November 9th Select Board Newsletter
Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. In this edition:
Veterans' Day Observance
Town Offices Closed November 11th
Thank You to Mel McGrail
Open Positions - Town Planner and Plow Operator
Drought Update
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
Veterans’ Day Facebook Live Event
The Town of Stratham is hosting a Veterans' Day observance at the Stratham Hill Park Veterans Memorial Garden at 11:00 a.m. on November 11th (Veterans Day). For everyone’s safety, we respectfully ask residents to not attend the SHP ceremony, but to instead watch it live on Facebook (Live link information will be posted on the Town's Facebook page).
This is a good time to thank and acknowledge the volunteers and Town staff who work to pull together these meaningful observances each year. In addition, the Exeter Garden Club works throughout the year to carefully tend our Veterans Memorial Garden. We thank them as well as our Heritage Commission and DPW staff who also care for this special place.
Please note that Town Offices will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th in observance of Veteran’s Day.
Election Day Thank You
Along with our Town Moderator and Town Clerk, the Select Board wishes to thank all of the Stratham residents, Town employees, and election volunteers for their service to our community during this challenging election season. We also want to recognize and thank the SAU and local School district and school staff members for their cooperation and use of the school facilities for our election. We have heard from many of you about your positive feedback on the election and we appreciate the comments and support. We appreciate everyone's patience, cooperation, and civic engagement.
To read more about the election results and information about the resolution of the election night processing issue, please see this page.
Thank you to Mel McGrail in the Town Clerk's Office
This past Friday, the Town staff and Select Board held a send off for Mel McGrail to thank her for her four years of service in the Town Clerk's Office and many more years of service to our community. While Mel will be leaving her regular part-time role in the Clerk's Office, she will continue to serve as a Supervisor of the Checklist and continue to serve our communiity in many ways going forward we are sure. We are grateful for your example of service Mel and we will miss your regular presence around the Town Offices.
Posting for Town Planner
The Select Board is moving forward with a selection process for the Town’s next Town Planner. You can see the job posting published in mid-October here. Applications are being taken on a rolling basis and initial interviews have been held. We will keep you up to date on our progress
Posting for Seasonal Plow Operator
The Town is also looking for a seasonal plow operator. Candidates must be available to respond when called to support winter maintenance operations including but not limited to plowing and treating roadways, parking lots, sidewalks, etc. This is an on call position from November 1st through March 31st. Click here for a full job description.
Drought Update
While the growing season is over, the warmer temperatures over the next few days are likely to result in an increase of outdoor water use as people head outdoors to wash cars, power wash, and tie up other fall cleanup chores. Please be aware that water use restrictions remain in place. Click here for indoor water saving tips. Outlooks for mid-November indicate precipitation received is likely to be normal to slightly above normal. Since last week, the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook has been released and indicates it is unlikely there will be more drought improvement by the end of the month. Please do your best to continue to conserve water.