In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with John Swartzendruber, a former Planning Board member who served from 2003 until the 2010s. This is the third episode in a series looking back at the Planning Board over the years. Swartzendruber discusses how he joined the board after his father-in-law, who had been a planning director in Portsmouth, suggested he get involved in the community. He reflects on the positive experience of working with a diverse group of board members and city staff, highlighting the camaraderie and teamwork. Swartzendruber mentions notable projects during his tenure, including Liberty Mutual's campus expansion in 2007 (from which he recused himself as a Liberty employee) and the Point Place development. He describes how planning board members received physical packets of materials delivered to their homes before meetings, a practice that has since shifted to digital delivery. Swartzendruber explains that he eventually left the board when his growing family commitments made it difficult to attend meetings consistently. He encourages listeners to consider volunteering for the Planning Board, emphasizing that no specific experience is required to make a valuable contribution.

In This Week in Dover History, we hear from Brian Early of Media Services and Erin Bassegio from the planning department about recent city activities. They discuss April City Council actions including approval of new ballot counting machines, a water main replacement project, and a contract for natural turf maintenance on city fields. The Planning Board reviewed Community Development Block Grant funding, approved a project for five single-family homes, and conducted training for members on their roles and responsibilities. Various subcommittees are working on updates to the Transfer of Development Rights ordinance and addressing community housing needs. Other boards and commissions that met include the Conservation Commission, Zoning Board, Parking Commission, and Waterfront Committee.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Ron Cole, former Planning Board chair who served from the 1990s through 2011. Cole, who passed away shortly after recording this interview, shares his journey from Gloucester, Mass. to Dover, noting both cities were founded in 1623. He discusses how he unexpectedly joined the Planning Board after initially applying to be a library trustee, and how his people skills and experience with gavels made him well-suited for the role.

Cole emphasizes the importance of respect in the planning process and respecting board members and community members who appear before the board. He recounts stories of significant community developments, including a notable interaction with a pharmacy developer and the acquisition of the Children's Museum of New Hampshire. Cole also highlights the vital importance of master planning, stating, "If you don't know where you're going, you're not going to get there."

Cole reflects on his pride in having helped shape Dover's development, noting that nearly 75% of the streets and projects in Dover during his drive around town were ones he had been involved with. He recommends Planning Board service as a way for citizens to learn about and contribute to their community.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn more about Ron Cole's life and contributions to Dover.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with George Maglaras, a long-time Dover public servant who served on the Planning Board in the 1980s, the first in a series of episodes looking back at the Planning Board over the decades. Maglaras discusses his transition from the state legislature and chairing the Community Development program to joining the Planning Board during what he calls a "transitional decade" for Dover. He explains how Dover was facing economic challenges with the decline of manufacturing jobs and vacant mills downtown.

Maglaras shares how the Planning Board under his leadership worked to change zoning ordinances to encourage adaptive reuse of historic buildings, particularly for residential use on upper floors. He discusses controversial decisions like rezoning residential neighborhoods to allow more housing units and revitalizing the Miracle Mile shopping area. Throughout the conversation, Maglaras emphasizes his vision of leveraging private investment to revitalize Dover, create housing opportunities, and keep residents spending their money locally. He notes that in the 1980s, 79% of Dover residents' disposable income was being spent outside the community.

The interview reveals Maglaras's perspective as someone with deep family roots in Dover who nonetheless pushed for progressive changes against resistance from the "old guard." After leaving the Planning Board in 1987, Maglaras was elected to the Board of County Commissioners and later served as Mayor of Dover, continuing his public service career.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Arthur D. Maglaras, George's uncle, who passed away in April 1987. Arthur was a city councilor and state representative known for his dedication to his constituents and held court over what some considered Dover’s “second City Hall.”

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Deb Clough about the upcoming "Power of an Hour" litter collection event scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Clough explains that this will be the second annual citywide cleanup, organized by ward, with volunteers meeting at their respective voting locations 15 minutes before the event starts. Last year's event saw 283 volunteers collect over a ton (2,000 pounds) of litter in just one hour. Clough encourages participants to wear bright colors and comfortable shoes, bring gloves, and notes that bags will be provided. After collection, volunteers will consolidate trash into blue "New Hampshire the Beautiful" bags, take group photos, and the three wards with the most participants will win "trash trophies." Deb also mentions her "Don't Trash Dover" walks, which have been running monthly for seven years, with the March event attracting a record 55 participants who collected 28 bags of litter.

In the second segment, Parker speaks with Erin Bassegio from the Planning Department and Brian Early from Media Services about recent city developments. Bassegio discusses Planning Board activities, including the approval of a second extension for a 173-unit residential project at 47 Chestnut Street, various conditional use permits, and updates to site review and land subdivision regulations. She also mentions the formation of a TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) subcommittee and conservation efforts. Early details the City Council's focus on the fiscal year 2026 budget, including workshops, departmental presentations, and the School Board's $2.4 million budget reduction. He notes that the final budget adoption occurred on April 2. He covers other council actions, including approval of seasonal paving contracts and updates on the Dover High School Athletics Complex project.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, we hear the State of the City address focused on Dover's Waterfront Development project, held March 27 at 121 Broadway in Dover, and hosted by the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce. The event features multiple speakers including Chris Parker (Deputy City Manager), Jackie Huber and Rob Simmons from Cathartes (the development partner), Norm Fracassa (chair of the Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Commission), and acclaimed local chef Evan Hennessey. The speakers discuss the transformation of a 29-acre waterfront site from its industrial past and former use as a wastewater treatment plant into a mixed-use development featuring residential buildings, commercial spaces, and a significant public park named Nabi Park. The project, which has been decades in the making, is structured as a public-private partnership between the city and Catharsis. Phase one of the development (named "The Truette") will include 197 apartments, 23 townhouses, co-working space, and commercial areas including a new Mediterranean restaurant by Chef Hennessey called "Topolino." The project is expected to be completed in phases, with the first residential units available by late 2025 and the public park opening in May 2026.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Community Services Director John Storer, Library Director Denise LaFrance, and Information Technology Director Annie Dove about the proposed FY26 budget.

John Storer discusses Community Services' fifteen budget areas totaling about $35 million (3.6% increase from last year). He explains how they track historical data on expenses like electricity and fuel to make projections. A major change involves transitioning from the current pay-as-you-throw trash bag system to an automated cart collection system. While the city will continue using bags for the next two years under a contract extension with Waste Management, they'll eventually move to automated pickup with costs rolled into the general fund rather than direct resident fees. Storer also highlights increases in street maintenance funding for paving, traffic signals, bridge repairs, and sidewalk improvements.

Denise LaFrance explains the library's focus on balancing physical and digital offerings. Despite library renovations, they'll continue purchasing physical books while increasing digital resources by 23% to meet growing demand. She describes how she offset these increases by cutting underutilized databases, saving almost $7,000. The library is maintaining staffing levels and increasing programming funds, supported in part by Friends of the Library.

Annie Dove details IT's approach to budgeting, which involves tracking hardware replacement cycles and software costs. FY26 includes enhanced network services for water and sewer facilities, replacing aging network equipment at communication towers, and accounting changes that reorganize subscription costs into a dedicated line item.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn about the devastating 1889 fire that destroyed Dover's second City Hall. The site of the fire, known as "the Hot Corner," saw multiple structures burn over the years.

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.

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.