January 26th Select Board Newsletter
Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. In this edition:
- Presidential Primary - Thank You and Results
- Stevens Park Meeting on Future Improvements
- Town Meeting Information
- Filing Period for Town Elections
- Stratham Community Power - Public Information Session
- Open Space and Connectivity Plan - Public Outreach Event
- 2024 Revaluation Field Work Beginning
- Red Cross Blood Drive at Stratham Fire Station
- Kindergarten Registration Open
- Casella Curbside Collection Calendar 2024-2025
- Parks & Recreation - Senior and Adult Programs
To sign-up for these updates and other notifications, please visit this section on our website and check the "Select Board" box under News and Announcements.
The Select Board
Michael Houghton, Chair Allison Knab, Vice-Chair Joe Anderson
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY - THANK YOU AND RESULTS
Thank you to everyone who worked the polls, voted, fed volunteers, and setup (and broke down) our election. Special thanks and appreciation go to Deb Bakie and the Town Clerk-Tax Collector team as well as Moderator Dave Emanuel and Assistant Moderator Beth Dupell, our Supervisors of the Checklist and the Stratham Memorial School team. There are four elections in 2024! One down, three to go. Thank you everyone. Click here to read Stratham's results of the Presidential Primary.
STEVENS PARK MEETING ON FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS - Thursday, February 8th at 7:00 pm
Come be a part of the conversation
TOWN MEETING INFORMATION: ELECTION AND BUSINESS SESSION INFORMATION
The public hearing on the 2024 town budget and warrant will be on Monday, February 5th at 7:00 pm. A presentation on the 2024 operating budget will be given and materials posted on the Select Board meeting page on Friday before the hearing on our Town Meeting Page, where preliminary budget materials can currently be found. The Town Election will be held at Stratham Memorial School (39 Gifford Farm Rd) on Tuesday, March 12th. Polls will be open from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. The Town Meeting business session will be held on Saturday, March 16th also at Stratham Memorial School. The meeting will begin at 9:00 am.
The Exeter Region Cooperative School District Deliberative Session will be held on Thursday, February 8th at 7:00 pm. ERCSD budget and voting flyer here. The School District Town Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 5th at 6:00 pm. Stratham School District budget & voting flyer here.
CLERK'S CORNER
- Do you have the 2024 Top Dog of Stratham? Dog licenses are available for the 2024 year; you can conveniently register them online here. All dogs registered by April 30, 2024 have a chance to be the Top Dog! Winner to be announced May 1st!
- The filing period for the March Town Election is January 24 - February 2 (The Clerk will be available on February 2 from 3 pm-5 pm for in person filing). Follow this link to view open positions
STRATHAM COMMUNITY POWER GOES LIVE IN MARCH – INFO SESSION JANUARY 30 AT 7:00 PM
Stratham Community Power will offer an initial electricity rate of 8.1₵ per kWh, which is 24% less than the Unitil rate (for an average household using 650kwh/month that’s a savings of $17/month or $204/year. Enrollment mailings will be going out this week to Stratham households and businesses. Please take the time to read the letter, as it contains all of the details you’ll need. There is no action to take if you are currently on the default energy supply through Unitil. There will also be an information session on Tuesday, January 30th @ 7 pm at the Municipal Center. You can also click here for complete details.
OPEN SPACE PLAN WORK IS PROGRESSING
Stratham images needed for Open Space Plan
The draft of Stratham’s Open Space & Connectivity Plan is quickly nearing completion. But we need your help! To ensure the plan is engaging and graphical, we need to include images of Stratham that shows our community in a good light. If you have images of Stratham – from around town, from community events, from parks or conservation land, or even from your own property – and you are comfortable including them in the plan, please e-mail them to us at planning@strathamnh.gov. All submitted images will be credited. Please include how you would like the images credited in your e-mail.
PUBLIC OUTREACH EVENT - February 12, 2024 at 6:00 pm
FIELD WORK BEGINNING FOR 2024 REVALUATION
As was shared in a recent newsletter, in 2024 the Town, through its contractor Whitney Consulting Group, will be completing a town-wide property revaluation in accordance with state requirements. Whitney Consulting Group (WCG) has begun and will be continuing its field operations for the 2024 Revaluation and general assessing work. They will be performing property inspections regarding sales, building permits, as well as field and cyclical review to ensure property records are accurate. Property owners are not required to let the Assessor into their property but the Town asks for your cooperation in allowing WCG staff access to your property so that they may verify the existing data on your property and/or measure and list any newly constructed item(s). The staff will be wearing identification badges and have a letter from the Town introducing them. Stratham Police Department has the staff’s vehicle information.
SAVE A LIFE - DONATE BLOOD!
The Stratham Fire Department Auxiliary is sponsoring a Blood Drive on Wednesday, February 14 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Fire Station Morgera Room, 4 Winnicutt Road. Please call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter STRATHAMFIRE to schedule an appointment. Click here to view more info on the flyer.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION 2024-2025 OPEN - January 26th - February 23rd
Kindergartners must be 5 years old by September 30th, 2024 and be a Stratham resident. Packets can be printed from the sms.sau16.org website or picked up at the Stratham Memorial School office Mon-Fri 7:30 am-3:30 pm.
2024-2025 CASELLA CURBSIDE COLLECTION CALENDAR
Keep this calendar handy to know when your curbside collection may be impacted by a holiday. Brochures will be mailed to households soon and can be found here. We suggest bookmarking this calendar so you can easily reference it for when we incur delays due to holidays.
The February calendar for senior and adult activities will be out on Monday! Come by the Municipal Center to pick up a calendar or click here to view the programs.