On Wednesday, I was walking the Community Trail, and I noted that the Voyage Mark II Solar System exhibit had been installed. Big congratulations to the Community Trail Advisory Committee, Dover School District, and Planning Department on this accomplishment. This project has been great to see come to fruition. Speaking of thanks, the Community Services Department did a great job installing the model, and it looks great. There is a ribbon cutting on May 2 at 6 p.m. Please join us and celebrate Dover becoming one of only 13 communities in the country to achieve this success.

Speaking of celebrations, the Dover400 committee is gearing up for some great events this summer. Business Development staff have been involved in supporting their efforts and want to facilitate the inclusion of all of our businesses in the festivities. We hope to see some real excitement in Dover over the coming months and hope that you are following the announcements from the committee. The planned events for the Dover400 celebration can be viewed here.

Speaking of excitement, who's excited that the Chestnut Street bridge opened this morning? It is about a month ahead of schedule, and the Community Services Department has been diligent and expects to see some significant savings in costs. It hasn’t been fun to be down a Cochecho River crossing, but the cost and time savings of executing the work this way have been a huge saver over the alternative.

Maybe less exciting, but equally as important to businesses, is the launch over the past year of the Permit Portal. This is your one-stop shop for all land use, and many non-land use, permits. Need to add to your house or business? Go there. Need to construct a new driveway? Go there. Right now, if you have a Permit of Assembly or a Health License, you need to go to the Permit Portal and submit your application materials. This portal allows you to apply, pay for a permit, and request an inspection, as needed, all from the friendly confines of your home or wherever you are. Not only that, but it allows you to track progress and request information from there. If you’re curious about what’s going on in your neighborhood, and you see the permit in the window of a home/building, you can log in and see the details of that work. Progress is good, but change can take some getting used to, so be patient as we migrate to the system, and know that the ideas behind it are positive and promoting efficiency and streamlining a process.

Question of the week: What is up with the road off Arch Street that never had homes built upon it? This is Frisian Drive. The property owner/developer had the project approved in 2012 and constructed the road and placed the utilities on the site and then had other projects come forward. They elected to not build the 11 units the site was approved for. Just as a property owner has the right to develop their land, they have the right to not develop it.

Talk with you next week,

Deputy City Manager: Development and Strategic Initiatives