“FRIDAY
UPDATES”
July
17, 2009
Governor Lynch
reads a commendation presented at the breakfast meeting of the Governor and
Executive Council on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Although we are well into
the peaceful doldrums of summer, life in an around Town
Government is anything but quiet. This Wednesday Durham hosted a
meeting of the Governor and Executive Council at The Three Chimney's Inn. It was a lovely event which was also very
informative focusing in particular on ongoing Town/Gown collaborative efforts
and economic development initiatives that are underway here in Durham -- of which there
are many. The event was also highlighted by Governor Lynch presenting the Oyster
River Middle School Jazz Band with a commendation recognizing the jazz band and
its director, David Erwin, for their hard work and creativity in the pursuit of
musical excellence. Accepting the award on behalf of the band were Middle School
principal Jay Richard and two jazz band students.
Promotional
Film of Durham
Debut
At this week's meeting of the
Governor and Executive Council, a recently created promotional film of
Durham featuring several members of Durham's business community
was debuted. The promotional film will be going pubic within the near
future with plans to provide widespread distribution in order to more
effectively market all of the wonderful attributes present within
our community situated along the banks of the Oyster River and the Great
Bay. The film focuses on four key areas: Durham's History, Durham's
Recreation/Culture, Durham's Education, and
Durham's
Businesses/Downtown. In addition to including it as an integral part
of the Town's existing and soon to be re-launched web site later this summer, we
also plan to air it on DCAT-Channel 22, provide copies to local realtors for
marketing purposes and business interested in relocating to Durham, as well
as to the N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development for
business development.
This week's debut with the Governor,
Executive Council, key state department heads, members of the local business
community, university officials, community leaders, and members of Durham’s legislative delegation provided an opportunity to
showcase Durham and highlight the many
partnership opportunities that exist here between the Town, UNH, and the State
of New
Hampshire. The Town partnered with Brooks Wynn,
President of Mobile Video and Photography from Newfields, NH.
Mr. Wynn has a great deal of experience producing “green” films for
environmental entities. By writing the script ourselves, utilizing local
business people and Town staff instead of professional actors, and taking
advantage of the University's sound studio provided at cost, we were able to
make the project affordable to the community.
Bond
Referendum Needed
On Monday evening, the Town Council
will be asked to schedule two Public Hearings for August 3, 2009 to secure the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Federal stimulus funds
offered to the Town on March 20, 2009 by the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services (NHDES) as follows: 1. Public Hearing on the
proposed bonding of $1,231,055 for the Dover Road Pump Station Rehabilitation
Project for purposes of meeting the requirements of the Durham Town Charter,
Section 5.12(A). 2. Public Hearing for citizen input on the Special
Election to be held on a bond referendum in the amount of $1,231,055 for the
Dover Road Pump Station Rehabilitation Project for the purposes of meeting the
requirements of RSA 33:8a. We are presently working with Durham's election officials and the Oyster River Cooperative School
District to schedule a referendum date. At
this time, potential dates are August 18th or 19th.
Economic
Revitalization (ER-Z) Zone Application
Considered
On May 18, 2009, the Town Council
adopted its goals for 2009/10. One goal related to moving forward with efforts
to increase taxable value and social capital in the Central Business District
and downtown commercial core.
Representatives from the Town have
researched possible programs and incentives that may be available in order to
move this goal forward. One such program, the New Hampshire Economic
Revitalization Zone Program, managed by the New Hampshire Department of Resource
and Economic Development (DRED), allows the creation of Economic Revitalization
Zones (ER-Z) and provides state tax incentives for ER-Z projects which are
available to qualifying new and existing businesses in the state. The program
encourages ER-Z projects that meet certain state economic objectives, such as
stimulating economic redevelopment, expanding the commercial and industrial
base, creating new jobs, reducing sprawl, increasing tax revenue, and
remediating Brownfields sites. The primary goal of the program is to increase
the quality of ER-Z projects which will contribute to the economic vitality of
the state.
At the June 15, 2009 Town Council
meeting, Councilors discussed this initiative and agreed to have Administrator
Selig move forward with the application process and bring it back to the Council
for further discussion. The four zones within Durham’s commercial core that would be included
in the application are the Central Business (CB) district, Professional Office
(PO) district, Church Hill (CH) district, and Courthouse (C)
district.
At Monday’s Council meeting a
representative from DRED’s Business Development Office will provide a
presentation to better acquaint Councilors with the program before acting on the
draft application.
Grange
(H.A.
Davis Building)
RFP
Last week, we provided a link to the
RFP received from former Durham resident Doug Green for the
redevelopment of the Grange building as an upscale Mexican restaurant.
Unfortunately, the PDF link did not capture the color visuals
provided. As such, the following link should give a much more accurate
image of the envisioned proposal: Please click HERE.
Durham
Historic Building - Possible Future Use
The Durham District Court, located
on the first floor of the Durham
Historic Building at the corner of Newmarket and Dover Road, has now officially moved all
operations to Dover. As such, the Administrator is
presently working to find a suitable and productive use for the first floor of
the facility. Although the Town had been pursuing the
Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) as a potential match,
the SRPC is in the process of moving forward with another preferred
location. At this time, the Administrator is considering the idea of
utilizing the first floor of the facility to house Durham's emerging Parks and
Recreation Department as well as potentially the offices for the Oyster River
Youth Association (ORYA). Such a match would bring together two programs
with obvious synergies into one space allowing for collaboration and
partnership to benefit the entire community. This is an idea that will
need to be explored and fleshed out further with ORYA to determine
if it is in fact viable. The Durham Historic Association occupies the
second floor of the facility. For more information about the Durham
Historic Association, go to http://ci.durham.nh.us/COMMUNITY/historic/dha.html.
Wiswall
Bridge
Replacement Project
The Department of Public Works
received the Notice-to-Proceed with the Wiswall Bridge Replacement Project from
NHDOT this week and the advertisement to formally bid the project will be
published in newpapers this weekend. Public access across the bridge
will officially close at 8:00 AM on Monday, July 27, 2009 when NHDOT is
scheduled to arrive and begin dismantling the Bailey Bridge, which is expected
to take about five weeks.
The Wiswall Road bridge
was permanently damaged during the Mother’s Day Flood of 2006. Bids are due on
or before August 11, 2009 and selection of a contractor to construct the new
bridge should be completed by the time the Bailey Bridge is removed. The
construction of the new bridge will take approximately a year, and during that
time the public will not be allowed to access the
bridge.
A detour will be established to
reroute traffic coming from the east in a north/south direction on Packers Falls Road,
and traffic coming from the west will be routed north/south on Lee Hook Road in the
Town of Lee. To
view the detour map, please click HERE. Please
contact Town Engineer Dave Cedarholm, 868-5578, dcedarholm@ci.durham.nh.us, if you
have questions or need more information.
Parks
and Recreation Director Candidate Selected
After reviewing 44 applications for
the Durham's new
part-time, 20 hr/wk Parks and Recreation Director position, we are pleased
to announce the selection of Mr. Michael Mengers. Members of the selection
committee introduced Mr. Mengers to the full Parks and Recreation Committee last
evening. On August 3rd, Todd Selig will formally appoint Mr. Mengers to
the position subject to the "advice and consent" of the Town Council. To
view Mr. Mengers’ resume, please click HERE.
THURSDAYS
IN THE PARKS SWITCHED TO WEDNESDAY NEXT WEEK
ONLY
The Durham Parks and Recreation Committee is
co-sponsoring the Swim Under the Stars event at the UNH outdoor pool on
Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Come join in for an evening of fun at one of the
largest pools in the seacoast area. Durham residents without a pool pass receive $2
off admission from 5:00-9:00 PM. Food will be available, along with games and
activities. Summer is finally here, so make the most of it this coming
Wednesday. Please contact durhamparksandrec@yahoo.com with
any questions.
THURSDAY NIGHT PARK PICNIC HOSTED BY
DURHAM PARKS
& RECREATION COMMITTEE
Please join members of the
Durham
Parks and Recreation
Committee at a “Thursday Night Park Picnic” for townspeople throughout the
summer. Every other Thursday, a location has been selected where people
can bring a picnic and any games, etc., they would like to play or
share. The next picnic location will be at Woodridge Park on August 6. The wonderful
playing fields will be available for a variety of games, as well as the tennis
courts, skateboard park, and fantastic a playground. Games such as volleyball
will also be set up in advance, but feel free to bring your favorites along as
well. It is intended to be a very casual event, with no specified times or
requirements beyond getting together after 5:00 PM and meeting more of the
members of our great community. Come alone or in groups and join in the
fun. Please contact the Parks & Recreation Committee at durhamparksandrec@yahoo.com with
any questions or suggestions for other locations you would like to see utilized
for these gatherings. Given the venue, consider the event canceled if it is
raining. Hope to see you there!
Durham
Energy Committee Summer Series
The Durham Energy Summer Series
presents: “The
End of Suburbia,” a film about oil depletion and the collapse of
the American Dream. This film will be shown at the Durham Public Library on
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 7:00 PM.
Jackson’s
Landing Open House
On Sunday, July 26, 2009, beginning
at 2:00 PM, the Town will host an Open House at the new and improved Jackson’s Landing. The
Piscataqua Gundalow Company will be bringing the Gundalow to the landing to
celebrate the Oyster River. There will be music and
tours. All are invited and encouraged to check out the landing and the
Gundalow. For more information, please click HERE.
Bicycle
Accident Prevention
The leading cause of bicycle
accidents where the cyclists is at fault is when the bicyclist is riding the
wrong way facing traffic. These maneuvers account for 14% of all bicycle
accidents. Bicyclists fare much better when riding with the flow of traffic, and
this is why New
Hampshire laws require bicyclists to do so. Although
many do not feel safer riding with the traffic, it is statistically much safer.
What bicyclists have difficulty ignoring is the fear of being injured by a car
that drives up from behind running them over. This fear is often exacerbated by
drivers who harass bicyclists by driving up behind them to scare or taunt them.
Although many cyclists are the unfortunate victim of some type of harassment,
the occurrence of cars hitting a cyclist from behind is very rare. Therefore,
the best advice is to ride with traffic as it’s the law and if you are harassed,
please contact the Durham Police to report the incident, 868-2324. It will
be fully investigated.
EMERGENCY
ALERT DEVICES DURING POWER OUTAGES
In June, the weekly updates included
a discussion of challenges the Town experienced during the December 2008 power
outage that residents Mike and Gisela Everngam raised with the Police
Department. Specifically there were many residents, living alone, that
faced some unusual challenges as a result of lost electrical power. As an
example, it was discovered that the battery backup capacity of some of the
emergency alert devices they utilize only has enough capacity for 20-24 hours.
Many of Durham’s
citizens rely on these devices due to a host of issues including limited
mobility, fragile health, and just living alone.
These devices offer residents a
safety net with assurances that they can get help if they have an
emergency. While extended periods of power outages are extremely rare in
Durham,
instances of more than day-long power outages have historically occurred every
few years. Therefore, a number of residents who depend on these emergency
notification devices would benefit from backup services which could be activated
during extended power outages.
In the initial discussion, there was
a desire to create a service system that would involve periodic contacts of
citizens with these devices during any prolonged power outage by either public
safety departments or volunteers enlisted to assist. Sergeant Mike Bilodeau,
working with the Everngams, received a very limited number of residents who
expressed interest. In hopes of reaching all those who may welcome this service,
this is another entry into the “Friday Updates” designed to urge those
interested to contact Sgt Michael Bilodeau at 868-2324 or via his email at mbilodeau@ci.durham.nh.us.
Durham
Resident Directorial Debut at Prescott Park
16 year old Bridget Regan of
Durham is making her directorial debut with
HAIR in
Concert at Prescott Park on Monday, July 20. That
performance is at 8:30 PM and is free to the public although donations are
accepted. It will be followed by a second performance at Seacoast
Repertory Theatre the following Monday, July 27, at 7:30 PM. Durham residents Camden
Brown and Randy Blake are playing the lead roles of Berger and
Claude.
Great
Bay Rowing
Great Bay Rowing is pleased to offer two youth rowing camps
this summer for kids entering the 7th, 8th and
9th grades. The first camp will run August 3-7 from 9am to 1pm.
The second camp will run August 17 -21 from 8:30am to 12:30pm.
More information can be found online at www.greatbayrowing.org or emailing greatbayrowing@comcast.net.
Paul
Creative Arts Center
Offers Summer Camp Opportunities for Durham
Residents
If you or members of your family are
artistically inclined, you may want to check out the opportunities that are
available to residents at the Paul Creative
Arts Center on the UNH campus. Go to http://www.unh.edu/pcac/ for more
information.
PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE
The following public meetings are
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office and will begin at 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated
below.
Durham Energy Committee – Monday, July
20,2009 (4:30
PM)
Town Council – Monday, July 20, 2009
(to view the digital Council packet for this meeting, please click HERE).
Planning Board – Wednesday, July 22,
2009
Economic Development Committee –
Friday, July 24, 2009 (7:30
AM)
To view the agendas for the meetings
listed above, please click HERE. All meetings
recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library for checkout
and viewing.
To view the Oyster River School Board meeting schedule,
please click HERE.
The Durham Public Library Board of Trustees
meet every third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Durham Public
Library. All are welcome to attend. To view the Trustees meeting schedule,
please click HERE.
The Friends of the Durham Public Library is a
non-profit group of volunteers from the community who are passionate about the
Library and all it has to offer our town. Friends meet every third
Wednesday of the month at 1:30 PM at the Durham Public
Library.
DURHAM CABLE ACCESS
TELEVISION PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
To view a listing of the DCAT
programming schedule, please click HERE
FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976
“1922 – The Fire Department was
organized when Ed Getchell called a meeting of Town and College authorities. The
College agreed to furnish housing but the cost of equipment and pay for call
firemen were shared equally. Call firemen held weekly drills to increase the
efficiency.”
As I walked to my car to drive
downtown at noontime, I had the realization for the first time this summer that
it was actually hot outside—and it’s mid-July. Have a nice
weekend.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us
The Town of Durham has developed a list
server. The server provides interested individuals with updates and
announcements concerning the community. Individuals interested in subscribing
should send an email to Town_of_Durham@ci.durham.nh.us
and type the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line