Friday Updates - April 29, 2022

Friday, April 29, 2022

TODAY IS ARBOR DAY - HAPPY ARBOR DAY TO ALL!

In celebration of Arbor Day the Town of Durham will be planting three public shade trees in an area adjacent to 66 Main Street on Monday May 2nd at 10:00 AM. The public is welcome to join in on the festivities.  

Durham Public Works will also be visiting popular spots around Town today to provide the public with Red maple (Acer rubrum) and Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) seedlings for replanting.  

Mary James of Bagdad Road stopped over at Public Works for a transfer station sticker and left with a sticker and New Red Maple Seedling to plant at her home! 

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. 

2022 CRACK SEALING PROGRAM

Durham Public Works has awarded the contract for the 2022 Crack Sealing Program to Indus, Inc. of Braintree, MA. Indus will apply a polymer crumb-rubber modified (PCRM) crack sealant to Pettee Brook Lane and sections of Main Street and Durham Point Road. PCRM is a high-performance crack sealant that consists of a performance-graded asphalt binder cross-linked with an SBS polymer and a proprietary adhesion promoter to produce an asphalt that has the ability to resist deforming at high temperatures while also being able to stretch and flex at lower temperatures. This high-performance asphalt is then blended with a finely ground crumb-rubber. During this blending process, the rubber particles absorb the polymer-modified asphalt and swell, increasing in volume and further enhancing the same properties afforded by the SBS polymer. The result is a material that has unmatched adhesion, elasticity, and load bearing capacity across a wide range of temperatures. Crack sealing operations are scheduled to begin on Monday, May 2nd.

DURHAM PUBLIC WORKS TRAFFIC/CONSTRUCTION ADVISORY - ROADWAY CRACK SEALING

Please be advised that the Durham Public Works Department’s contractor for its Crack Sealing Program, Indus, Inc., will be performing crack sealing operations along Main Street, Pettee Brook Lane, and Durham Point Road during the week of May 2nd. The roadway will be restricted to one lane in the work area with alternating traffic between 5:00am and 5:00pm. Parking within the Downtown Corridor is prohibited between 1:00am and 6:00am.

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.

Coleen Fuerst and Walter Rous concluded their terms on the Conservation Commission at its meeting this past Monday. Commission chair Jake Kritzer presented Coleen and Walter with certificates of appreciate for their outstanding service to the commission and, more broadly, to the conservation of natural resources in our community. We wish them the best.

DURHAM ENERGY COMMITTEE EARTH DAY CELEBRATION A SUCCESS!

The Earth Day Commemoration last Saturday was a fun, informative, lively event. The event was held in the Pettee Brook Parking Lot, with tables displaying information by the Durham Energy Committee, Global Covenant of Mayors, Community Power Coalition and the Lee Energy Committee. At the same time, an Electric Vehicle showcase took place with approximately 20 cars, some displayed by car dealerships, some by owners. A tour visiting solar arrays installed by town residents took place in the afternoon.

The event was a lot of fun, and quite well attended. Many thanks to the individuals and town employees who helped make this happen: Durham Parks and Recreation for providing tables, chairs, sound system and the van for the solar tour, Durham DPW, Durham Police Department, our UNH Sustainability Fellow Catherine Fletcher for driving up from Boston, and Henry Herndon, who attended on behalf of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire.  

Overall, the message of the day was to remember that every day is Earth Day, and that making a difference toward the health of the planet begins with us.

A REMINDER TO PLEASE SHARE THE ROAD!

As Spring arrives and more bicyclists begin to share the road, please be aware of Durham’s use of shared lane markings known as “sharrows”. A sharrow is a large painted arrow on the road that accompanies an image of a cyclist and is intended to encourage sharing of general-purpose travel lanes by automobiles and bicycles. The position of the painted sharrow and direction of the “arrows” indicate the position of travel and suggested lane position for the bicycles. 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. 

SEMI-ANNUAL WATER MAIN FLUSHING PROGRAM

The UNH/Durham Water System will be conducting our semi-annual night time water distribution/hydrant flushing program beginning Monday May 2nd, 2022 and ending Thursday May 12th, 2022. This nightly flushing program helps to keep the water distribution piping clean and ensures the  delivery of  high quality water to our customers. Water users may experience very short durations of water discoloration and possibly small particles of visible sediment.  This is a normal occurrence in flushing operations within the water system piping. If this discoloration occurs in your water, simply run your cold water tap for a few minutes and in almost all cases the water will clear up after a short period. Since this flushing program is done during the night (9pm to 6am), we ask that you give our trucks and system operators extra space on the roadways during this flushing program which will allow them to safely complete this work. We appreciate the your assistance during this flushing program. 

ICONS OF DURHAM POSTER - IMAGE #1, JONATHAN CHESLEY HOUSE

The beautiful poster “Icons of Durham” created by Ellie Lonske is now available (See last week’s Friday Updates). You can acquire the poster (in a rolled tube) for a $100 donation to the Durham Historical and Cultural Resources Trust, an account set up to support the rehabilitation and enhancement of significant Town properties.

Just stop into the Town Clerk’s office to order the poster. You can pay by cash or check made out to “DHCRT” (but not with a credit card). We will order the poster from the printer in batches when we receive 20 orders so we will let you know once it is on hand to be picked up. The estimated cost for the production of each poster is $22.00. 

Ellie, a resident of Riverwoods and new member of the Town Council, created the 34 mixed-media images for the poster over the past year. Each week or so in Friday Updates we will include a rendering of one image with a brief description, starting at the upper left on the poster and moving across the rows. Here is image #1, the Captain Jonathan Chesley House on Bagdad Road.

According to a plaque near his burial site in Barnstead, Jonathan Chesley (1736 to 1826) “participated in raids on the British Fort William and Mary in New Castle capturing needed munitions for the Patriot Militia at the Battle of Bunker Hill. During the Revolution he was an army quartermaster providing critical logistical support to feed, clothe, and equip the Continental Army. Following the war, Chesley served as … delegate to the 1784 state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution.”

DURHAM FARM DAY IS NOW "OYSTER RIVER FARM DAY" - Date set for Saturday, August 20th.

The Durham Agricultural Commission is excited to announce that Durham Farm Day has become Oyster River Farm Day! Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 20th for a day long celebration of farms and gardens in Durham, Lee, and Madbury! We are working with the Lee Agricultural Commission and farmers in Madbury on free, family friendly events that celebrate agricultural production on farms and gardens in all three towns. If you eat, you’re in!

2022 SIDEWALK PROGRAM UPDATE

Over the last several weeks, Durham Public Works and its paving contractor, Continental Paving, have been hard at work on the 2022 Sidewalk Improvement Program. The degraded concrete surfaces and brick banding on Newmarket Road from Schoolhouse Lane to #12 Dover Road and on Dover Road from Bayview Road to Park Court were removed and select areas of granite curbing were reset. A new 4” thick concrete sidewalk was poured along the Main Street portion and surrounding the Old Town Hall / Courthouse and truncated detectable warning plates were installed at the road crossings for ADA compliance. Durham Public Works expects that the Sidewalk Program will be completed within the next two weeks.

Details will be updated HERE by Friday, April 22.

FROM SUPERVISORS OF THE CHECKLIST  

Party change:  RSA 654:34, IV states that no person shall affiliate or disaffiliate from a party between the first Wednesday in June and the day before the state primary.  This means that no party changes may be made this year after Tuesday May 31.  If a voter is registered Undeclared at a primary, they may pick which party ballot to vote, and may then change back to Undeclared as they leave the polling place.  However, if they are affiliated with a party (Republican or Democrat), they may only vote within that party and may NOT change party until at least the next day.  One may choose to change party INSTEAD OF voting on primary day.  Party changes may be made up through May 31 in the Town Clerk’s office at the Durham Town Hall any time during their office hours.  

Registration:  Registration to vote may also be done at the Town Clerk’s office at any time up until about 10 days before the election. The Supervisors of the Checklist will be holding the following session for both accepting applications for new voter registration and changes of political party affiliation, as well as requests for other corrections to the checklist:



Tuesday, May 31, 7 - 7:30 PM, Durham Town Hall

Applicants for registration should bring with them proofs of identity, age, citizenship, and domicile.  Driver’s license and passport are helpful.  Affidavits may be signed under oath if proofs are lacking.  Please note that anyone who will have turned 18 by September 13, 2004, may register at this time, or any time during the summer at the Town Hall.

HERRING AID IS BACK! Saturday, May 10, 2022

After two years without our annual river herring celebration due to Covid concerns, Herring Aid will return this spring when the river herring head back from the ocean to their birth places upstream to spawn the next generation. The event will be held from 10AM to 12 Noon at the Macallen Dam, Newmarket, NH.

As usual, visitors can witness first-hand the great annual migration of the river herring, ask the biologists all those fishy questions, handle the fish, and maybe, just maybe, be daring enough to hold a sea lamprey. 

While enjoying a nice day beside the river, visitors can see recently-completed engineered improvements at Macallen Dam, such as the new flood gate, reinforced sidewalls on the south bank, and a spruced-up yard at the NH Fish and Game staging area. 

This event is free and will occur rain or shine. 

Free parking is available along Route 108 and behind the Newmarket Public Library. Follow the fish signs to the top of the fish ladder. 

SCRAP METAL RECYCLING

A Reminder From Durham Public Works - Durham Public Works would like to remind residents that items disposed of in the scrap metal pile at the Raymond A. LaRoche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center must be free of all fluids, i.e. petroleum products used in internal combustion engines. The Transfer Station accepts used oil year-round and gasoline/diesel/kerosene may be disposed of at the Durham Public Works Facility on Household Hazardous Waste Day in October.

WELCOME BLANKETS FOR UKRAINIAN REFUGEES COMING TO NEW ENGLAND

Please join us at the Freedom Cafe on Monday evenings, 7-9 pm. We are knitting or sewing welcome lap blankets for Ukrainian refugees coming here to the US.

Bring your own supplies if you have them but we have supplies too. (We can also show you how to knit a basic stitch if you’re new to knitting.

We are making these small welcome blankets approximately 30" x 50". You can also sew or knit your own at home and bring them on Mondays, 7 - pm. 

Please call Wendy Brooks at 603-343-6680 with any questions.

POLICE DEPARTMENT ROOF REPAIRS

Durham Public Works was alerted following the January 29th “bomb cyclone” Nor’easter event that several water stains had appeared on the ceilings Police Department within the center portion of the building. Following an investigation by the DPW’s roofing contractor and the Town’s insurer Primex, it was determined that the best course of action was to replace the existing old asphalt roofing material with EDPM rubber. In preparation for this project, Revision Energy removed the solar panels on the building last week and the roofing portion of the project is expected to be completed over the next two weeks.

LEE WELL STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS UNDER WAY - The well will be off line for about a month during this period.

The Durham Public Works continues to progress on a major rehabilitation of the Lee Well and the Pump House Facility. Over the last week, Water Division staff working with Weston and Sampson Engineers 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, DPW’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.