cardboard curbside, it may be commingled with mixed paper products. 
4. The following items are NOT accepted in scrap metal container at the Raymond A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center as they are dangerous and pose very serious environmental and safety hazards to Durham Public Works staff:

Equipment with internal combustion engines must be free of all fluids, i.e. petroleum products. 

• Propane, compressed natural gas, oxygen, acetylene, refrigerant, and helium tanks. These tanks can be left in the propane tank containment area to the left of the Swap Shop.
• Live ammunition

ATLANTIC BROADBAND OPERATING AS BREEZELINE MOVES FORWARD WITH CABLE/HIGH SPEED INTERNET INSTALLATION IN DURHAM

You may recall that a cable television franchise agreement was approved by the Council in 2021 for Breezeline Communications (formerly Atlantic Broadband). The work includes installation of aerial and underground fiber within Durham.  

Recently Public Works met with representatives of Breezeline and JBC construction, who will be performing the initial installation of the underground work. The majority of underground work will take place on residential roads and an excavation permit will be issued which will contain certain conditions such as, Traffic Management Plans, public shade tree protection, bonds and insurances, as-builts, construction notifications to impacted residents and restoration requirements. The roads being impacted by the initial phase of underground work are noted below.

Roads impacted include:  Worthen, Edendale, Roysann, Britton, Mill , Carriage, Surrey, Sullivan Falls, Cold Springs, Corson Lane, Ross, Meader, Ellison, Strout , Noble K Peterson, Coe, Sofie Lane, Shearwater, Razorbill, Cormorant, Morgan Way, Williams Way, Tirrell, Deer Meadow.  

DURHAM POLICE RECOGNIZE VOLUNTEER JAY GOOZE VOLUNTEER SERVICE

At a department meeting held on Wednesday of this week Durham Police Chief Rene Kelley proudly presents Dr. Jay Gooze with a plaque honoring him for his many years of dedicated volunteer work with the Durham Police Department. Dr. Gooze is one of the founding members of the Durham Police Citizen Volunteer Program. Dr. Gooze spends countless hours assisting the department by answering telephone calls, greeting visitors, and assisting staff in any number of ways. 

Dr. Gooze was instrumental in guiding the department through a very trying computer upgrade that had languished for several years. Chief Kelley said that Jay worked tirelessly throughout the project spending twelve to fifteen hours a day at the station implementing the upgraded system. Thank you, Jay for all you have done for the members of the Durham Police Department and the citizens of the Town of Durham!

SUSPICIOUS LETTERS BEING RECEIVED BY RESIDENTS

The Durham Police Department is aware of letters being received by various neighborhoods in town. The letters reference an alleged crime and a picture of a person. The allegations in the letter were investigated fully by the Strafford County Attorney’s Office. The Strafford County Attorney’s Office deemed there was no way to move forward with any type of prosecution. The sending of these letters now is under investigation. If you receive a suspicious letter, generally addressed to “Community Members,” please contact the Police Department at 603-868-2324 and an officer will come and take the letter. It is possible you may receive the letter as “returned” mail. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the detective division of the Durham Police Department.  

DATA VERIFICATION FOR 2023 REVALUATION IS UNDERWAY

As you may be aware, the State of New Hampshire requires all real estate within the municipality to be reappraised at least every five years (per RSA 75:8-a) so property tax assessments are at their full and true value. To keep in compliance with this law, the Town of Durham has contracted with Municipal Resources, Inc. to reappraise all residential and commercial properties in Durham for TY 2023.

Staff members from MRI have started the process of measuring the exterior and inspecting the interior all structures in Durham to make sure the data regarding each property is accurate. Post card notifications will be mailed to residents letting them know they will be working in specific neighborhoods during the next few weeks. If, for any reason you are not comfortable allowing an interior inspection, we kindly ask you to verify information at the door. If you are not home, a notification will be mailed to you requesting an inspection or to verify information by phone. If you do not wish to have a representative from MRI visit your property, please notify the Durham Assessor’s Office as soon as possible. All MRI representatives will have a photo ID and a Municipal Letter of Introduction.  

Any questions regarding the project should be directed to the Durham Assessor’s Office at 603-868-8064. Updates regarding the project will be posted in the Friday Updates newsletter and through mailings. We greatly appreciate your cooperation throughout this project.

DURHAM PUBLIC WORKS PRUNING WORKSHOP

New Hampshire Division of Forests and Land’s Urban Foresters A.J. Dupere and Liz McKinley met with Durham Public Works Grounds Team members , including Nick Bennion, Chris Starkweather, Sam Hewitt and Rich Reine, who participated in a pruning workshop on August 15th. This workshop provided an opportunity to sharpen skills around public shade tree pruning and maintenance. The group visited the Durham Public Library, Wagon Hill Farm and Main Street and performed tree maintenance on several public shade trees.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE DURHAM HISTORIC ASSOCIATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT!

For the month of September 2022, the Durham Historic Association will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of a $2.50 reusable Community Bag at the Hannaford store located at 7 Mill Road, Durham NH. 

• The Durham Historic Association's mission is:
• To preserve the memory of events connected with the history of the Town of Durham, or of individuals who may have resided there;
• To serve as guardian of the town's history;
• To preserve the artifacts of the town's history;
• To inform and educate the citizens of Durham and others of the history of the town and how contemporary Durham arises out of its past. 

FOSS FARM T-MOBILE / SPRINT CELLULAR ANTENNA DECOMMISSIONING

Following the receipt of notice that T-Mobil/Sprint intends on terminating the site agreement which provided leased space at the Foss Farm Water Tank for cellular communications equipment, T-Mobil/Sprint’s contractor intends on mobilizing to the site beginning on September 7th to commence the decommissioning and restoration process. The process will involve removal of tank mounted equipment utilizing a crane in addition to removal of ground mounted equipment.  Due to the sensitive nature of the site involving water infrastructure, Durham Public Works will be monitoring the decommissioning operation. 

BAGDAD WOOD ADDITION

Bagdad Wood, located on Madbury Road at Bagdad Road, held a ribbon cutting for their new addition on Wednesday. The site provides affordable independent housing for senior residents 62 and older. The original building includes 40 dwelling units and the addition provides 26 new units (23 one-bedroom units and 3 two-bedroom units). The handsome design with dark wood siding, yellow trim, square bays, and a hipped roof was carried over to the addition.

Bagdad Wood was developed and is owned by Housing Initiatives of New England Corporation, a nonprofit organization based in Scarborough, Maine. HINEC owns six properties in Maine and 17 in New Hampshire. The site was designed by Mike Sievert of Horizons Engineering, Lassel Architects designed the addition, and Robbi Woodburn provided the landscaping. Bill Walker, Vice President of HINEC, conveyed to the Town staff that “It was a real pleasure working with Durham. If I could find the land I would do another project here in a second.”

LEE WELL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS UPDATE

Durham Public Works continues to progress on a major rehabilitation of the Lee Well and Pump House Facility. Over the last week, Durham Public Works, Water Division staff installed new chemical storage tanks and began to run the associated plumbing lines and appurtenances. Additionally, the chemical storage room received a fresh coat of paint including an epoxy membrane which was applied to the chemical containment areas. In preparation for this work, the 40-year-old 1000-gallon sodium hydroxide and 450-gallon sodium hypochlorite storage tanks and associated piping were removed from the facility. Temporary day chemical storage tanks were installed and plumbed in an adjacent room to allow for uninterrupted water production during construction. 

Earlier this year, Durham Public Works and Weston and Sampson Engineering field crews began work on a full redevelopment of the well. This included the removal and replacement of all pumping equipment as well as chemical treatments to break down and dissolve mineral deposits within the well casing and screen structures to reestablish well pumping and specific capacity. This process included obtaining a Temporary Groundwater Discharge Permit from the NHDES Drinking and Groundwater Bureau. Additionally, The Department’s roofing contractor, Southers Construction completed a full renovation of the roof structure, soffit vents, trim, and gable siding. A portion of this funding for this project was obtained through the American Rescue Plan Act’s Infrastructure Bill .

TRANSFER STATION OPEN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD + NO CHANGES TO CURBSIDE COLLECTION ON LABOR DAY

Durham Public Works would like to remind residents that the Raymond. A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center will be open on Saturday, September 3rd. Additionally, there will be no changes to the curbside collection routes on Labor Day, September 5th.

OFFICER NOAH YOUNG JOINS THE DURHAM POLICE 

Officer Noah Young was hired by the Durham Police Department on August 29, 2022. Officer Young comes to Durham as a full-time certified police officer. In 2018, Officer Young graduated from the New Hampshire Police Academy and started his law enforcement career with the Lee, NH Police Department, where he held the rank of Corporal. He is a graduate of Coe Brown Academy and Great Bay Community College. Officer Young and his wife Julia, live in the seacoast area.  Law Enforcement is a family tradition for Noah as his brother is a current police officer with the Barrington, New Hampshire Police Department and his dad, Scott, retired as the Chief of Police for the Town of Strafford, New Hampshire and currently serves as a part-time officer with the Barrington PD.  Chief Kelley and members of the department want to thank Durham residents Carolyn Singer and Tracy Schroeder for participating in the interview process. 

DURHAM PUBLIC WORKS ACCEPTS DELIVERY OF SKID STEER

Durham Public Works accepted delivery of new 2022 Caterpillar 262D3 Skid Steer Loader this week. This piece of equipment is operated on average six days per week, including significant duties at the Raymond A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center, where it is used throughout the solid waste and recycling operation, including winter maintenance duties. 

UNH PrOVES VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Recently, The Town of Durham was host to nearly 35 volunteers from the UNH PrOVEs Program. The Durham Public Works Department coordinated 3 days’ worth of projects throughout Town and included:

1. A removal of vines from the fence line surrounding the 66 Main Street Parking lot.
2. Landscaping and beautification of Memorial and Bi-Centennial Parks.
3. A late Summer clean-up of the planting beds at the Durham Public Library.

The group did a fantastic job and we sincerely appreciate their efforts! 

2022 ROAD PROGRAM

The Durham Public Works Road’s Team and paving Contractor, Continental Paving, remain hard at work on the 2022 Road Program. A 60’ cross drainage culvert was replaced, and swales were reestablished recently on Mast Road to improve stormwater flows. The aprons of Wednesday Hill Road, Timberbrook Lane, Mast Road, and Pendexter Road will receive preparation next week in advance of the installation of 1 ½ inch asphalt wearing course asphalt during the week of September 12th. 

ROADSIDE MOWING AND SIGHT DISTANCE MAINTENANCE UPDATE

The Durham Public Works Department rents a roadside boom flail mower attachment for its rubber tire excavator during the summer months to maintain adequate sight lines at intersections, roadway corners, bridges, and cul-de-sacs. Durham Public Works has been aggressively pursuing this mowing unit for the last several months but have been unsuccessful due to extremely low inventories due to supply chain constraints. Durham Public Works would like to thank residents for their patience as they work to tackle this maintenance program with hand tools in the interim and are hopeful that a unit will be available soon.