Manager's Weekly Memo

DATE: October 2, 2009

PROPERTY TAX MAP UPDATE: The City has contracted with Cartographic Associates of Littleton, NH, to prepare up-to-date and accurate City property maps. The properties in the Merrimack Valley School District are the first phase of the project. To date, there are some parcels for which Cartographic has not been able to acquire sufficient information or for which they still have questions. Mr. Anthony Egizi from Cartographic Associates will be attempting to speak directly with the owners of those particular properties between Tuesday, October 13th, and Saturday, October 17th. Mr. Egizi’s license plate number and make and model of vehicle will be on file with the Concord Police Department. He also has a photo ID in his possession. The City is asking for the cooperation of those property owners to accomplish this mapping update.

CIP #35 - US ROUTE 3 CORRIDOR NORTH: With the final wear course pavement placed on Fisherville Road, from just south of Manor Road to just south of Sylvester Street, the contractor will focus efforts next week on driveway tie-ins. Final road striping and crosswalk markings are expected the week of October 12th. We thank the residents of this neighborhood and the commuters for their patience throughout the duration of the construction in this area.

Along the North State Street corridor, the contractor will continue new storm sewer infrastructure installation; from Tenney Street to Knight Street. Construction of the road box will continue as well, from Parmenter Road to Tenney Street. One-lane traffic conditions will persist during hours of operation, and major delays are to be expected on North State Street from Knight Street to Parmenter Road. Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes whenever possible.

CIP #440 – SCHOOL STREET RETAINING WALL: The contractor has completed construction of the School Street retaining wall and the sidewalk in front of the wall has been repaved. In the coming weeks, the contractor will complete landscaping of the disturbed areas. The sidewalk remains closed to pedestrians until the railing is installed.

CIP #283 - LOUDON ROAD TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS:  Installation of new pedestrian signals and crosswalks in the Exit 14 area is nearing completion.  "WALK/DON’T WALK" signals will provide for pedestrian crossings of streets and ramps between Stickney Avenue and Fort Eddy Road.  The flashing "DON'T WALK" display will feature new countdown timer displays that will indicate to pedestrians the number of seconds left to cross the street.  The pedestrian crosswalk on Loudon Road at Fort Eddy Road will be discontinued and replaced by a crosswalk on Loudon Road at Stickney Avenue.  Informational signage for pedestrians will be placed at key crosswalk locations.

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK:   The Concord Fire Department will observe National Fire Prevention Week, October 4-10, with visits to all of the City's 2nd grade classrooms and child care centers.  There will also be an open house on Friday, October 9th (a school holiday) at the Manor Fire Station from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.  The event will include free pizza, provided by a local vendor; fire safety house games; station tours; a visit from Sparky the fire dog; and tips on home fire safety and escaping from a fire.

FIRE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES: During the week of September 20th, Fire Prevention staff presented one Public Education program, performed 14 field inspections and completed five fire protection consults.

CONCORD READS: The 2009 Concord Reads series continues next week with a book discussion in the Library Auditorium on Monday, October 5th, from 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM.  The discussion, led by Suzanne Brown, features the book The Soloist by Steve Lopez.  This program is free and open to the public.  In addition, on Thursday, October 8th, Red River Theatre will present the film The Soloist at 6:00 PM, followed by an audience discussion.  Admission for the film and discussion is $5.00.  Non-perishable food donations will be accepted at these events. All food collected will be distributed to local food pantries.  Concord Reads is sponsored by the Concord Public Library and the Concord Public Library Foundation, with generous support from the Concord Monitor and Lincoln Financial Institution.  For more information, call 225-8670 or visit www.concordpubliclibrary.net.

FALL LEAF COLLECTION: The General Services Department will begin its annual residential leaf pick-up program starting the week of October 26th and ending approximately December 4, 2009. The Department will have three crews vacuuming up un-bagged leaves that have been raked to the curb. One crew will start at the Bow town line on South Street and work north; one crew will start on Elm Street in Penacook and work south; and one crew will start on Manchester Street and work north on the east side of the Merrimack River. Only leaves will be picked up. Any unacceptable material, which has been illegally deposited in the public right-of-way, MUST be removed by the abutting landowner. Examples of unacceptable material include branches, brush, concrete, metal goods and construction demolition material. Notices will run in the Concord Monitor and on Concord TV in mid-October.

CIP #79 & 80 - CITYWIDE PAVING PROJECT: Next Thursday and Friday, the contractor will cold plane North Main Street from I-393 to Court Street; with shimming, raising structures and finish paving occurring the following week. Also next week, the contractor will finish pave Pleasant Street, Chase Street and Manor Road; and they will work on paving the driveway tie-ins on the "college" streets and other streets as needed. All activities are weather dependent. 

GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT PHOTO CONTEST: In April, a photo contest was announced, which challenged staff of the General Services Department to send in photos of fellow employees doing their work. The work needed to be related to Concord’s drinking water service in some way. The photos were to be used for the cover of the 2009 Water Quality Report, which goes out to water customers every year in June and July. The contest winners were: Jack Cooper, Water Systems Supervisor; Jim Marceau, Maintenance Aide at the Water Treatment Plant; and Mark Woodhead, Water Treatment Plant Operator. Their photos helped make this year’s report, which was sent out on June 22nd, more colorful and interesting. Many thanks go out to the employees who allowed their images to be used. One last note of thanks goes out to Patty Juranty, Utility Customer Service Representative, who came up with the idea for the photo contest.