Dover Download

City of Dover NH
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Government
  • Weekly

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. 16h ago

    Rocktober Recap: Toters, the CIP, and a Community Memorial

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Mike Gillis about the local government news from October. Their main focus is the City Council’s debate over converting trash and recycling collection from the 30-year-old bag system to a toter-based program. The council took up the ordinance on Oct. 14 and again in an Oct. 28 workshop, raising questions about the language, eligibility, and equity. Parker notes the conversion would use about $1.3 million of roughly $2 million in tax-cap spending capacity, and that the council is bound by a contract signed by its predecessor. The Solid Waste Advisory Committee will review amendments Nov. 12, with council action possible Nov. 18. The July 1, 2027 start date will not change. They also review the council’s other work: updated welfare guidelines, a Horne Street design award, acceptance of the 9/11 memorial with a maintenance trust, and zoning amendments headed to hearings. The Capital Improvements Program for fiscal years 2028 to 2033 moves ahead with a November 4 workshop, a November 18 hearing, and possible adoption December 9. Gillis recaps Planning Board items, including Twombly Street, Court Street, Lincoln Street, and Wentworth Home memory care beds, plus a school board hearing on the school tax cap ballot question. They close by encouraging listeners to vote November 3 and to flip the ballot over for two questions on the back.

  2. Oct 27

    Election Day in Dover: Everything You Need to Know Before You Vote on Nov. 3

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with City Clerk/Tax Collector Jerrica Vansylyvong-Bizier about the Nov. 3 midterm election. She previews the long ballot, which features races for governor, U.S. Senate, State Senate, and State Representative, plus two questions, including the school tax cap. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the pair run through the six ward polling locations. Vansylyvong-Bizier explains absentee voting, which requires a reason and, under a 2025 change, an ID or notarization. She stresses that absentee voting is not early voting, since those ballots are counted on Election Day. She also outlines same-day registration requirements: photo ID, proof of citizenship, and proof of Dover residency. Encouraged by a 35% primary turnout, she predicts a general election turnout in the upper 60s and 400 to 500 new registrations. She walks listeners through election night, from unofficial tallies and ballot adjudication to the roughly 1 a.m. wrap-up and the handoff of results to the Secretary of State via police dispatch and a state trooper. Finally, she explains how residents 18 and older can work the polls in their own ward. In This Week in Dover History, we revisit Oct. 25, 1956, when merchant Meyer Siegel left court after fighting a restraining order that barred his Central Avenue store from opening on Sundays, only to arrive and find the store in flames. The fire destroyed the building, and Siegel's would not reopen for two years, but the store eventually thrived and opened on Sundays.

  3. Oct 20

    A Home for Everyone: Inside the Dover Housing Authority

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Dian Maruca, executive director of the Dover Housing Authority, as part of the podcast's continuing look at local nonprofits and social service agencies. Maruca, who has led the authority since March 2026 after joining as deputy director in 2023, shares how a teenage landscaping job at the Newmarket Housing Authority grew into a career in subsidized housing. She says that hands-on experience shapes her respect for her maintenance and administrative staff. Maruca explains that the authority's mission is to provide safe, decent, affordable housing, with residents paying 30 percent of their gross monthly income. She outlines its public housing for seniors and people with disabilities, its family properties, and its voucher program. She also describes how staff quietly transfer aging residents into units where they can age in place. All waitlists are open except the Housing Choice Voucher list, which has been closed for several years because of tight federal funding. She notes a recent rise in applicants declining units, which hurts the authority's funding. Maruca also clarifies that the authority is quasi-governmental and independent of the city, overseen by a board of commissioners. She closes with ways to donate or volunteer and directs listeners to DoverHousingAuthority.org. In This Week in Dover History, we revisit 1677, when 34 Dover residents petitioned the King of England to keep the town under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reflecting their concerns about shifting political control in the aftermath of King Philip's War.

  4. Oct 13

    Planning Dover's Next Six Years: The FY28-33 Capital Improvements Program

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Planning and Community Development Donna Benton about the FY28-33 Capital Improvements Program, presented to the City Council and Planning Board on Oct. 7. Benton explains that the program connects the city's long-term needs with its financial responsibilities and launches the annual budget process. Departments are told that requests should reflect needs, not wish lists, yet submissions still exceed what reserves and debt limits allow. The pair discuss how projects are ranked high, medium, or low, with safety concerns coming first. They also cover how staff capacity and "project fatigue" from visible work on Court Street, Henry Law Avenue, and Central Avenue influence timing. Parker stresses that the plan is open to change, but changes have consequences for financing, grant matches, and related water and sewer work. Benton notes that early discussion centered on four projects awaiting congressionally designated spending, along with Broadway, Horne Street, and the Community Trail. The Planning Board holds its first public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the City Council takes up three resolutions on Oct. 28, and a final vote could come in December. The 225-page plan is available on the city website, with hard copies at the Planning Department, City Hall, the City Clerk's office, and the public library. In This Week in Dover History, we look back at Dover's evening school, which opened in 1877 in the Morrill Block with 80 students. Over the following decades it grew to serve immigrants learning English and young mill workers, with help from local mills and World War I-era Americanization efforts.

  5. Oct 6

    September in Review: Dover's Boards, Committees and Commissions

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about September's board, committee and commission meetings. The Planning Board tabled proposed zoning amendments after two public hearings and eight months of work, choosing to weigh public feedback before revisiting them in October. Board members also questioned a request to convert rental units at 54 Back River Road to for-sale units, focusing on long-term affordability. Applicant John Randolph withdrew the request, leaving the project as originally approved. The City Council's Sept. 2 workshop covered the water system and the July 1, 2027, switch to toters for curbside trash pickup, with residents starting with 64-gallon carts. The related ordinance is now with the Ordinance Committee. On Sept. 9, the council adopted three ordinances, including parking provisions, along with a City Hall tower lighting policy modeled on the city's flag policy. It also approved the sale of tax-deeded property, a rare step. On Sept. 23, the council tabled the paraeducators' contract pending more financial information. The School Board set its budget calendar, with Superintendent Christine Boston presenting Nov. 23, and approved a generative AI plan. The Zoning Board heard an unusual appeal over whether Tuscany Drive is a legitimate road, which the city attorney said fell outside its jurisdiction. Looking ahead, the council and Planning Board meet jointly Oct. 7 on the capital improvements program.

  6. Sep 29

    Apple Harvest Day: Dover's "Homecoming" Turns 42

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Margaret Joyce and Jed Allen of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce about the 42nd annual Apple Harvest Day. What began as a small craft fair on Orchard Street with about a dozen crafters has grown into a signature event often described as Dover's homecoming, with roughly 250 vendors, two food courts, a road race, an apple pie contest and entertainment on two stages. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the 5K road race starting at 8:30 a.m. Construction on Henry Law Avenue has required some changes. Activities in the lower portion of Henry Law Park, including bouncy houses and the train ride, won't happen this year, but the chamber relocated most vendors, giving priority to crafters and longtime returning vendors. Upper Henry Law Park will still feature a stage, animal ambassadors, yard games and Children's Museum activities, and a sensory space will be available at Fish Ladder Park. The guests also set the record straight on rumors: Apple Harvest Day is happening. To ease congestion, free parking is available at 100 Liberty Way off Exit 9, with three times as many shuttles as last year running until 5 p.m. A new bike valet will operate near the Church Street parking garage. Joyce and Allen also credited city public safety staff, sponsors First Seacoast Bank and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, and the many volunteers who make the day possible. In This Week in Dover History, we look back to Oct. 12, 1985, when a group of downtown business owners known as the Apple Corps launched the first Apple Harvest Day. The inaugural festival drew thousands with apple-themed breakfasts, a pie contest, a craft fair, a petting zoo, a Dover High School Band parade and tethered hot air balloon rides over Henry Law Park.

  7. Sep 22

    A Haven for Anyone: Supporting Survivors on the Seacoast

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Kathy Beebe, executive director of Haven, as part of the podcast's continuing look at local nonprofits. Haven is the Seacoast's domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and support agency. It was formed through the merger of A Safe Place and Sexual Assault Support Services. Beebe explains that the new name was chosen deliberately to make clear its services are for anyone affected, including men, teens, adult survivors of childhood abuse, and family members. Haven offers a 24-hour support line, court and hospital accompaniment, support at the Child Advocacy Center, a transitional shelter and a federally funded rent subsidy program. Its educators reach about 13,000 students a year in kindergarten through 12th grade with age-appropriate lessons on body safety, bullying and healthy relationships. Beebe describes staff as "navigators" who connect clients with partner organizations when their needs go beyond Haven's own services. Haven has a $3 million annual budget, about a third of which comes from fundraising, and has more than doubled in size since its merger 10 years ago. A capital campaign is now underway to move its Portsmouth office and build a new shelter at an Episcopal church on Route 1. The project is a partnership with the Portsmouth Housing Authority, the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and a child care provider, with occupancy targeted for late spring 2027. Beebe also highlights volunteer opportunities, from outreach events to board service. In This Week in Dover History, we look back at the September 1849 opening of the Cochecho Railroad, which carried passengers about 18 miles from Dover through Rochester to Farmington. The line later extended to Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, helping make Dover an important rail junction between northern New Hampshire and Boston.

  8. Sep 15

    The Local Safety Net: Inside Dover's Public Welfare Office

    In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Lily Hanscom, Dover's new director of Public Welfare, about the city's role as a local safety net. Hanscom, a Rochester native, traces her path into the field: volunteering at Haven at 19, an internship with a Strafford County Corrections transition program for young women, and six years with the state Department of Health and Human Services before coming to Dover earlier this year. She gravitated toward resource-focused work over crisis work, she says, and appreciates that local decisions take days rather than years. She describes a small office on the third floor of the McConnell Center, guided by Dover's welfare guidelines, which she calls the rulebook that keeps casework consistent and fair for everyone, herself included. Beyond meeting the emergency in front of her, Hanscom emphasizes long-term sustainability, pointing to job fairs, New Hampshire Employment Security programs, and close partnerships with My Friend's Place, Cross Roads House, and other area nonprofits. She also stresses prevention, such as collecting donated backpacks and school supplies so families don't spend money they will need later for a utility bill. Parker and Hanscom agree the office should be a place people can walk into without shame, and that anyone can end up a missed paycheck or an accident away from needing help. The Public Welfare office is in the McConnell Center, Room 334, and is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary. In This Week in Dover History, we return to 1857, when workmen excavating a house foundation on Nelson Street uncovered an old chimney and cellar wall, human bones believed to be a woman's, and a spoon of a style unused for 150 years. The ruins were thought to belong to the garrison house of Peter Coffin's son, or possibly Dover's first tavern. The segment traces Coffin's remarkable life: an original purchaser of Nantucket Island, a sawmill owner, a lieutenant in King Philip's War, and later chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

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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 - 2026
  • Episodes
    232
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © City of Dover NH
  • Show Website
    Dover Download

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