June 16th Select Board Newsletter

Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham.  In this edition:

• Town Offices Closing At Noon - June 28
• Trash and Recycling Pick Up - July 4th Delay
• Community Power Public Hearing
• Town Treasurer Vacancy
• Volunteer Fair and Other Library Events
• Clerk's Corner
• Parks & Recreation News
• Select Board Meetings - Changes to Summer Meetings
• Conference on Estuaries 
• Every Drop Counts!  Be a Super Scooper!
• Stratham Growers to Report Losses
• Roadway Paving

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 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

All Town offices will be closing at noon on Wednesday, June 28th so that staff may attend an appreciation event.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  

TRASH & RECYCLING PICK UP
Trash and recycling pick up will be delayed by one day the week of July 4th.  If your pick up is usually on Tuesday, it will be on Wednesday that week, Wednesday's pick up will be on Thursday, etc.  If you have any questions, please call Jenn Schaaff at 603-772-5550.

COMMUNITY POWER
The Energy Aggregation Committee of the Town of Stratham is seeking public feedback and interest in this exciting opportunity to save money for and build a sustainable energy future partnership with other municipalities.  You can learn more about this effort here.  If you would like to know more, have a comment, support the initiative or want to express your opinions, please take the time to send a message the Committee using this link.  A public hearing on a draft Community Power Plan will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2023 in the Morgera Room at the Stratham Fire Station at 6:30 pm.

TOWN TREASURER VACANCY
The Town of Stratham is seeking interested applicants for the appointed position of Town Treasurer for the term which ends March 2026.  This is a statutory position appointed for a three year term and is compensated with an annual stipend of $6,500.00. 

The Treasurer is responsible for the custody, deposit and disbursement of town funds in compliance with detailed statutory standards (RSA 41:29).  The Treasurer submits books, vouchers and statements to the select board and to the town auditors whenever requested.

Interested applicants should have general bookkeeping and computer experience and may send a letter of interest with qualifications to KRichard@StrathamNH.gov .  Please click here for a complete job description.


VOLUNTEER FAIR AND OTHER LIBRARY EVENTS

• Monday, June 19, our Summer Reading Program "All Together Now" opens for registration. Kids are encouraged to come to the library and sign up to earn prizes for reading! More info here. 
• Thursday, June 22, come play Glow-in-the-Dark Mini-Golf from 4-7PM in Community Room A. All ages are welcome and it's free to play!  More info here.
• Tuesday, June 27, join in "All Together Now" for the library's first-ever Volunteer Fair! Come between 4pm and 6pm to the Community Room A and get more involved in your community! Up to 18 local area non-profits will be represented. The full roster of participating non-profits is listed here:
• Wednesday, June 28, will be our third "Taste of Stratham" Cookbook Book Club! Each month, Strathamites prepare a different recipe from a selected cookbook and share with the group potluck style. This month will feature recipes from "Jacques Pepin Quick and Simple."  Registration is required.

CLERK'S CORNER
On Wednesday, June 21st, the Town Clerk’s Office will be unable to process any vital request to include marriage licenses due to an update within the State of New Hampshire vital records.  Thank you for your understanding.


PARKS & RECREATION NEWS
Stratham Parks and Recreation Department is seeking a qualified candidate to serve as its Programming Assistant.  This multi-faceted part-time position (20 hours per week) includes both administrative support for the Department and managing a diverse offering of weekly senior resident programs and events offered by the Department.  For more information about this opportunity, click here.  

Food Trucks are back at Stratham Hill Park, 4 pm to 8 pm.  Pizza, BBQ and dessert trucks are regulars this season.  Music entertainment will also be part of the fun!  For more information about this weekly event, please follow our Facebook event. 

UPCOMING SELECT BOARD MEETING DATES 
Due to scheduling conflicts, a few of the summer meeting dates of the Select Board are being adjusted.  Please note, the Board meets the first and third Mondays of each month.  However, in July and August, the Board will hold meetings on these dates: Monday July 10, 2023; Monday July 31, 2023; and August 14, 2023.  In keeping with recent past practice, there will only be a second meeting in August if needed.

ESTUARIES CONFERENCE
Mark Connors, David Moore and Allison Knab attended the 2023 Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) conference on June 2nd.  PREP is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program, which is a joint local/state/federal program established under the Clean Water Act with the goal of protecting and enhancing nationally significant estuarine resources.  Every five years, PREP prepares a State of Our Estuaries Report with extensive data and information on the status and trends of environmental indicators from the Piscataqua Region Watershed and estuaries. This year's State of Our Estuaries Report tells a story of how our shared home — the Piscataqua Region Watershed — is changing and of how those trends are affecting our estuaries and the countless species that live here. It tells of stress and recognizes that while the challenges we face are significant, so too is our ability to bring about positive change.  That is a critical part of this report: we can make a difference.

Congrats to Mark for winning the canvas picture raffle.  


EVERY DROP COUNTS!  BE A SUPER SCOOPER! 
The Squamscott River is a beautiful 6 mile long tidal river that is the western border of the Town of Stratham.  The water quality of the river is impaired by many contaminants including nitrogen coming from stormwater.  The easiest way to help Stratham keep our town clean and reduce nitrogen loading to all waters is by proper disposal of pet waste.  Take the pledge here - Every Drop Pledge!  Learn more about how Stratham is regulated by the US EPA under a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit on the Town’s webpage at - Stormwater and Stratham's MS4 Permit | Town of Stratham NH.

STRATHAM GROWERS REPORT LOSSES TO FARM SERVICE AGENCY 
We want to get the word out that many of our farmers have been impacted by damaging weather, such as the early frost this year.  Those who have been impacted are encouraged to contact Kelsey Hamilton at our area Farmer Service Agency by calling 603-679-4656 x2 to report losses.  This is an important reminder for all of us to support our Stratham growers whenever we get the chance. 

ROADWAY PAVING
Remaining paving for our Stratham 2023 program includes the reclamation and paving of binder course on Tidewater Farms Road, the paving of top coat on Oak Lane, Gifford Farm Road, Berry Hill Road, Long Hill Road and Easton Hill Road.  Bell & Flynn is contracted to complete the work this summer before the return of school bussing in August.  If you are planning work within private property; i.e. paving of driveway, tree work requiring heavy equipment, septic service, etc., please try and schedule this work requiring heavy equipment in advance of the end of July so that damage to the newly paved road does not occur.  Once the Town has a confirmed date of paving notice will be provided to the public via newsletter and residents along these roads will receive notice via bright green door hangers.