June 26th Select Board Newsletter
Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. Next week, please be on the look out for a special edition newsletter with information about Town Meeting 2020.
In this edition:
- Closures for July 4th Holiday
- Recap of Gateway Implementation/TIF Outreach Event
- CCAC Survey Summary & Update
- Drought Alert from NHDES
- Update on Stormwater Permit
- Library - Summer Programs
- Reminder to sign up for Code Red
- NHDES recommendations for your septic system
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
Please note: Transfer Station Closed on July 4th; Town Offices closed on July 3rd. No disruption to curbside collection of trash and recycling.
Gateway Implementation: TIF Outreach Event Successful
On June 17th, the Select Board hosted another open house discussion focused on Articles 14 and 15 on this year’s Town Warrant (Town Meeting on Saturday July 11th). The discussion was broadcast live via Facebook live. The video for the event can be found here. There were many great questions and back and forth on the process of considering a TIF to date as well as the importance of redevelopment of the Gateway in a strategic way.
Please let us know, if you would be interested in seeing the Town host another “open house” discussion in person or via Facebook Live prior to Town Meeting. There is still time and the Board is very interested and willing to engage with any resident seeking more information. https://www.strathamnh.gov/select-board/pages/gateway-implementation.
CCAC Survey Summary Available and Curbside Collection Update
The Town's Curbside Collection Advisory Committee recently met and discussed the results from the recent survey. For a summary of the survey, please see the summary here. Meanwhile, the Town is moving forward with a request for proposals process to obtain competitive proposals on a variety of curbside collection options and strategies; more information will be available as in the coming months.
Town Offices and COVID Operations Plan
As discussed in recent newsletters, the Town Offices are now operating under a COVID Operations Plan during the ongoing public health emergency. The goal of the Plan is to resume face-to-face interactions on a phased basis. During the week of the 12th, we resumed in-person transactions in the Town Clerk’s Office while ensuring safety for residents and employees through compliance with social distancing protocols and other strategies. Some elements of our plan include utilizing a screening process for staff; circulation changes within the building; new see-through barriers at service counters, and new protocols for processing mail.
This week, we welcomed the return of teleworking employees to the office, in the coming weeks we plan to resume additional face-to-face interactions in the Town Offices in accordance with updated information about the status of the emergency in NH.
If you have questions about any Town services or how we have modified our ways of doing business at this time please contact us.
Special thanks go to all of our Town employees for their resilience, creativity, and sustained attention to keeping each other and the public safe during this time.
NHDES Sends Alert Regarding Drought Conditions
The following links lead to two recent articles put out by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES): NHDES June 18, 2020 NHDES June 25, 2020. If you are interested in updates to these articles and the drought conditions, here’s a helpful link: NHDES Drought Page. NHDES updates this page on Thursdays. Please help and do your part to conserve water usage.
Stratham and MS4: Year 2
Year two of the current NH Small MS4 General Permit is wrapping up. What is MS4? What’s going on? Please visit Stratham and MS4 to learn how you can be involved. This page provides background on the permit, a map of the MS4 area of Town, and key messaging that help us all participate in this program to keep our waters clean. Any questions or comments? Please contact Tavis Austin, AICP, Town Planner directly: taustin@strathamnh.gov
Teen Summer Reading Program
The Teen Summer Reading Program is up & running! Sign up today, join our challenges and events, and enter for prizes too! Anyone entering 6th grade & up through recent HS graduates are welcome to join the Teen program. We have a photo scavenger hunt going on now, plus Babysitting Class is starting in July. Look for craft tutorials with take-home kits, and various challenges and events throughout the summer! Earn prize entries by reading (obviously), using library resources, helping your community, and being physically active! That's right- earn points for swimming, hiking, bike riding, skateboarding & more! Check it all out at wigginlibrary.readsquared.com - as always, give the library a call if you have questions, at (603) 772-4346, or email Lucia directly at LibraryLu79@gmail.com!
Summer With Your Library
Hey kids and families! It's time for Summer Reading activities with the library! To register for Summer Reading, head over to the ReadSquared app or visit wigginlibrary.readsquared.com. We have an offline component, too: the Imagine Your Story Activity Bingo! You can pick that up with your curbside books. Kids birth-5th grade will have fun reading, playing, and engaging with our virtual missions. Register for online special events using the library's online calendar on our website (library.strathamnh.gov)!
Join us for an online Adult Summer Reading Program ( https://tinyurl.com/yca6dv2m) where you can earn points and virtual badges by reading books and writing book reviews! The book reviews will be added to our virtual Word of Mouth list of reading recommendations from you, our Stratham readers. Download the ReadSquared app on your device, or register on the ReadSquared website (wigginlibrary.readsquared.com) and start reading!
Sign Up For Stratham Emergency Alerts Through The NH Emergency Notification System
Residents may be aware (and already signed-up for) of Code Red Alerts from the State of New Hampshire. The State has recently enabled Towns to deliver important messages to their residents regarding emergencies through use of the same database. That means that, if you signed up for Code Red Alerts from the State using your Stratham address, you are already signed-up to recieve emergency notices from the Town.
If you have not already signed-up for Code Red Alerts, please consider it. Doing so will enable you to receive geo-targeted, time-sensitive alerts from the Town of Stratham as well (e.g. traffic impacts of local events or emergencies)
Please take a moment and follow this link (https://www.onsolve.com/landing/sign-up-for-codered-emergency-alerts/) to register for the CodeRED emergency notification system. You may receive notifications via email, SMS, voice, mobile app push notifications, and more depending on the severity of the situation.
Stay safe - sign up today!
NHDES Wants Residents to Take Care of Their Septic Systems
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) urges residents to be cautious with the use of strong antibacterial cleaning materials and disposing of those materials in septic systems. Introducing large volumes of these cleaning agents to septic system can have a detrimental effect on the bacteria that are vital to the function of a healthy system. Without the essential bacteria in a septic tank and/or in the effluent disposal area (leachfield) the system will prematurely fail resulting in the system having to be replaced. Replacing a system in failure can be a very expensive undertaking that could be avoided with careful and proper use.
Please follow this link to the NHDES Press Release regarding what materials should and should not be flushed down the toilet. Additionally, NHDES wants to remind residents that septic tanks should be pumped every three to five years. More information about proper septic system maintenance can be found at https://getpumpednh.com/