August 2nd Select Board Newsletter
August 2, 2019
Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. In this edition: National Night Out reminder, Annual Paving Coming, Barker Farm Conservation Easement, Master Plan progress, Board Highlight – Exeter-Squamscott River Local Advisory Committee…. and more.
Please remind your neighbors about this resource for keeping on top of information from the Town. To sign-up for these updates and other notifications, please visit: https://www.strathamnh.gov/subscribe.
The Select Board
Michael Houghton, Chairman Joe Lovejoy, Vice Chair Allison Knab, Selectwoman
Reminder about National Night Out this Tuesday August 6th at 5:00 pm.
On Tuesday August 6th at 5:00 p.m. the Police Department will host Stratham’s First Annual National Night out. Check out the Police Departments’ Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2091330744506073/
Annual Paving
Beginning August 13, 2019 the Town of Stratham Public Works in collaboration with Bell & Flynn Inc. will begin the following road resurfacing projects.
Drury Plains Road will receive a full depth reclamation of the existing asphalt. Following the completion of Drury Plains Road crews will begin work along Guinea Road from the intersection of Stratham Heights Road to the intersection of Academic Way. Guinea Road will receive an overlay and wearing course of asphalt. The center of road will be readjusted as needed and shoulder widened in short segments to accommodate a bicycle travel lanes on both the easterly and westerly side of Guinea Road. Following paving Guinea Road will be restriped with double yellow center lines, white fog lines delineating bike lanes and bicycle lane markings and signage per MUTCD.
Motorists should expect delays in travel along these roadways during construction and it is suggested that motorists seek alternate routes.
Barker’s Farm Conservation Easement Closing
The Conservation Easement funded in part by a Town Meeting warrant article in 2017 has been completed. The Town’s contribution of $375,000 from local taxation and $25,000 from the Land Conservation Fund leveraged an additional $1.3 million in federal funding and other sources including a local fundraising campaign. The vision of the Barker family, the benefits of the easement to the Town and the role of invaluable partners who helped ensure this positive outcome are all outlined in the summary from the Southeast Land Trust linked to below. Please read more about this project here: http://seltnh.org/barkers-farm-now-protected/
Master Plan Next Step
The Master Plan Steering Committee will hold a meeting on Monday, August 5, 2019 at 6:30PM in the Municipal Center. This meeting is intended to review the Committee's collective comments on the latest draft of the Master Plan insuring all comments received to date have been incorporated into the draft prior to the forwarding the plan to the Planning Board. The Planning Board will be meeting on August 21, 2019 (7:00 p.m.) to commence their review of the draft plan. The Planning Board will ultimately schedule a public hearing to move toward plan adoption. Please remember, the Master Plan is adopted by the Planning Board. We invite you to participate through these final phases of the process; please visit https://www.strathamplan.com, continue to monitor this newsletter, and/or subscribe to the Planning Board news (https://www.strathamnh.gov/subscribe ) for more information.
State Ten Year Transportation Plan Bunker Hill Avenue Intersection with Portsmouth Avenue (NH 108)
The State of New Hampshire has begun it latest Ten-Year Transportation Planning Cycle. In the coming months, the Governor's Advisory Commission on Intermodal Transportation (GACIT) will be holding meetings and public hearings across New Hampshire to review and receive input on the update of the State’s Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan (2019-2028). A Transportation project for Stratham is included in this plan. A recent meeting of GACIT was held in Kingston and was attended by the Town Administrator and Public Works Director. The inclusion of this project in the plan does not translate into funding directly, however showing support for the project from the public as part of this hearing process will help ensure resources are brought to this project sooner rather than later. More information is below
STRATHAM (41711) SIGNALIZATION, TURN LANES AND INTERSECTION REALIGNMENT AT THE NH108/ BUNKER HILL INTERSECTION can be found on page 187 of this .pdf (page 174 of the plan itself)
https://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/planning/typ/documents/TYP...
More information about the Ten Year Plan can be found at this link:
https://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/planning/typ/index.htm
Board Highlight: Exeter-Squamscott River Local Advisory Committee
The Town of Stratham has one opening on the Exeter-Squamscott River Local Advisory Committee (ESRLAC) this position, nominated by the Select Board, and appointed by NHDES. ESRLAC is part of the New Hampshire Rivers Management and Protection Program (RSA 483:8-a). The communities making up this River are those fronting the headwaters at the Route 102 bridge in Chester to the confluence of the Squamscott River and Great Bay; these include Brentwood, Chester, Danville, East Kingston, Exeter, Fremont, Kensington, Kingston, Newfields, Raymond, Sandown and Stratham.
These committee’s connect state government and local citizens. Each committee plays a vital role in protecting not only the river, but its shore lands as well. A minimum of one resident from each riverfront community is on the committee. The main responsibilities of the advisory committee are to develop and implement a local river corridor management plan and advise local, state, and federal governing bodies and agencies of activities which may affect the water quality or flow of the protected river or segment. NHDES offers the committee technical assistance in developing and implementing the management plan. For more information about LAC or the Rivers Program please visit the Rivers Program website or contact theresawalker@comcast.net. Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm as needed at the Rockingham Planning Commission, 156 Water Street, Exeter, NH.