Dover Download

City of Dover NH
  • 5.0 (10)
  • GOVERNMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Dover Download

Dover Download is a weekly look at what's happening in the City of Dover, New Hampshire, hosted by Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker. Tune in for a closer look at the city's programs, services, public bodies and projects, as well as a look back each week at Dover's history.

  1. 5D AGO

    From Homes to Classrooms: How Housing Really Affects School Enrollment

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Sarah Wrightsman and Ryan Pope from New Hampshire Housing Finance about the relationship between housing development and school enrollment. They discuss common misconceptions about housing's impact on school enrollment and property taxes. The guests explain that new housing developments typically produce far fewer students than people assume - approximately one student per six units in multifamily housing and 0.44 students per single-family home. They highlight three key misunderstandings: people overestimate how many children live in new housing, don't understand the difference between average and marginal costs for educating students, and forget that new housing generates tax revenue. Sarah notes that school districts across New Hampshire generally have capacity for more students, and that enrollment has been declining statewide. Dover's enrollment has remained relatively flat compared to more significant declines elsewhere. The conversation references a study conducted by New Hampshire Housing called "From Homes to Classrooms," which provides data disproving the myth that new housing significantly increases school enrollment and property taxes. The guests emphasize that different housing types generate different numbers of students, with manufactured housing producing almost no school-aged children. They express hope that communities will shift from using potential school enrollment increases as a reason to oppose housing development to recognizing the need for more children and younger families in New Hampshire. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Judson Dunaway, a philanthropist who died in March 1976. Dunaway established the Expello Corporation (later the Judson Dunaway Corporation) in Dover in 1928, which produced household products including mothballs and Vanish Toilet Bowl Cleaner. After retiring in 1958, Dunaway created the Judson Dunaway Foundation, donating over $2 million to Dover for hospital expansions, recreational facilities, and the Dover High School athletic fields.

    27 min

  2. MAR 11

    Breaking Down Dover's Budget: Police, Fire, Recreation and Planning

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with several department heads about their proposed FY26 budgets. Police Chief William Breault discusses how his department builds the budget from the ground up, with input from first-line supervisors. He highlights that the biggest change in the FY26 budget is personnel cost increases due to new union contracts with wage adjustments. Breault emphasizes the importance of competitive compensation to retain and recruit officers. Fire Chief Perry Plummer explains his approach to reorganizing the department's budget by reallocating resources from administrative functions to frontline emergency response. He's eliminating administrative positions and pushing division chiefs back to line duty to better handle the department's 8,000 annual calls, noting that over 2,300 times they're responding to multiple calls simultaneously. Recreation Director Kevin Hebert discusses his department's three funding sources: general fund, McConnell fund, and special revenues from programming fees. He mentions fee increases, particularly for non-residents, while trying to minimize increases for residents. Hebert notes that recreation costs taxpayers about $80 annually per citizen, representing just 1% of the overall budget. Planning and Community Development Director Donna Benton highlights that her department will be focusing on updating the transportation chapter of the master plan, which requires substantial technical analysis. She also notes that inspection services will be in their own facility for the first time, requiring budget adjustments. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Strafford Savings Bank introducing fingerprint identification in 1912 for depositors who couldn't sign their names or had difficult-to-read handwriting. This innovation, one of the first of its kind in New Hampshire, was overseen by fingerprint expert P.A. Flack from New York and was inspired by similar practices at Williamsburg Savings Bank in Brooklyn.

    21 min

  3. MAR 4

    The Perfect Storm: Anatomy of an Elusive Water Main Break

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Perry Plummer and Community Services Director John Storer about a recent major water main break in Dover. The conversation begins with Storer explaining how the break was first detected late on the night of Feb. 7 when operators noticed more water leaving the system than normal. Despite immediate efforts to locate the break, it remained elusive even after daylight, prompting activation of the city's Emergency Operations Center under Chief Plummer's direction. The break was releasing approximately 2,000 gallons per minute (about 3 million gallons per day), but unusually, no water was visibly surfacing anywhere in the city. Plummer explains how they implemented an incident command structure to coordinate resources efficiently, including fire and police personnel searching the streets, drones with thermal imaging, helicopter support, and engineers. The team systematically isolated different sections of the water system while simultaneously planning for potential water conservation measures if the situation worsened. They also activated an emergency water interconnection with neighboring Somersworth. After extensive searching, they finally discovered the break at 432 Central Avenue, a vacant building overhanging the Cochecho River. The broken pipe inside the building was sending water directly into the river—a "perfect storm" scenario that made detection especially difficult. Both officials praise the collaborative efforts of city staff and the patience of residents during the incident. Parker then speaks with Erin Bassegio from Planning and Community Development and Brian Early from Media Services for their monthly update on city activities. They discuss recent Planning Board meetings, City Council budget workshops, Energy Commission initiatives, Zoning Board approvals, and updates on the Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee and the city's two TIF boards.

    31 min

  4. FEB 25

    Breaking Down Dover's Budget: Schools, Executive, Finance and Welfare

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Dover School District's Dr. William Harbron and CFO Michael Limanni about the FY26 school budget. They discuss the nearly $100 million budget (including $6-8 million in grants), with 70% allocated to wages. They explain how the budget aligns with goals like maintaining current services, enhancing academic programming, prioritizing mental health, and strengthening support services. Limanni clarifies common misconceptions about the tax cap and explains how state funding impacts the local budget. Parker reviews the executive department budget, and then digs in to the Finance Department budget with Finance Director Dan Lynch, who outlines changes including a transition from contracted commercial appraisal services to in-house staff and plans for new voting machines. Lynch emphasizes how state statutes guide many of their operations, particularly in the City Clerk's and Assessing offices. Finally, Parker speaks with Welfare Director David Balian about the public welfare budget. Balian explains how they analyze past spending, current trends, cost of living changes, political climate, and job market conditions to project future needs. He notes an increase in security deposit assistance requests and emphasizes their focus on housing loss prevention as a cost-effective strategy. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about the 1984 revival of hydroelectric power at Cochecho Falls, when Southern New Hampshire Hydroelectric developed a facility capable of generating 3 million kW annually. The facility continues to operate today, having received a new 40-year permit in 2023.

    25 min

  5. FEB 18

    Breaking Down Dover's Budget: A Conversation with the City Manager about the FY2026 Plan

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr. about Dover's FY2026 budget process and presentation. They discuss how the city's fiscal year runs from July to June, with taxes collected in December and June. Joyal explains that budget development is a year-round process, beginning with the Capital Improvements Program planning in the summer, which influences the operating budget developed in fall and winter. The proposed FY2026 budget totals $207,557,289, representing a 4.4% increase over the previous year, with a 5.2% increase for school appropriations and a 3.6% increase for non-school expenses. The budget, as presented, is $2,389,687 above the tax cap, requiring a two-thirds council vote for approval. The conversation then shifts to Joyal's formal presentation to the City Council on Feb. 12, where he outlined the budget's strategic priorities: public safety, education, infrastructure maintenance, economic development, and fiscal stewardship. He explains that the average residential tax bill, based on a $524,000 home value, would increase by $578 (6%) to just over $10,000. The budget includes various adjustments, such as reallocating fire command staff to 24/7 duty coverage, increasing stormwater management funding, and absorbing the Solid Waste Special Revenue Fund into the general fund. Joyal concludes by detailing the upcoming budget review schedule, with workshops and public hearings running from February through early April, leading to the required adoption deadline of April 15.

    39 min

  6. FEB 11

    From Vision to Action: Understanding Dover's City Council Goals

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about Dover City Council's goal-setting process and the current council goals. Parker explains how newly elected council members participate in orientation sessions before engaging in a facilitated full-day workshop to establish their two-year goals. He details the seven main goals adopted in February 2024: promoting diverse housing, ensuring civic engagement, building city resilience, maintaining safety and appeal, fostering inclusivity, implementing sustainable financial policies, and making opportunities accessible to all. Parker and Gillis discuss how these goals are monitored through monthly city manager reports, budget presentations, and the work of various boards and committees. They emphasize the evolution of the goal-setting process over the years, noting the increased collaboration between council and staff, and how certain goals, like waterfront development, have been achieved while new priorities emerge. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Marilla Ricker, who announced her candidacy for Governor of New Hampshire on Feb. 14, 1910. A wealthy Dover widow and women's rights activist, Ricker was the first woman to attempt voting in New Hampshire (1870), the first woman admitted to the NH bar (1890), and gained admission to the U.S. Supreme Court bar in 1891. She died in 1920, and in 2016, her portrait was hung in the New Hampshire Statehouse.

    25 min

  7. FEB 4

    January 2025: Major Infrastructure Decisions and Planning Updates

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with the Planning Department's Erin Bassegio and Brian Early from Media Services about January 2025's municipal updates. Bassegio discusses the master plan steering committee's first meeting to update the land use chapter, the annual Land Use Board meet and greet, and Planning Board activities. She details the board's approval of a scaled-back TDR proposal at 103 Court Street and a residential project at 114 Silver Street. Parker and Early then discuss several significant City Council decisions, including the extension of the Waste Management contract for seven years with a transition to an automated system, authorization of renovations for both the Dover Public Library and Jenny Thompson Outdoor Pool, and approval of improvements to the Garrison Hill water storage tank. Early also notes the School Board's adoption of their fiscal year 2026 budget and mentions an upcoming special session regarding an Ethics Commission report. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Elbridge Gage, a prominent Dover citizen who passed away on Feb. 1, 1925. Gage was a successful brick manufacturer who operated three yards at Dover Point, specializing in water-struck bricks. During World War I, he adapted to labor shortages by transitioning to agriculture on his 90-acre farm. He was an active community member whose funeral at Pine Hill Cemetery drew large crowds.

    18 min

  8. JAN 28

    No Silver Bullet: Addressing NH's Housing Crisis

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Ryan Pope and George Regan from New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority about the state's housing challenges. Pope, formerly Dover's housing navigator, now works in multifamily development, while Regan serves as director of community engagement. They discuss the state's significant housing deficit - needing 60,000 new units by 2030 and 90,000 by 2040. The conversation explores how communities often support housing in principle but resist specific developments, the challenge of balancing property rights with community growth, and the importance of incremental progress through policies like accessory dwelling units (ADUs). They emphasize that solving the housing crisis requires multiple approaches, from state-level policy changes to local zoning updates, and that success comes from both data-driven decisions and understanding personal impacts on communities. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about a 1927 controversy over proposed increases in motor vehicle costs. Local auto dealers opposed the measures, urging car owners to voice their objections at legislative hearings.

    25 min
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About

Dover Download is a weekly look at what's happening in the City of Dover, New Hampshire, hosted by Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker. Tune in for a closer look at the city's programs, services, public bodies and projects, as well as a look back each week at Dover's history.

Information

  • Creator
    City of Dover NH
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © City of Dover NH
  • Show Website
    Dover Download

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