Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell whips up a dozen eggs, over easy, and hides them in his yard for children to find. Grossed out parents fling them back at his house instead, and the stains spell out a city memo.
Courtesy flush
Spring hydrant cleaning
Each spring, the highway and utilities pision of the General Services Department flushes city-owned hydrants in order to remove any sediment from the water distribution pipes, which helps maintain water quality and clarity, and to check the water pressure, Aspell writes. If the water keeps running after the flush, workers will just jiggle the handle.
During hydrant flushing, residents may notice that their water is discolored and may experience low water pressure. We’re hoping for technicolored water!
However, the water is still safe to use and drink. Residents are advised to let cold water run at each faucet until discoloration disappears. It is recommended to not wash clothes while hydrant flushing is occurring in your area, or while children or animals are in your washing machine. Flushing will take place throughout the city for approximately five to six weeks. A schedule of affected areas will be posted each week online at concordnh.gov/generalservices.
Walk softly
Ground still mushy
With the spring weather finally arriving last week, the Parks & Recreation Department would like to take this opportunity to thank residents and park patrons in advance for treading lightly on the city’s athletic fields until they are officially open, Aspell writes. The Insider would kindly like to remind residents not to tread on us at all.
As we are all aware, we had a typical New England winter with lots of snow and deep frost. It was atypical in that it never ended, ever. The parks and athletic fields are slowly drying out and becoming available. We anticipate that most athletic fields will be available for use by the end of this week. Currently, all tennis courts, with the exception of the court at Rollins Park, are ready for use, as well as all the outdoor basketball courts. The softball and practice lacrosse fields at Reed are also ready for use once a permit has been secured from the Parks & Recreation Department. Field openings will be announced online at concordnh.gov/recreation.
Welcome aboard
City is not a ship, though
The Community Development Department’s engineering services pision is pleased to welcome Amy Duquesnoy as its new geographic information systems analyst, Aspell writes. Amy graduated from Salem State University with a focus on geographical information technologies, which sounds hard. Before joining the city, Duquesnoy was a GIS Analyst at Applied Geographics, a leading consultant firm to many New England municipalities. Duquesnoy’s experience of mapping municipal land parcels and infrastructure systems is a valuable addition to the city. The Insider did not apply for the job.
