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May 21st Select Board Newsletter

Posted on: May 13, 2020 - 3:07pm

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Dear Stratham Residents,

Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. We thank everyone for your patience and support as we work through the pandemic and resulting changes to our services and programs. You have our best wishes for the long spring weekend ahead and please take special note below about our reminder about our Stratham farms .

In this edition:

  • Memorial Day Observance
  • Parks & Recreation Announcements
  • Visit Stratham Farms 
  • Low and Moderate Tax Relief
  • Change Party Affiliation by Mail
  • Supervisors Session - Register to Vote
  • Reminder - survey regarding curbside collection
  • Library Updates and Community Calls
  • Get to know Chapman's Landing

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

MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE
On Monday, May 25, 2020, Stratham will honor Memorial Day and those who have fallen with a brief ceremony followed by a silent procession throughout the town.

Fire apparatus’ and police vehicles will leave the Fire Station at 1:25 pm and drive to Stratham Hill Park Veterans Memorial Garden where they will stop and conduct a brief ceremony at 1:30 pm that will include raising the colors, laying a wreath, an SVFDA Honor Guard rifle salute, and playing of Taps.  For everyone’s safety, we respectfully ask residents to not attend the SHP ceremony, but to instead watch it live on Facebook.  Follow this link for more information.  Follow this link for the Parade Route Map.

Following the ceremony, the Fire and Police departments will ride through town with lights on but with sirens silent, in respect for those veterans who have fallen. The silent procession route and approximate times will be published shortly and the public is invited to watch from the sides of the streets closest to their homes, while maintaining social distance.  We encourage residents to line the streets of Stratham for the silent parade while maintaining at least 6 feet from each other. Flag waving and red, white, and blue outfits are highly encouraged!

parks
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PARKS & RECREATION

On Wednesday May 27th, the main parking lot at Stratham Hill Park will be reopened for Stratham residents only Monday through Friday and remain closed on weekends.   Please read here for more information about this as well as the reopening of tennis courts at Stevens Park.             

Regretfully, as a result of the public health emergency, the Town has had to cancel its summer camp offerings this season.  Please read the full announcement recieved by parents of participants on Wednesday of this week.

In addition, the Great Bay Food Truck Festival (August) and Family Fun Day (October) have been cancelled for this year.  Please check back for more in the future when we hope to be able to offer these events for the community again.

STRATHAM FARMS
It's that time of year when the warm weather and sunshine turn our thoughts to fresh fruits, vegetables and beautiful flowers!  Stratham is fortunate to have many farms that sell fresh produce and seedlings.  By eating local you are getting the freshest fruits and vegetables and are eliminating the need for long-distance transportation of produce.  If you are making preparations to grow your own garden, many of Stratham's farms sell plants and other essential gardening items.  Please support Stratham farms!  Follow this link to see a list of Stratham farms:  https://www.strathamnh.gov/conservation-commission/pages/stratham-farms 

LOW AND MODERATE TAX RELIEF (State Education Portion)
The State of New Hampshire has enacted a law enabling property owners to receive relief of the state education portion of their tax bill. Property owners who resided in their home as of April 1st in the year for which the claim is made and had total household incomes of $20,000 or less if single and $40,000 or less if married or head of a New Hampshire household are eligible. The forms must be completed and mailed to the Department of Revenue by June 30th.  You can download the application by visiting the Assessing Department website.  If you have a question or need assistance completing a form, please contact the NH DRA Taxpayer Services at (603) 230-5920.

CHANGING PARTY AFFILIATION CAN BE DONE BY MAIL
A reminder that the last date for a registered voter to change their political party affiliation is Tuesday, June 2nd for the upcoming primary on September 8th.  Check your party affiliation on-line: http://sos.nh.gov/VoteInforLook.aspx  The Voter registration form is available from the Secretary of State website as well as the Town of Stratham (and is hyperlinked below).

This completed form must be received by the Town Clerk before 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 2, 2020.
Mail this form back to: Town Clerk 10 Bunker Hill Ave Stratham, NH 03885

Drop it off at the Municipal Center into the black lock box next to the entrance door, as the building is still closed to the public.

UPCOMING SUPERVISORS SESSION - JUNE 2ND (REGISTER TO VOTE & CHANGE PARTY)

There also will be a Supervisor’s session June 2nd from 7:00pm-7:30pm at the Municipal Center where changes can be made to party affiliation and residents can register to vote.  Masks are required. Please bring your own pen and adhere to all social distancing signage.

COMMUNITY CALLS
Do you know someone who is living alone, or who could use a pick-me-up? Maybe you are ready to talk to someone who isn’t your family? Library staff have been calling people just to say hello and check-in and we’d love to reach out to more! Send Lesley an email ( wigginml@comcast.net) or leave a message at 772-4346 with your name and phone number (or contact info for someone else you know). We miss connecting with everyone at the library and would love to connect with you by phone!

LIBRARY UPDATE
The door to the library is closed and the lights are (mostly) off, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t hard at work. Along with providing our virtual and digital services, the Library Board of Trustees, library director, and library staff have been developing procedures for how to move forward deliberately and with great care for staff and public safety. We are looking forward to being able to put these plans into action when the time is right. As we move towards a "new normal" library, things won't look or work exactly the same - we know that. Together, we'll make some changes but that won't change the heart and work of the library. Stay tuned for more!

REMINDER: SURVEY ABOUT WASTE DISPOSAL IN STRATHAM OPEN THROUGH MAY 26TH
The Select Board-appointed Curbside Collection Advisory Committee has prepared a survey as an outreach tool to assist the Board in making future decisions about solid waste management in Town, including the future of curbside collection.  The survey is open now and will run for the next three weeks (Monday May 4th though Tuesday May 26th).  The survey can be found here.  526 residents have responded so far!

If you prefer a paper version of this survey, please write Executive Assistant Karen Richard at krichard@strathamnh.gov of call 603 772-7391 ext. 187.  Please include your name and address and we will ensure you are mailed a survey.  We can receive surveys via the mail to (10 Bunker Hill Avenue, Stratham, NH 03885) or you can drop it off at the lock box outside of the Town Offices at your convenience.  

To read more about the process to date, please visit the Curbside Collection Advisory Committee webpage.

CHAPMANS LANDING
Get to know Chapmans Landing Wildlife Garden posted by NH Fish and Game on You Tube.  Take a virtual walk though the Chapman's Landing Wildlife Garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOuVBEXDTo4&feature=youtu.be