“FRIDAY
UPDATES”

Friday,
October 24, 2008

Old Landing Park

Courtesy Bruce
Bragdon

Winter is coming up on us quickly
and the Department of Public Works staff has been busy preparing and
coordinating the winter program which begins with a winter procedure and project
manual and a training session. Fortunately, the Town has its own gravel pit
which will allow us to offset some cost from the substantial price of snow
removal. 

Durham
Public Library Newsletter Separates from Town Email
List

The Durham Public Library Newsletter
lists library news and upcoming events. For the past few years, the newsletter
has been forwarded to the library’s own list of subscribers as well as to
subscribers to the Town of Durham’s list. Our goal in doing so was to
reach as many people in the community as possible, but unfortunately this has
meant that many of our subscribers receive the newsletter twice. It has also led
to some logistical problems. We have decided to remove the library newsletter
from the Town’s listserver as of November 4, 2008, and to restrict library
mailings to library patrons who subscribe directly. But the library does not
want to lose you! The library newsletter is a good way to stay informed about
library events and we want everyone interested to receive it. If you have been
receiving the newsletter strictly from the Town’s list, or you are unsure which
list you are on, please email us at durhampl@gmail.com and we will add you to
the library list.

2008
Bond Sale & Rate Setting

This morning, Administrator Todd
Selig and Business Manager Gail Jablonski met with Bill Fazioli, a financial
advisor from the First Southwest Company, who is assisting Durham with its upcoming
2008 bond sale totaling $3,115,000.00 scheduled for November 12, 2008.  A
90 minute telephone meeting with representatives from Moody's Investor Services
also took place at 11:30 a.m. in which Mr. Fazioli, Mr. Selig, and Ms. Jablonski
gave an overview of Durham's financial situation
to two bond rating analysts who handle public sector ratings for New England and the Northeast.  Bond ratings begin
with the highest rating of AAA (there are no public entities with this rating in
NH), followed in descending order by AA1 (we are unaware of any in NH), AA2
(Bedford is the only AA2 rating in NH), AA3
(there are only 5 in NH - Durham, Hudson,
Londonderry, Salem, Hollis), A1, A2, A3, etc.  Entities
with higher ratings are deemed to be safer investments and consequently garner
more favorable interest rates per issue.  Durham has benefited
financially from a very strong rating at AA3.  Due to nation-wide
economic challenges within the various credit markets, Moody's focused a great
deal on our General Fund undesignated fund balance. 
Despite Durham's success in stabilizing the General
Fund undesignated fund balance at between $1.2 million and $1.5
million over the last several years, it has dropped as a percentage of
total municipal revenues to around 14%.  Moody's would prefer that we
stabilize this number at around 15% at a minimum.   We are taking
this advice into consideration as we finalize the FY 2009 proposed budget. 
To view the presentation to Moody's and see a list of the projects being bonded,
click HERE.

FY
2009 BUDGET PREPARATION

We are in the final preparation
stages of the FY 2009 budget. The proposed budget is due to the Town Council by
the last business day in October; which this year is October 31^st. At
the November 3, 2008 Town Council meeting, the Administrator will provide an
overview of the proposed budget to members of the Council. The Council has
scheduled an initial budget work session for Monday, November 10, 2008.
Residents who have an interest in this issue are encouraged to tune in to both
the budget overview on November 3^rd and the Council work session
discussion on November 10^th. A Public Hearing on the budget has been
set for Monday, November 17^th. The proposed FY 2009 Budget is
anticipated to hold spending at FY 2008 levels through targeted programmatic
reductions, re-allocation of resources, and strategic past decision making which
has allowed for cost resolutions in FY 2009. The economy is very problematic and
it is important for Durham to be sensitive to this reality. Copies
of the proposed budget will be available at the Durham Town Hall and the Durham Public Library.
In addition, we will work to post the document on the Town web site in the
coming weeks.

UNIVERSITY
SYSTEM UPDATE

In an effort to sustain effective
communications between the Town of Durham and the University System of New
Hampshire, Administrator Selig attended the USNH meeting held on Thursday,
October 23, 2008 at Holloway Commons. At the meeting, Dr. Edward MacKay, Vice
Chancellor of the USNH since 1987, was named Chancellor Elect. Dr. MacKay will
succeed current Chancellor Dr. Stephen Reno, who announced this summer that he
would be stepping down as of June 30, 2009. Dr. MacKay’s appointment was
approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees. We offer Dr. MacKay, who also
happens to be a Durham resident, our congratulations upon his
appointment. In addition, the Board of Trustees discussed various financial
challenges it is facing, as well as programmatic successes and initiatives that
are moving forward at Keene State College, Plymouth State University, Granite State College, and the University of New Hampshire. The USNH Board of Trustees
holds a full board meeting each quarter and Administrator Selig will attend
these meetings over the course of the year; not only to gain a better
understanding of the challenges facing the System, but also in the hope of
identifying potential cooperative opportunities between the System, its host
institutions, and the Town of Durham for the mutual benefit of all parties.

CONSERVATION
COMMISSION WORKSHOP

On Thursday, October 23, 2008, the
Conservation Commission arranged for Steve Couture of the New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services to provide an overview with respect to a
proposal brought forward by the Oyster River Watershed Association and the
Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) to enroll the Oyster River as part of the state Rivers
Management and Protection Program. In attendance were representatives from the
Oyster River Watershed Association, Strafford Regional Planning Commission,
University/Durham water system, members of the Town Council, and members of
Conservation Commission. It was an informative workshop lasting approximately
three hours. Participants gained a better understanding of potential positives
and negatives associated with enrollment in the program. We hope to continue to
look at these issues in the coming months. At this time, the SRPC has submitted
an application to NHDES in order to obtain grant funds to develop an application
for the enrollment of the Oyster River. The NHDES has awarded the grant,
and over the course of the next year, the SRPC will work with the Oyster River
Watershed Association in developing the enrollment request. Over this period of
time, communities through which the Oyster River flows will have an opportunity to
provide feedback as part of the process.

THE
MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
AWARD

In September, I participated in a
half-day session focusing on the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Improvement
Award created by the Federal government in 1987 and named for Malcolm Baldridge
who served as Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in 1987. This
award is given by the President of United States to businesses—manufacturing and
service, small and large—educational, health care, and nonprofit organizations
that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership,
strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement analysis and
knowledge management, human resource focus, process management, and results. It
is intended to stimulate American companies and government to improve quality
and productivity while maintaining a competitive edge through increased profits
and efficiencies. It establishes guidelines and criteria that can be used by
businesses, industry, government, and other organizations in evaluating their
own quality and improvement efforts. It also provides specific guidance for
American organizations who desire to learn how to manage for high quality by
making available detailed information on how winning organizations were able to
change their culture and achieve success. This session was very informative, and
while there is not a movement at this time for Durham to apply for a Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Improvement Award, we can learn much from programs such as this
which focus on quality improvement.

KAIZEN
UPDATE

On Monday of this week, Business
Manager Gail Jablonski and Administrator Todd Selig met with resident Jerry
Gottsacker who is assisting the Town in development of Kaizen (Continuous
Improvement Initiatives Practices). At the present time, we have established two
Kaizen work teams. One team is focusing on potential improvements to the payroll
process. The Kaizen payroll team is focusing on standardizing the payroll
process, simplifying steps that are followed, and developing a feedback loop for
problems and errors. The target implementation date for this initiative is
November 5, 2008. The second team is looking at the Town’s permit process. The
goal of the Kaizen permit team is to reduce and consolidate permits by 75% by
eliminating associated paperwork, centralizing permit access as much as
possible, and developing guide maps for permits once the Kaizen process is
completed. The target completion date for this team is the end of December 2008.
We appreciate Mr. Gottsacker’s time and effort in assisting the Town with this
endeavor.

FLU
VACCINE CLINIC

The annual flu vaccine clinic will
be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at noon at the Durham Town offices.

DURHAM/UNH
DISCUSSIONS REGARDING POLICING SERVICES

On Tuesday, October 28, 2008,
Administrator Selig, Police Chief David Kurz, and Business Manager Gail
Jablonski, Council Chair Neil Niman, and Councilor Karl Van Asselt met with
representatives from the University to continue discussions relative to the cost
impact the University has on the Town of Durham relative to policing services.
Discussions continue to be productive with additional discussion focusing on
ways in which we can move forward with public/private development partnerships
involving the University and the Town with potential private individuals in an
effort to broaden the Town’s tax base. Councilor Van Asselt, who serves as the
Executive Director for the Rochester Housing Authority, talked specifically
about the development of affordable/workforce housing targeting graduate
students, staff, and faculty at the University.

USE
OF BIODEISEL IN TOWN VEHICLES

Over the past few years the Town has
been experimenting with using biodeisel as an alternative fuel in its fleet to
determine if there would be any performance benefits. With the preliminary
review completed, we have decided to attempt to run a more
intense experiment through the winter by taking 3 of the 6 plow trucks and
running them completely on biodiesel to see how the maintenance and
performance plan runs through the season.  A comparison will be put
together after the season has passed.  One interesting item we
have observed is that the cost gap between the two fuels seems to have increased
over the past year.  The current price (as of 10/22/08 at the UNH fueling
station) for biodiesel is $3.71/gallon vs. diesel at $2.85/gallon.  There
had previously been a $ .24 difference. 

TOWN
RECEIVES GRANT TO PURCHASE RECYCLING BINS

The Department of Public Works is
pleased to report that the Town has received a grant from the New Hampshire The
Beautiful foundation to assist in the purchasing of blue recycle bins. 
With the help of this grant, we are able to keep the cost of bins the same in
the upcoming year. 

WISWALL
FISH PASSAGE PROJECT TOUR

On Tuesday, October 28, 2008
beginning at 10:00 AM, the public is invited to join the New Hampshire Natural
Resources Conservation Service and the Town of Durham at the Wiswall Dam and historic site for
a Wiswall fish passage project tour. Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark E. Rey
will also be in attendance to present the Town with a grant award for this
project in the amount of $1,045,000. Resident Dick Lord has prepared a wonderful
historical pamphlet about the site which will be distributed to
attendees.

Right-to-Know
Law Educational Session Scheduled for Board Members &
Community

A final reminder that on Tuesday,
October 28, 2008, beginning at 7:00 PM in the Town Council chambers, Attorney
Cordell Johnston from the Local Government Center
will be present to provide an overview of the Right-to-Know
law.  Members of Town boards, commissions, and committees, as well as Town
department heads and the general public are invited and encouraged to attend the
session, or to view it on Durham Community Access Television (Channel 22). 
Oyster
River School Board members are also invited to
attend, as well as board members from the communities of Lee and
Madbury.

TOWN
COUNCIL WORK SESSION ON TOWN HALL SITE

On Monday evening, October 27, 2008,
the Town Council will hold a work session to discuss the Town Hall site located
at 15 Newmarket
Road. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM and will be
held in the Council chambers at Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public,
and will be broadcast live over Durham Cable Access Channel 22. To view
information regarding the work session, click HERE.
To view a copy of the 2006 Space Needs Assessment prepared by Sumner Davis
Architects relative to the Town Hall property and the Durham Public Library
property, click  HERE

WATER
MAIN FLUSHING

The Town of Durham and the University of New
Hampshire began flushing water mains this
past Monday and should complete the flushing on or before Friday, October
31, 2008. Flushing will be done at night
between the hours of 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM.  This procedure is necessary to
eliminate the build up of sediment in the water mains.  Flushing of the mains may cause temporary discoloration of
the water however the water remains safe for drinking.  This discoloration
will disappear with normal household use.  It is suggested that sensitive
laundry not be washed if the water is obviously discolored. Try not to draw
water if you observe flushing in your area.  Please call the UNH Water
Supply at 862-1390 or the Department of Public Works at 868-5578 with questions
and/or concerns.

MILL
POND ROAD
WATERLINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT

The Mill Pond Road
waterline replacement project is progressing on schedule.  Public
Works has established a good working relationship with
contractor American Excavating of Derry, NH.  This is a new
contractor for us and we are glad to report that to date, Department of
Public Works personnel are very pleased with their work.  From Mill Pond Road, the
same crew will move to Woodman
Road for a smaller replacement project. 
Residents of Woodman
Road will be receiving an informational letter
describing that project very shortly. 

Jackson's
Landing IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT

The Town has received its wetlands
permit for the Jackson's Landing and is proceeding with the
project.  The first component is the construction of the new parking lot on
Old Piscataqua
Road across from the ice rink, which is anticipated
to be completed within two weeks.  The next phase will be the replacement
of the boat launch ramp. 

DRAINAGE
PIPE REPAIRS-BURNHAM
AVENUE AND THOMPSON
LANE

The Department of Public Works is
finalizing the design plans for the repair of a collapsed 24-inch diameter
drainage pipe between Burnham
Avenue and Thompson Lane with the intention of bidding
the project soon and having the work done before the end of the year.  This
24-inch drain pipe is a critical piece of the drainage system since it is the
outlet of a large drainage area encompassing Valentine Hill and McGrath roads,
and a section of Garden
Lane.   Public works is also working on a
plan to repair the inlet to the culvert that crosses Thompson lane, which is
just upstream of the collapsed pipe, and address issues with a problematic
drainage ditch upstream of the Thompson Lane culvert.  This project
will likely require a wetlands permit from the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services plus a lot of cooperation from affected residents. Public
Works is considering performing some of this work using in-house resources and
with luck we may be able to schedule this work this fall or next spring.

Durham
Energy Committee Newsletter, The
Alternative

In an effort to inform, update, and
generally spread the word about the current state of the environment the Durham
Energy Committee has developed a newsletter, The Alternative.   The committee hopes to
provide residents with up-to-date information and entertainment with its
articles. To view the third edition of The
Alternative, click HERE

FALL
DOWN TO EARTH NEWSLETTER

Keep an eye out for the Fall
Down to Earth newsletter which
will be mailed in the near future. In addition to the many interesting
components in the newsletter, there will be a section regarding the Fall Cleanup
beginning on Monday, November 10, 2008. Remember, this is the leaf and brush
cleanup.  Only these things will be
collected during Fall Cleanup. 

FALL
CLEANUP

Fall Cleanup will begin on Monday,
November 10, 2008.  All items must be out by 7:00 AM that day and fit the
criteria to guarantee their pickup.  Please follow the below guidelines to
guarantee a successful fall cleanup: 

Leaves
should be placed in paper leaf
bags (remember, plastic bags are not recyclable).  Paper
bags may be purchased at Durham Marketplace or Town and Campus. Loose leaves
will not be accepted but may be
brought to the Transfer Station &
Recycling Center on Durham Point Road
with a permit.

ü     
Brush should be placed in one
direction, bundled, and tied with string (no wire
please).

ü     
Brush and
limbs must be no greater than 5 feet in length and 5 inches in
diameter.

ü     
The amount
of brush and limbs is limited to one truckload per
household.

ü     
Cutting off
small limbs from branches will help maximize each
load.

ü     
Remember, backyard composting your
leaves and brush reduces the flow of waste while at the same time producing
valuable organic matter for the soil.  It improves your soil and the plants
growing in it.

Durham
Trick-or-Treating

A final reminder that
trick-or-treating in Durham will be held on Thursday evening, October 30, 2008,
from 5:00 to 7:30 PM.

Mills
Hall Hosts Sixth Annual Halloween Extravaganza

On Wednesday, October 29, 2008, from
5:00 to 8:00 PM, students from Mills Hall on the UNH Campus will hold its sixth
annual Halloween Extravaganza featuring a child-friendly haunted house. This
event is free and open to the public. All children should be accompanied by an
adult. For further information, please contact Julia Pond at
862-1111.

UNH
HOLDS OPEN HOUSE FOR NEW OBSERVATORY

The University of New Hampshire’s Climate Change Research
Center (CCRC) would like to welcome all interested community members to an open
house at their new atmospheric observatory.  The observatory is home to
instrumentation monitoring up to 200 parameters of our atmosphere and is the
largest of the CCRC’s internationally recognized AIRMAP program’s observatory
network.  The observatory has an 80-foot walk up tower offering extensive
views of the region and the platform for many atmospheric measurements. 
Staff and students will be on hand to discuss their research, answerer questions
and provide tours.  The observatory is located at 86 Bennett Road in
Durham and
requires a 1000-foot walk from the parking area to the observatory nestled in
the woods.  The open house will be held on October 30, 2008 from 3:00 to
5:30 PM with a rain day of October 31, 2008. Questions can be emailed to kevan.carpenter@unh.edu.

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.

Town Council – Monday, October 27,
2008 (Work session regarding the Town Hall site)

Right-to-Know Law Informational
Meeting – Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Planning Board – Wednesday, October
29, 2008

To view an agenda 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.

Churchill
Rink AT JACKSON’S LANDING PUBLIC
SCHEDULE

The Churchill Rink at Jackson’s Landing opened on
October 20^th this week. Public Skating for the 2008/09 season is as
follows:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday-
2:00-3:20

Tuesday & Thursday- 9:00- 10:20
& 2:00-4:20

Saturdays-
2:30-4:20

Sundays-
2:00-3:50

Churchill Rink
Halloween Skate

The first Community Event is
Halloween Skate is scheduled for
Friday, October 31. The community events take place from 7:30-9:00pm and are
free of charge.

DURHAM
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION SEEKING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Durham Business Association is
looking for an Executive Director.  Responsibilities for this
part-time position include planning and implementing DBA projects and
activities and working closely with the Board of Directors and members to
facilitate strong communication and relationships between its members, the Town,
the University, and the Economic Development Committee.  The position
averages 30 hours per month.  Interested candidates may send a resume
and letter of interest to Johanna Knight at d_b_a@verizon.net by November 5,
2008.

TOWN
OF NEWMARKET INFORMATIONAL MEETING-DRAWDOWN OF
LAMPREY
RIVER

The Town of
Newmarket will perform a drawdown of the
Lamprey
River on Monday, November
10, 2008 for the purpose of conducting an inspection of the Macallen Dam. 
This work is being done with the approval of the New Hampshire Fish and Game
Department and the Department of Environmental Services Dam Bureau. All members
of the public and interested parties are invited to attend the informational
meeting regarding the drawdown to be held at the Newmarket Town Hall at 7:00 PM on Monday, November
3, 2008.

Durham
Public Library 3rd Annual Durham Community Pancake
Breakfast
This
Saturday, October 25, 2008, from 8:00-11:00 AM, the Durham Fire Department, UNH
Greeks, and Durham Public Library will sponsor the 3^rd annual Durham
Community Pancake Breakfast to be held at the Oyster River Middle
School (rain or shine). Activities and games are
also planned for the event. All proceeds will be used to support the Durham
Public Library.

Check
out the new Durham: It’s Where U Live Grant Program

A new grant program has been
established by DIWUL. The program provides grants up to $200 and will provide
reimbursement to support a program or event geared at bringing the University
and greater Durham community together. For guidelines and
information on how to apply visit www.diwul.org

PANCAKE
BREAKFAST HOSTED BY THE UNH GREEK COMMUNITY AND DURHAM FIRE DEPARTMENT

On Saturday, October 25, 2008 from
8:00 to 11:00 AM, the UNH Greek Community and Durham Fire Department are joining
together for the 3rd Annual Pancake Breakfast! Please join us at Oyster River Middle
School for games and a delicious pancake breakfast
to support the Durham Public Library. The Durham Fire Department will be
flipping pancakes while the UNH Greek Community will have activities and games
for all ages to enjoy.

WEEKLY
POLICE ARREST REPORT

Week –
23                                          
14 UNH (61%)            
9 Other (39%)

*2008/09 Academic Year
-313            205 UNH
(65%)           118 Other
(35%)

Calendar
Year-828                             
482 UNH (58%)          346 Other
(42%)

*Commenced September 1, 2008 

Historical Data
for the same week

FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976

“1831 – A listing of 50 sea-worthy
vessels built in our ways since 1800 include 35 ships of 20 to 399 tons, 8 brigs
from 98 to 281 tons, 7 schooners from 50 to 137 tons. Joseph Coe produced 18,
Stephen Paul 11, Robert Lapish 6 and Andrew Simpson and William Hanscom 4
apiece, and others.”

Have a nice weekend and a
HAPPY
HALLOWEEN

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

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