The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Thursday, due to the holidays. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights:
Upcoming Meetings
City meetings are held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green Street (unless otherwise specified on the City’s calendar). Upcoming meetings include:
City Council: January 3, 7 p.m. (inaugurations)
Zoning Board of Adjustment: January 5, 7 p.m.
City Council monthly meeting: January 10, 7 p.m.
Planning Board: January 19, 7 p.m.
Visit concordnh.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx for agendas, which are posted prior to the meetings. View the City calendar for more meetings and events.
Happy Holidays from the City of Concord
All city offices will be closed Dec. 31 for the New Year’s holiday. Trash and recycling collection will not be postponed during both of these weeks. Since the holidays occur on the weekend, collection will follow the regular schedule for the week of Dec. 27. The Concord Transfer Station will be closing at noon on Dec. 31 and will be closed through 8 a.m. Monday both weeks. Happy holidays from the City of Concord. We hope you have a happy and healthy holiday season with family and friends.
Vaccine Clinic
A vaccine clinic will be held at the City Wide Community Center, 14 Canterbury Road, Concord, on Jan. 9, 2022 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. This is an initiative by Mayor Bouley and the Concord City Council to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the community.
The mobile vaccine teams will be able to provide additional information and answer any questions about whether or not a booster makes sense, and which booster is ideal for each individual.
Some additional information:
Walk ins are welcome.
The mobile vaccine teams will have Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
They can offer first, second, third, and booster doses.
Vaccines are free and available to everyone 5 and older.
Consent forms for the clinic are downloadable at http://www.concordnh.gov under the News Flash section of the website.
Winter Operations
Concord General Services crews work as quickly and efficiently as possible to plow the 220 center line miles (440 lane miles) of streets and 90 miles of sidewalks throughout the city on a priority level basis. We thank the community for their patience as crews make their way through the city.
Sign up for winter parking ban email notifications at http://www.concordnh.gov/notifyme. Sign up for both Winter Storm Event Parking Bans and Winter Maintenance Parking Bans to get alerted for both city-wide and downtown bans. Parking ban alerts are also displayed on the City website and available through our Gazette newsletter, social media, and MyConcordNH app.
Winter parking bans require all vehicles to be removed from indicated streets between midnight and 7 a.m. for snow removal operations. Free parking is available in the City garages on weekends, observed holidays, and Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. for permit/lease spaces (marked with signage) and until 9 a.m. for metered spaces. Penacook residents may park at the Canal Street Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Village Street and Canal Street near Chief’s Restaurant. Although this lot is posted for no overnight parking, the City’s Parking Division will suspend this regulation during city-wide winter parking bans to accommodate Penacook residents. Residents should only park in the public spaces on the south side of the lot along Canal Street.
Plows require a lot of space on the road, which can make plowing difficult if cars are parked on the street, especially on narrow streets. Cars parked in tight areas or on narrow streets can block plows from fitting through the street. We appreciate the community’s cooperation to park off-street when it snows, even when a parking ban is not issued, to allow crews to plow more efficiently and restore safe road conditions.
Visit http://www.concordnh.gov/winteroperations for more information.
Also, we would like to share this important op-ed message from the UNH Technology Transfer Center, “This Winter, Public Works are Doing More with Less,” read at t2.unh.edu/winter-public-works-are-doing-more-less. Please keep this in mind as we all work together this winter.
Christmas Tree collection
Christmas tree collection starts on Jan. 3 and will continue for two weeks in coordination with residential curbside trash and recycling collection. Residents can place Christmas trees curbside for disposal on their trash collection day through Jan. 14. Trees must be placed at the curb by 7 a.m. next to trash and recycling. All lights, ornaments, tinsel, and decorations must be removed from the tree. Wreaths and artificial trees will not be collected. Please note that trees will be collected in a separate truck from trash and recycling. Trees can also be taken to the Concord Transfer Station at 77 Old Turnpike Road during the month of January.
Knapp Retirement
Congratulations to our employee, Bobby Knapp, on his retirement last week! He is pictured here receiving his service award pin from City Manager, Tom Aspell. Bobby was employed with the City of Concord for over 35 years and worked in our Public Properties Division since its creation. He was first hired in December 1986 as a Maintenance Aide and was promoted to Carpenter in February 1988. He was promoted again in December 2016 to Building Systems Supervisor. Bobby has worked over the years to maintain City properties and has been a great team leader for the public properties crew. His many years of experience have provided great historical and institutional knowledge. Bobby has been a great asset to our team and has played an important role in keeping municipal buildings and public community spaces safe, clean, and in proper functioning order. We thank you for your many years of service and wish you the best of luck with retirement!
Open Gym
Join Concord Parks and Recreation for Winter Family Open Gym during the winter break! We will also have our regular senior walking on Monday and Wednesday, 9 – 11 a.m. and pickleball Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thin Ice Reminders
Concord Parks and Recreation wants to remind the community that the White Park and Beaver Meadow Golf Course ponds are not yet ready for skating. Signs have been placed around the ponds as safety reminders. Please stay off the ice until the ponds are open (ponds are opened once there is five inches of ice, measured in six different areas).
Cemetery wreaths
Thank you to all the organizations, volunteers, and attendees who participated in Wreaths Across America Day on December 18. Ceremonies were held in Blossom Hill, Old Fort, Old North, and Maple Grove Cemeteries. Hundreds of wreaths were laid on the graves of our Veterans. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, the mission is to “Remember, Honor and Teach,” carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 2,500 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad. More information is available at http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/. Below are photos from the Blossom Hill and Old Fort ceremonies.
Heights Branch Library
The Heights Branch Library’s new hours starting Jan. 3 is Mondays 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ultimate Book Nerd Challenge
Do you have what it takes to become an Ultimate Book Nerd? Try CPL’s newest year-long reading challenge to find out!
Is your nose always buried in a book? Is there a giant stack of books on your nightstand? Do you say things like, “so many books, so little time” or “just one more chapter”? Are you on the hold list for the next book of all your favorite series? If so, you just might be a candidate to become an…ULTIMATE BOOK NERD!
Read 50 books that fit our challenge categories between January 1-December 31, 2022.
The Details:
Teens and Adults: Read one (1) book per category.
Kids 12 and younger: You are part of U12 Ultimate Book Nerds. You have your own book categories.
Audiobooks, e-books, and graphic novels all count.
You must have a valid Concord Public Library card to participate!
Registration:
You must be registered to participate in this program. Use this link to sign up and we will send you your reading logs via email. You may also register in person and pick up printed copies of the reading logs.
