As part of the ongoing advancement of the Cocheco Waterfront Development, some recent events of interest have occurred related to the creation of the public park building. The public park building is intended to provide a location for all park users to gather for events and to offer covered seating for picnics while providing great views of the Cochecho River and the adjacent paddle sports dock. 

Earlier this month, the City Council awarded the bid to design the public park building to CJ Architects of Portsmouth for $86,100. Four local architectural firms submitted proposals, which were reviewed by city staff. They recommended the City Council award the bid to CJ Architects of Portsmouth based on their qualifications, their proposal’s quality, and the bid price. City staff and the Park Subcommittee of the Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee (CWDAC) will work with CJ Architects on the project, with opportunities for public input on the building design.

The city is also seeking a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to help defray the public park building costs. Last month, the city applied for $500,000 in funding through the N.H. Department of Natural Resources, which would administer the federal grant. On Jan. 5, the city was notified its application was accepted and is being moved forward to the federal application stage. Assistant City Planner Erin Bassegio assisted Waterfront Project Manager Steve Bird and Recreation Director Gary Bannon with the application completion. 

Development updates will continue to be posted on the dedicated project webpage, which can be found here.

The Department of Planning and Community Development is seeking a Renewable Energy Analysis Fellow through the 2023 UNH Sustainability Institute Fellows Program.

With the oversight of the City’s Resilience Manager, the Renewable Energy Analysis Fellow will develop and analyze a series of scenario projections to explore the costs, feasibility and benefits of implementing different renewable energy systems and technologies at various City locations.

In April 2022, Dover’s City Council adopted a series of seven overarching goals that includes Goal #6, “Our City is Resilient.” Within that goal, the objective of achieving 100% renewable energy for City-owned property by 2035 was established. This goal incorporates multiple aspects of resilience. If met, it will lead to a substantial reduction in municipal greenhouse gas emissions and therefore lessen the City’s environmental impact and climate change contributions. It also prioritizes and supports the development of onsite and/or local renewable energy generation and storage, which have the potential to provide electric power and heat to critical facilities even during grid outages.

The Renewable Energy Analysis Fellow’s scenario analysis, presenting a series of specific renewable energy sourcing options (and corresponding methodology), is the first step in helping the City to achieve the goal. This will incorporate recommendations for realistic actions the City could take over the next 12 years to incorporate on-site renewable energy into municipal facilities and/or procure it from the grid.

To submit an application and review the full position description for the Renewable Energy Analysis Fellow with the City of Dover, please visit the webpage for the UNH Sustainability Fellowships by clicking here.

For consideration, applications must be submitted by Feb. 10, 2023.

The City Council will consider approving the Electric Aggregation Plan (EAP) at its meeting this Wednesday, Jan. 25. Adopting EAP is the first significant step in creating a Dover Community Power program as the EAP would serve as the Dover Community Power program’s operation blueprint. If approved, the plan would then be submitted to the Public Utilities Commission for review, among other steps.

The Energy Commission, which Dover’s City Council designated as the city’s Electric Aggregation Committee (EAC) for the program, held public hearings on the plan on Nov. 16, 2022, and Dec. 14, 2022. At the Energy Commission’s Jan. 18, 2023 meeting, it unanimously approved the EAP and recommended its adoption by the City Council.

Once operational, as envisioned under the current draft plan, residents and businesses utilizing the default electricity supply through Eversource would be enrolled in the Dover Community Power program. Default customers would receive a notice well before the potential launch date that they will be enrolled in the program and can opt out or choose another supplier before its launch. The program is voluntary; customers can return to the default electricity supply or choose another competitive supplier. Customers with competitive suppliers can opt into the program – they would not be automatically enrolled. The estimated launch date could be around the start of 2024, depending on the approval process and market conditions.

For details on the EAP and Community Power, visit bit.ly/dover-community-power.

The Planning Board will conduct a public hearing regarding the draft fiscal year 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Annual Action Plan. The public hearing will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

The City of Dover receives federal grant funding through the CDBG program, which is administered through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The City has adopted a Consolidated Plan that identifies Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and the Community’s priority objectives to be addressed during the FY21-25 timeframe. To help achieve the priorities identified in the Consolidated Plan, the City must develop an Annual Action Plan which outlines the City’s proposed use of grant funding received through the CDBG program for FY24.

When completed, the final FY24 Annual Action Plan provides the allocations that will be made to organizations, programs and projects. Projects under consideration for the Dover FY24 Annual Action Plan include:

• Homeless Shelter Services

• Security Deposit Programs

• Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Improvements

• Economic Development Activities

Members of the Public, Organizations, Agencies and Programs are encouraged to attend/participate and provide comments regarding the draft FY24 Annual Action Plan. Comments and concerns can also be submitted to Community Development Planner Dave Carpenter via e-mail at d.carpenter@dover.nh.gov; via telephone at 603-516-6008; or via postal mail at Planning & Community Development Department, 288 Central Ave, Dover, NH 03820.

A copy of the draft FY24 Annual Action Plan can be found at the Dover Public Library and at the Planning Office at City Hall. You can also access the draft FY24 Annual Action Plan by clicking here.

The Transportation Advisory Commission will meet on Monday, Jan. 23, for a public presentation Downtown Pedestrian and Vehicular Access Improvements Project. This project will bring the 2015 Downtown Pedestrian and Vehicular Access and Streetscape Study into design and ultimately create construction plans.

Staff from the city’s Planning and Engineering divisions and design consultant Greenman-Pederson, Inc., will provide a brief presentation at the meeting. Their overview will discuss current conditions in the Central Business District, the recommendation from the 2015 study to change the traffic flow on Central Avenue and Main Street, and why that change would be advantageous to pedestrians, motorists and downtown businesses.

After the presentation, the public will be invited to review representations of the proposed design at different stations. Each station, operated by a member of the project team, will include plans, alternative designs, streetscape renderings, and a list of the pros and cons. There will be sticky notes and pens available so the public can comment and/or directly mark areas of concern. The project team will also be available to answer questions, address concerns and solicit feedback.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be held in rooms 305 and 306 of the McConnell Center at 61 Locust St.

Further public meetings are planned during the design phase of the project. The city will also provide email updates as the project develops. To sign up for these emails, visit https://bit.ly/dovernewsletters and add “Project update: Downtown Pedestrian and Vehicular Access Improvements” to your current email subscription list.

Please email Erin Bassegio at e.bassegio@dover.nh.gov to arrange a Vision on the Go session at your upcoming event or community gathering. A Vision Ambassador can facilitate a visioning exercise with your group to ensure your input is included as part of the Vision Chapter update.

Also, remember to respond to this survey to get involved with the visioning project. The survey asks, "what is your one wish for Dover's future?" Your response could be a specific feature, event, or overall quality; anything that you feel would contribute to a future that is Distinctly Dover.

If you have questions about the Vision Chapter or how to get involved with the update, please email e.bassegio@dover.nh.gov. Project information will be found here in the Planning Review and posted on the dedicated project webpage.

In addition to each week's email edition of Dover Download, the City of Dover offers a weekly podcast. The podcast is hosted by Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker, who chats each week about the city's programs, services, public bodies, and projects. Each episode also takes a brief detour to the past with a look back at the week in Dover's history.

In this episode of Dover Download, another in our "A Day in the Life" series, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker takes a deeper dive into Community Services, the department responsible for the city's roads and streets, maintenance of city facilities, the water and wastewater systems and infrastructure, public cemeteries, and much more. Joining Chris to talk about why every day at Community Services is different is Inventory Coordinator Bill Purpura, a longtime Community Services employee, Superintendent of Public Works and Utilities Mike Nadeau, and Community Services Director John Storer.

In This Week in Dover History, we look at the evolution of winter sports and the Dover Arena.

The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and at https://anchor.fm/cityofdovernh.