[0:02] Good evening.

[0:02] Calling to order the regular meeting of the Dover City Council.

[0:06] Wednesday, September 23rd, a few minutes past seven.

[0:10] Apologize for that. We have called to order.

[0:13] If you could all rise for a moment of silence, please.

[0:46] Councilor.

[0:47] Richer. Here.

[0:48] Councilor Carmichael. Here. Councilor

[0:51] Cullen. Here.

[0:53] Councilor Robison. Here.

[0:55] Councilor Granfield. Here.

[0:56] Councilor Veitch. Here.

[0:58] Deputy Mayor Williams. Here.

[1:00] Mayor Shanahan. Here.

[1:01] Eight present, one absent.

[1:03] And for the record, Councilor Retrosi

[1:06] is out of the country on business.

[1:10] And pleasure to see him back shortly.

[1:14] And he last thought had story.

[1:20] Apologies.

[1:21] Item number five.

[1:22] Proclamations. Awards.

[1:23] We have two this evening.

[1:27] Two proclamations and an award from the city of Rochester.

[1:30] That will get you after the proclamations.

[1:37] Councilor Richer,

[1:38] do you want to join me for the direct support?

[1:42] Professional presentation?

[2:19] She's probably

[2:19] watching, and she's thinking, you better move the mic.

[2:23] Direct support professionals are essential to the physical, mental,

[2:25] and emotional security of New Hampshire citizens

[2:28] living with a disability and direct support professionals.

[2:31] Commitment and dedication to caring for others

[2:33] with disabilities personifies the true meaning of community.

[2:37] And Whereas, direct support professionals, direct care workers,

[2:40] personal assistants and in-home care providers are the primary providers

[2:44] of publicly funded long term supports and services with disability

[2:48] for individuals with disabilities in Dover,

[2:51] and Whereas, direct support professionals assist New Hampshire citizens

[2:55] with disabilities and leading independent lives,

[2:57] and are dedicated to developing close and trusted relationships

[3:00] with individuals, their families, and their community.

[3:03] To provide a broad range of daily living support.

[3:06] And Whereas direct support professionals, devoted commitment enriches lives

[3:10] by enabling community engagement of citizens impacted by disabilities

[3:15] and further strengthens communities by including people with disabilities.

[3:19] And whereas, 2026 marks 19 years of celebrating Direct Support

[3:23] Professionals' contributions to improving the lives of those

[3:27] they support and the communities they enrich.

[3:29] Now, therefore, I, Dennis Shanahan,

[3:31] Mayor of the City of Dover, in the State of New Hampshire,

[3:33] do hereby proclaim September 13th through the 19th, 2026

[3:37] as Direct Support Professionals' Appreciation Week in the City of Dover,

[3:40] and call this to the attention of all citizens.

[3:43] In witness whereof, I have here on to set my hand and caused the seal

[3:46] the city of Dover to be fixed this 23rd day of September, 2026.

[3:53] Present this to

[3:54] you, and you can forward it on to the folks that asked us to do that.

[3:57] Thank you so much.

[3:59] Thank you, Councilor Richer.

[4:02] We also have a proclamation.

[4:05] Whereas the aim of Children's Environmental Health Day

[4:08] is to raise awareness about the importance of clean air and water, safe food

[4:12] and consumer products,

[4:14] healthy environments and stable climates to children's health and development.

[4:18] And whereas, CEH Day was created by the Children's Environmental Health

[4:22] Network and celebrated for the first time on October 13th, 2016.

[4:27] And Whereas day is observed on the second Thursday in October

[4:31] as a means to celebrate the progress of children's environmental

[4:34] health movement and create a strong network of child health advocates.

[4:38] And whereas, CEH Day is a national effort supported by individuals,

[4:43] nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

[4:46] And whereas, CEH Day encourages individuals and organizations to raise awareness

[4:51] and understanding of children's

[4:52] environmental health issues, seek improved protections for all children,

[4:56] and perform acts of sustainability or environmental health wellness.

[5:00] And Whereas, together, we can safeguard the health, safety and well-being

[5:03] of our most precious resource children.

[5:06] Now, therefore, I, Dennis Shanahan, Mayor of the City of Dover,

[5:08] in the State of New Hampshire, do hereby proclaim

[5:11] Thursday, October 8th, 2026, as Children's Environmental Health Day

[5:16] in the City of Dover and urge all citizens to observe this day

[5:19] with awareness raising and environmental health and stewardship

[5:22] activities to create a healthier environment for our children.

[5:25] In witness whereof, I am here to set my hand and cause the seal

[5:28] of the city of Dover to be a face this 23rd day of September, 2026.

[5:33] And we will get this to the folks at Children's Environmental Health.

[5:39] Oh well, I'm so sorry.

[5:41] I could.

[5:43] Always absolutely can.

[5:45] Thank you so much.

[5:46] I'm Joan Widmer with NH Healthy Climate.

[5:48] We're an advocacy group trying to work on the health of our children

[5:52] and the other residents of the Hampshire, the environmentally sound and safe.

[5:57] Now they're going to snap a picture through that camera.

[6:01] That to you?

[6:03] I'll get that.

[6:04] Thank you.

[6:05] Thank you very much. Thank you.

[6:08] Producer.

[6:14] The honorable mayor of Rochester, Chuck Grassie.

[6:18] We have an award that he wants to give.

[6:20] Well, it's.

[6:21] It's not really an award.

[6:22] I have to I'm here to.

[6:25] I'm going to have to catch you up on this, because,

[6:26] as you know, the two cities have a number of rivalries.

[6:29] You know who's the largest?

[6:30] We're always going back and forth on that one.

[6:33] Who has the most Burger King's.

[6:34] I think we got you on that one.

[6:36] So but there's one rivalry that basically is bigger

[6:40] than all of the others that just shakes up both communities.

[6:44] Dover. Rochester.

[6:47] Football.

[6:51] We are the mayors.

[6:52] The three mayors of the Tri-Cities meet together regularly.

[6:55] And of course, I work with Dennis at the Municipal Association

[6:58] on a number of things as well.

[6:59] And this year I said, you know, hey, how about a friendly bet

[7:02] at the Dover Rochester game?

[7:05] And he said, great.

[7:07] And I'm thinking, well, you know, the loser buys beers.

[7:10] Oh, no, he says, the loser.

[7:12] Where's the other teams had at the next council meeting?

[7:15] And I said, damn it.

[7:17] I'm going to have a Green Wave hat at the next council meeting.

[7:20] Based on recent history.

[7:22] And I'm thinking, okay, I'll do that.

[7:24] But we also got to do basketball and hockey

[7:27] because I know we got a hockey team in Rochester.

[7:30] Well, he said, that's fine. That's great.

[7:32] Let's do that.

[7:34] I'd look far and wide for this because it's the only hat we had left.

[7:39] But I came here

[7:40] to get a picture of your mayor wearing a Spaulding Red Raider hat.

[7:46] Since Spaulding got on their surfboards

[7:51] and rode the wave to a big victory.

[7:55] Thank you.

[8:02] I told him I had to get a triple X, so.

[8:07] I've always put up a fine struggle.

[8:09] They did.

[8:10] But alas, in the end, we will seek revenge.

[8:13] I'm expecting a Green Wave hat in return.

[8:17] So you know. That one in my in my truck.

[8:19] And I believe it was worn by a sweaty 13 year old baseball game.

[8:23] So you will enjoy it.

[8:24] This was a new one. A brand new one off the shelf.

[8:27] Okay, so thank you.

[8:29] And I hope maybe sometimes we can get our councils together as well.

[8:33] I know the mayors get together and have,

[8:35] you know, and have time to talk about things.

[8:37] And it's very productive for us to work together on ideas,

[8:40] because anything that affects Rochester affects the tri city as well.

[8:43] And we have to do that.

[8:44] We have to stick together to work together

[8:46] to make everything better for our citizens and the people of our communities.

[8:49] And I know Dennis and I have worked closely together

[8:52] with Matt from Somersworth and and the county, and we hope that,

[8:56] you know,

[8:56] maybe sometime we can have a social event to get together in Rochester or Dover

[9:00] or Somersworth or whatever.

[9:01] So we all get together and just talk in an informal way and,

[9:03] and help some of the solve the problems and exchange ideas.

[9:06] Thank you so much. Thanks.

[9:22] Put it back.

[9:23] I do. Have a.

[9:26] Which fine.

[9:27] Dover restaurant. Are you taking an two?

[9:30] Well.

[9:30] Basically I'm picking up some stuff for her, so I'm going to go to

[9:33] Chipotle.

[9:44] I'll be watching when I get home.

[9:47] I know only the mayor lost today, but it really feels like we all lost.

[9:52] Revenge is a gift.

[9:53] Serve cold. Yeah.

[9:55] What's the hockey team, right.

[9:58] That play football?

[10:03] We have a hockey game coming up.

[10:05] We do? Yeah. Way after.

[10:08] Continue to be continued.

[10:10] Oh, thank you very much.

[10:11] Next up is agenda item number six.

[10:13] Approval. The agenda. Motion to approve, actually.

[10:16] Yes. Motion to approve.

[10:17] We have to approve the agenda.

[10:18] Seconded by Councilor Veitch.

[10:21] Are there any adjustments?

[10:22] Updates to it?

[10:24] We do have agenda item 13 b two with a substitute as a whole.

[10:28] Yes. Okay.

[10:29] Motion to substitute as a whole.

[10:31] Substitute with 13 B2.

[10:32] With a with the one that was on your desk.

[10:36] Moved by Councilor Granfield and seconded

[10:39] by Deputy Mayor Williams.

[10:42] Seconded by Council.

[10:44] Any discussion on that?

[10:45] If not those in favor of substituting this as a whole?

[10:48] 13 B2.

[10:49] That's unanimous.

[10:51] Motion to approve, as amended.

[10:53] We have a motion to approve the amended agenda, seconded by Councilor Veitch.

[10:57] Any discussion on the motion to approve the amended agenda?

[11:00] Seeing none. All in favor?

[11:02] Thank you. That's unanimous.

[11:03] Next up is item number seven.

[11:05] Public hearings are none this evening.

[11:07] Agenda item number eight, public forum.

[11:09] Mr. Mayor.

[11:11] The public forum.

[11:14] Is an opportunity for speakers who are residents of the city's property

[11:17] owners, designated representatives of civic organizations,

[11:22] businesses located in the City of Dover.

[11:24] Speaker shall address their comments of the Presiding Officer

[11:26] and the Council as a body, not in any individual member.

[11:30] And please give us your name and address for the record,

[11:32] in the event that a speaker fails to identify themselves.

[11:34] Presiding Officer shall make sure that that happens.

[11:37] You'll have a single opportunity limited to five minutes.

[11:39] So I will keep time up here.

[11:41] If you have more information you'd like to give to the council,

[11:43] you can certainly do so in writing.

[11:46] And if there are any questions or facts that we see

[11:48] fit to address, we shall do that at some point in the meeting.

[11:51] And with that, the public forum is open.

[12:00] Oh come on, address us.

[12:01] You can do so in the public forum. Yes.

[12:11] Good evening.

[12:12] My name is Robert McGuigan.

[12:13] I'm here representing Rolling Thunder New Hampshire Chapter 1,

[12:17] and I just have some information for each of you.

[12:19] And for your information.

[12:21] One of our items is a contribution of POWMI.

[12:25] A flag can be placed on a bench

[12:29] sponsored by Rolling Thunder and Hampshire.

[12:32] This is just a copy of my.

[12:36] About what we've done there.

[12:38] Do you have any questions about you know.

[12:40] When a voter, Mr.

[12:41] Mayor, do we need a motion to suspend the rules?

[12:44] Considering this a representative of civic organization.

[13:11] Good evening, Mayor Shanahan.

[13:12] Members of the city council.

[13:14] As I said, my name is Robert McGuigan.

[13:15] I'm here tonight representing Rolling Thunder New Hampshire Chapter 1.

[13:19] Rolling Thunder is a national veterans advocacy organization dedicated

[13:24] to raising awareness of American prisoners of war and those missing in action.

[13:29] Rolling Thunder was incorporated in 1995 as a 501 C

[13:32] for nonprofit organization, and includes more than 90 chartered

[13:36] chapters throughout the United States and abroad.

[13:39] All members serve as volunteers, although many of us do ride motorcycles.

[13:44] Rolling Thunder is not a motorcycle organization.

[13:47] Our mission is to ensure that more than 90,000 American POW

[13:51] Mia service members still unaccounted for and never forgotten

[13:56] to support this mission.

[13:57] Municipalities and organizations across the country have adopted the POW/MIA

[14:02] Chair of Honor Memorial, a symbolic

[14:04] memorial consisting of an empty black chair or bench

[14:08] bearing the POW/MIA emblem and accompanied by a plaque explaining the purpose.

[14:13] These memorials serve as a visible reminder of those who have not yet

[14:16] returned home, and provides comfort to families who continue to wait for answers.

[14:21] Examples of these installations have taken place at Gillette Stadium,

[14:25] Lowell Stadium, home and stadium in Nashua,

[14:29] numerous city halls, parks, and public venues nationwide.

[14:33] I have included a list of memorial installations

[14:35] that Rolling Thunder New Hampshire Chapter 1 has been involved with.

[14:39] Page two

[14:41] I was working with.

[14:42] I said Michael Joyal. I got my names mixed up.

[14:44] I'm sorry, I apologize.

[14:46] I was working with Chris to identify an appropriate location

[14:49] a structure for a Chair of Honor Memorial in Dover.

[14:53] A black bench owned by the city

[14:56] has been identified as a suitable and highly visible location

[15:00] in front of the administrative building, or this building has been recommended.

[15:04] I respectfully request the city's support to establish a POW/MIA

[15:08] Chair of Honor Memorial.

[15:09] At this location.

[15:11] The cost of the city would be minimal,

[15:13] considering that the bench is already owned by the city

[15:16] and has been allocated at this time,

[15:19] so the only cost would be in anchoring the bench in the specific location

[15:23] and purchasing a plaque describing the memorial.

[15:27] The installation would serve as a meaningful tribute

[15:29] to veterans, active duty service members and their families.

[15:32] It would also provide the city with a dignified location point

[15:35] for ceremonies, media events, and educational outreach.

[15:39] Rolling Thunder New Hampshire Chapter 1 would be honored to coordinate

[15:41] with the unveiling of the memorial at the city's Veterans

[15:44] Day event on November 11th, 2026.

[15:48] Thank you for your time and consideration.

[15:50] We look forward to the opportunity to working with the City of Dover

[15:53] and ensure that our POW/MIA service members are never forgotten.

[15:57] If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them.

[16:01] Thank you, Mr. McGuigan.

[16:02] And thank you for your service.

[16:04] Thank you.

[16:08] Anyone else for the public forum?

[16:12] All right. Seeing none.

[16:13] Public forum is now closed.

[16:15] That brings us next to item number nine, our City Manager's Report.

[16:20] Mr. City Manager.

[16:22] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[16:24] Report in writing as usual.

[16:25] And it covers activities of the various departments

[16:28] over the course of the last month.

[16:33] As usual, on dry your attention to,

[16:37] a report

[16:39] on the status of the major financial funds in the city.

[16:43] That starts on page

[16:46] 7172.

[16:49] And at this point, two, two months into the fiscal year,

[16:53] not seeing any issues

[16:56] of concern or trends at this point in the numbers.

[17:00] However, I can assure you that we are watching closely.

[17:04] What is happening with fuel prices and ultimately how that is

[17:08] driving other costs

[17:12] throughout the organization?

[17:17] I also want to make mention and thank,

[17:22] our a number of volunteers.

[17:25] We had 45 volunteers that came out and walked over

[17:31] 380 miles or so around the city

[17:35] doing a survey of our parking system.

[17:39] Evaluating the use and of 2000

[17:42] parking spaces that we have throughout the downtown. It.

[17:47] They were collecting data

[17:48] that we were able to use or will use to validate

[17:51] how often parking spaces are utilized, how many parking spaces users

[17:57] utilize and incorporate that into the master plan update.

[18:04] They they surveyed

[18:06] the use of the parking system, these volunteers

[18:09] over the course of three days, including weekend and weekdays.

[18:12] So they had a pretty good representation of how

[18:15] the public parking system is utilized here in the city.

[18:19] Also want to mention that we still have a survey ongoing,

[18:24] as the transportation chapter of the master plan

[18:28] is being updated and people can go to the city website

[18:33] and they'll find a link for the transportation master plan update.

[18:37] And there's a link to the survey there,

[18:41] which strongly encourage folks to provide their feedback there.

[18:44] As you know, the master plan helps guide

[18:49] the overall development, growth and needs

[18:54] identifies needs in this city over at least a ten year span.

[18:59] So it's a very important document for us to have in planning for

[19:04] and anticipating the needs of the city.

[19:07] And with that, I'll conclude my report.

[19:10] Any questions for the City Manager? Councilor Richer.

[19:14] Do we have any updates on the warming center?

[19:16] What's happening?

[19:17] The the high this weekend is going to be 58.

[19:20] So we know that temperatures are only going down. And

[19:24] my understanding is the construction is moving along.

[19:26] We are going to have a meeting of the tri cities,

[19:30] I believe, next week to discuss the

[19:34] opening of the warming center,

[19:37] which I suspect will be very similar to how it's been operated in years past.

[19:42] Probably likely starting

[19:44] sometime in November around the Thanksgiving,

[19:48] the holiday, and continuing on through the winter months.

[19:51] And we won't have, a vote on who's managing that this year.

[19:56] No, the county is operating.

[19:57] The facility is part of the agreement that we have with the county.

[20:01] It will be the same.

[20:02] My understanding is the county

[20:03] is contracted with the same entity that's operated for the last two years.

[20:07] Okay.

[20:10] And the last I spoke with the county commissioners.

[20:13] They were getting assurances from the

[20:18] the contractor that it is on track for completion.

[20:22] On about 1115, the last town,

[20:25] probably three weeks ago, it was essentially framed in.

[20:28] So there was progress being made.

[20:31] So and we do have a backup plan for any time

[20:34] between the initiation

[20:38] of the season and the completion of the new facility.

[20:42] If the. What's the backup plan?

[20:45] We'll provide a shelter somewhere here in the city.

[20:48] Okay.

[20:50] I also have another question, but is there any.

[20:53] I thought I saw your hand up for that. No.

[20:54] Okay.

[20:58] Apple harvest is coming up.

[20:59] Everybody's excited about that.

[21:01] There's a lot of construction.

[21:02] Is there any

[21:04] information that we should know about how it's going to operate this year?

[21:07] That's different than other years that we can pass along when constituents ask?

[21:12] Yeah, obviously the the Henry Law Avenue is under construction.

[21:17] So, there will be that area will be limited.

[21:21] So most of the events will be moved up along Upper Central

[21:24] Avenue along the side streets, parking.

[21:28] I don't have all the details for parking, but I believe they're running a shuttle

[21:32] from Liberty or O from the

[21:36] from the former Care Pharmacy.

[21:39] Now it's Sanel Auto Parts,

[21:43] next door to Cleary Cleaners.

[21:44] Not the one up on third Street, but the one down in Central Avenue.

[21:48] So people can park there and there'll be a shuttle bus that will run them downtown.

[21:52] If they can't find parking in the transportation

[21:55] lot or elsewhere around the city, and,

[21:59] the event will go on, rain or shine.

[22:02] Hopefully shine. Yes.

[22:03] We've had enough rain.

[22:06] Yes. So it's not this weekend? Yes.

[22:10] Good.

[22:10] Several questions.

[22:13] First, want to.

[22:15] Direct your attention to page 21 of the the report.

[22:19] You're showing wastewater comparative data between May, June and July.

[22:23] And in July, there was a significant drop.

[22:27] Was that related to the efforts

[22:30] we've been taking on to identify unknown sources of wastewater?

[22:34] No, that that particular data relates

[22:37] to the gallons of septic that it received at the wastewater treatment plant.

[22:41] Those are the

[22:43] pumping trucks that

[22:45] empty septic tanks will come and

[22:48] empty er disposed there.

[22:50] And this pattern of

[22:54] higher volumes in the spring and likely in the fall

[22:58] is it corresponds when people are using getting their septic tanks serviced.

[23:02] Okay. Great.

[23:04] Next question on page 22.

[23:07] The next page.

[23:08] And it's related to

[23:11] also to us moving to the toter system.

[23:13] I was asked yesterday by resident

[23:16] they don't know exactly what to do with sharps.

[23:18] And they don't understand if that's going to change with the toter system.

[23:21] Do you know any. It's not going to change.

[23:24] Folks that are legitimately using sharps,

[23:28] diabetics or for other medical needs,

[23:31] needles.

[23:33] Typically no.

[23:36] Or provided with disposal devices if they don't have them.

[23:40] What's recommended is to take a like a laundry detergent jug,

[23:47] an empty

[23:48] one, and deposit the needles in there and put the cap back on it,

[23:51] and then put it in your trash bag and throw it away.

[23:54] Okay.

[23:55] What is important is that the needles be contained

[23:58] in some sort of solid container.

[24:02] As I said, the recommendation is to use a laundry detergent jug or

[24:08] some other plastic non breakable device,

[24:12] and they can be disposed in your trash bag.

[24:14] Okay.

[24:15] Just to be clear, and this was opposed to me yesterday.

[24:18] Even though they're not they don't have an archaic but

[24:20] so there's no concern about residual drug and the needles going into the trash.

[24:24] No not a special not if they're properly contained.

[24:26] Okay.

[24:27] And a separate from that as we know there are

[24:31] there's a prevalence of needles that get improperly discarded.

[24:36] And usually because they're not being used for legitimate purposes.

[24:41] There is an organization that has placed

[24:44] sharps containers and our servicing them in the city.

[24:48] There's one located at the entrance to the community trail.

[24:51] There's one in Henry Law Park, and I believe that

[24:57] I believe that said, there's just two of them.

[24:59] There's one at the hospital. Two.

[25:00] But that's the one I was told is shut down right now.

[25:02] Just continue that. Okay.

[25:06] Third question.

[25:08] The next page you mentioned that tax year lean

[25:13] amount.

[25:15] Is that in line with what we budgeted or is it higher or lower?

[25:18] Yeah, we we don't budget for the tax liens that represent the,

[25:23] the amount of taxes that remain unpaid by the due date.

[25:27] What's what. Do we expect?

[25:29] What did we expect?

[25:29] It is.

[25:30] Typically around 1.7 1.8%.

[25:33] Several years ago we got as high as 2.5%.

[25:36] From my perspective, you know, we stay below 5% or so.

[25:41] There's really no concern for a variety of reasons.

[25:44] People are late in paying their taxes and,

[25:47] they make arrangements.

[25:49] All right.

[25:50] Last question.

[25:53] On page 61, you list out the council's

[25:56] goal for the goals for the year and progress being made on each page.

[26:01] 61 is the one related to housing, and it is a very blank page.

[26:06] Can you talk a little bit about

[26:09] do we have anything more going on than just the one item listed?

[26:11] Yeah, there's actually a lot going on.

[26:13] Part of the reason that that's blank and I apologize for that is the

[26:18] our housing planner is actually out on maternity leave.

[26:22] So I didn't have a report to include there.

[26:25] However, the Planning Department and Director Benton

[26:29] did include some updates within her department report on page

[26:34] 34 relating to some housing related initiatives.

[26:38] And one of the more significant ones is that the city

[26:42] was recognized,

[26:45] nationally, actually,

[26:48] and selected, I should say, to participate

[26:50] in a housing supply challenge, accelerated challenge.

[26:54] And that's a nationwide network that's organized by the National League of Cities

[26:59] and the American Planning Association, and it's designed to accelerate

[27:03] the implementation of

[27:05] proven housing strategies.

[27:08] And so they are interested in what we have been doing here in Dover

[27:13] and will obviously,

[27:16] want to encourage us to continue with that, but also help support

[27:20] for the efforts with that also included in the director's report

[27:25] for the planning department is there's a number of activities

[27:28] taking place before the Planning Board to help create some additional

[27:33] housing opportunities of different purposes and needs.

[27:38] Obviously, one of the more significant ones is has to deal with density

[27:42] and the ability to have

[27:45] higher density development, which is a function of cost,

[27:49] which ultimately is a function of the price

[27:52] somebody pays for that property through the TDR process.

[27:57] And that's been been being studied now for over a year now.

[28:01] And they're finalizing the recommendations for that.

[28:04] That'll be coming forward.

[28:06] Thank you.

[28:07] Thank you Council.

[28:08] Anyone else for the City Manager?

[28:11] Just one quick question.

[28:11] Typically you have an area in here for legal.

[28:13] I did not see that legal.

[28:16] I put in the my first report of the month.

[28:18] The second day of the month.

[28:21] All right. Thank you. So what else?

[28:24] All right. Thank you.

[28:26] Brings us to agenda item number ten, approval of minutes.

[28:29] We have two sets this evening.

[28:30] Ten a September 2nd, 2026 workshop meeting, a non public meeting

[28:34] and ten B September 9th, 2026 regular meeting.

[28:37] Motion to approve. Motion on the minutes.

[28:39] We have a second, seconded by Councilor Robison.

[28:42] Any updates errors, corrections, anything in these two sets of minutes?

[28:46] Seeing none. All in favor of approving these minutes

[28:50] is unanimous.

[28:51] Item number 11 is our Mayor's Report. Mr.

[28:53] Mayor?

[28:54] Well, it was

[28:57] at times

[28:58] quite the quite the busy last couple of weeks

[29:02] at times, particularly when I was in North Carolina.

[29:05] Quiet.

[29:07] Well, five days

[29:08] obviously nine over 11 dedication occurred.

[29:12] I can't say I cannot say enough about the work

[29:16] that Bob Carrier, Perry Plummer, police and fire put in.

[29:21] I've heard estimates of the attendance to be in the hundreds.

[29:24] We were wondering if we were going to fill all 60 chairs that we put out.

[29:29] So appreciate the public turning out for that and appreciate

[29:32] what's what's come back.

[29:35] So there's a we'll have a follow up

[29:38] meeting basically get, get get any of the loose ends cleaned up.

[29:43] But really can't say enough for the folks that were involved with

[29:46] that and those that attended.

[29:50] A couple of things.

[29:51] I'll mention my coast report.

[29:54] As you saw, the honorable mayor from Rochester was here

[29:57] while we were making light with our little side bet, a little side wager.

[30:01] Wager.

[30:01] It was actually part of the.

[30:05] My attendance there with him was part of Rochester's recognition

[30:09] of the 25th, 25th anniversary, 25th anniversary of of nine over 11.

[30:15] And they they had they had a brief ceremony to beginning

[30:18] of the game to, to recognize that,

[30:21] and a week after Saint Thomas

[30:24] was playing on the night of the 18th against Merrimack Valley.

[30:29] And they also had a very good,

[30:32] very good first responders,

[30:36] honorary.

[30:37] They also brought in a number of alumni who have served.

[30:43] And in particular, they recognized one one individual

[30:48] that that has served well.

[30:50] And actually he had provided a recording that they played for,

[30:55] for the audience to, to, to, to commemorate the event.

[30:59] So thanks to all those organizations, fortunately,

[31:02] we had both home teams that did not did not win the game.

[31:07] So we'll see how that goes going forward.

[31:10] But appreciate the folks that put those together.

[31:13] So, and that really is about my report for

[31:18] any questions.

[31:19] Thank you.

[31:21] Next up we have unfinished business.

[31:24] There are no ordinances in the second reading ordinance,

[31:27] third reading or resolutions, which moves us on to agenda

[31:30] item number 13, new business 13 A is our consent calendar.

[31:34] 13 A1 authorization to award B2

[31:37] 5044 RFP 2700

[31:41] two, Fourth Street sidewalk reconstruction to S.U.R. Construction, Inc.

[31:44] Sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request. 13 A2, authorization to approve Fire

[31:49] Instructor Course with the Regional Alliance for Firefighting Training,

[31:52] sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request. 13 A3, acceptance and approval

[31:57] of establishing a memorial at City Hall for American prisoners of war (POW)

[32:01] and those missing in action (MIA),

[32:02] sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request.

[32:05] Motion to approve the consent calendar.

[32:07] We have a motion for the consent calendar, seconded by Councilor Granfield.

[32:09] Are there any items that folks would like to see fold

[32:13] seeing?

[32:13] None.

[32:13] Call the roll for each of the for these three items on the consent.

[32:17] Councilor Richer? Yes.

[32:19] Councilor Carmichael? Yes.

[32:20] Councilor Cullen? Yes.

[32:22] Councilor Robison? Yes.

[32:23] Councilor Granfield?

[32:24] Yes. Councilor Veitch?

[32:25] Yes. Deputy Mayor Williams? Yes.

[32:27] Mayor

[32:28] Shanahan? Yes.

[32:29] Yes. Motion passes.

[32:31] Excuse me. Next up is committee reports.

[32:33] We will start this evening with Mayor Shanahan with COAST.

[32:37] So coast ended.

[32:39] Arranged an event under the guise of the continuing

[32:42] capital campaign to to do some some fundraising.

[32:47] However, it was all a ruse.

[32:49] It was all a trick.

[32:50] What we were really doing was a surprise party for Rad Nichols

[32:54] to celebrate his 30th year at coast.

[32:57] It was a surprise.

[32:59] I think he almost keeled over.

[33:01] It was it was a great event. They brought in

[33:04] his sister, members of his family from Colorado.

[33:08] And it was a good way to honor Rad for the hard work that he's done for

[33:11] for 30 years and is continuing to do.

[33:15] Also this morning, we had the annual meeting for COAST,

[33:18] which included both a breakfast keynote speaker who did a

[33:23] just a fantastic job of recounting her experience

[33:27] as a new rider for COAST and taking rides

[33:32] on busses and engaging with some of the the passengers.

[33:36] I mean, I also had a business meeting where we put put to bed

[33:39] some of the business of the day, which included a budget, included

[33:43] reelection of officers and a few other items.

[33:48] And I will say, the discussion that we just had about.

[33:53] Potential issues in budgeting as

[33:57] fuel costs rise,

[34:00] certainly impacting COAST. They've already seen

[34:04] what is a year over year increase of over 70% in fuel costs,

[34:09] even though they buy in bulk and do

[34:11] get a break compared to what you might pay at the pump for diesel.

[34:14] So there was certainly a high level of concern on how that may

[34:17] play out over the next several months and going through the winter,

[34:20] but otherwise the capital campaign is going very well.

[34:24] I think we've got a reasonable chance for a spring construction

[34:27] start date at the facility.

[34:30] Off road on on some of

[34:34] questions on coast.

[34:37] Thank you.

[34:38] Next up is Waterfront TIF Advisory Board, Councilor Cullen.

[34:42] We have not met. No.

[34:45] Excuse me. I had to miss their meeting.

[34:47] No, that was the other Tiff board.

[34:49] I apologize, we have not met.

[34:52] Mr. Mayor, anything on

[34:54] Street reported outburst the last time we. Met.

[34:57] For Strafford Regional Planning Commission,

[34:59] They did meet last week.

[35:00] I was out of town so I will get an update,

[35:02] but I believe it was continued to focus on transportation.

[35:06] Mr. Mayor again, Government Affairs.

[35:08] Government affairs.

[35:09] We deferred that due to

[35:12] do this, do.

[35:14] Some planning issues. We'll see.

[35:15] We'll be meeting in October.

[35:17] Councilor Cullen and the Joint Building Committee - Athletic Complex.

[35:20] Sure. Briefly.

[35:21] I was at the site this afternoon and my gosh, it's coming together so rapidly.

[35:26] It was really cool.

[35:28] Rubber is now on the track.

[35:30] Only the first course of it and binder is down, so it is black.

[35:34] It is rubberized and that is pretty cool.

[35:36] There was a group of six guys working on it there today.

[35:40] And on the baseball multi-sport field,

[35:43] there were about one quarter of it is now filled with crushed stone.

[35:47] The drainage is in the light,

[35:49] towers are up, and they are working on painting themselves into a corner

[35:53] to escape from the baseball field through

[35:56] the left field gap. So

[36:00] stills continues to be a very

[36:02] active construction site

[36:03] and will be for another 3 or 4 weeks while the track gets finished,

[36:07] which will then mean that we could theoretically have access

[36:11] to Dunaway Field, which the field itself is done.

[36:14] The uprights are not up, the scoreboard is not up.

[36:17] The electric does not go to the towers yet.

[36:20] But it's really coming along well.

[36:22] Continues to be on schedule and within budget.

[36:25] So I hope to have a better update for you

[36:28] than that in a couple of weeks, but it's really looking great.

[36:31] I hope you've had a chance to walk by and take a look.

[36:40] You said it's on schedule.

[36:42] What?

[36:42] What a what date are we using to to judge that.

[36:46] We promised you a field ready for play in the fall of 2006.

[36:50] I'll remind you that today is the second day of fall 2026. Yep.

[36:56] And beyond that, Councilor, I can't give you a specific.

[36:59] It's a very active construction site, right?

[37:02] I mean, there was heavy equipment, major trucks

[37:05] moving in and out, you know, big bulldozers.

[37:08] Today we had electricians.

[37:10] We had people pouring cement.

[37:12] We had, you know, almost every trade.

[37:14] So it's not like you can go out there at 330 and just have practice.

[37:19] I'm not indicating we should play football in that situation.

[37:22] I'm curious though.

[37:23] There's other work going on.

[37:24] I don't live far from there, so I see the fields.

[37:27] Are we waiting for all construction to be done to use the football

[37:31] facilities, or will there be kind of an interim?

[37:35] So for right now, it's sort of as a moot point because the curing time

[37:40] for the track process is about 3 to 4 weeks.

[37:44] Layers.

[37:44] Things like the fact that it's going to rain for three days

[37:47] means that they have to reach a breaking point to allow,

[37:50] you know, things to settle before doing something else.

[37:52] So it can't give you a firmer guidance than that.

[37:57] We should, in a couple of weeks,

[37:58] be able to give you some sense of that, but it's still premature, believe me.

[38:02] We all want to see kids on that field. But,

[38:07] I just

[38:08] the, I think and the athletes, the coaches, the parents have been

[38:12] extraordinarily patient to this point, and we need to ask for continued patience.

[38:16] As we work to get people on the field as soon as we possibly can.

[38:20] Thank you. Thank you.

[38:22] Anyone else?

[38:24] Thank you.

[38:24] Councilor Veitch for Cemetery Board. Yes.

[38:27] This one was quite lively.

[38:30] Pun intended.

[38:32] We actually had a line out the door for public comment.

[38:35] That's not saying as much because the

[38:38] the the room that we actually meet in is quite small.

[38:41] So it's not impressive as that might sound.

[38:44] So we did take people, in for public comment

[38:47] at like basically by group of what they want to comment on.

[38:52] As normal staff updated with purchases and any complaints with regards to graves,

[38:58] but I'll refer to just kind of the public comment.

[39:02] So the first one was actually from staff, coming in to see

[39:06] and recommend

[39:08] that we designate

[39:11] Pine Hill Cemetery as a historical site.

[39:14] The concept behind that was that there is potential

[39:19] grants we'd be eligible for with that designation

[39:22] for some of the repairs we're looking at doing.

[39:25] And that we would her understanding

[39:28] was that we would be eligible to get that designation.

[39:33] After asking whether that would put any restrictions

[39:36] on what we could do in the future, and with the understanding

[39:39] that we would not be restricted any further with this designation.

[39:43] The board voted unanimously to have staff

[39:48] continue looking to pursue that.

[39:51] Additionally, we had a member of the Conservation

[39:56] Commission come and pitch an idea to designate.

[40:01] Pine Hill Cemetery as an arboretum.

[40:04] There are four registered arboretum in the state of New Hampshire.

[40:08] His belief was that with the very minimal changes, we would be eligible to do that.

[40:14] Because there is just a lot of tree species there.

[40:18] Staff had some concerns that

[40:21] such a designation might increase the visitor ship.

[40:25] And, potentially

[40:29] maybe some unwanted behavior.

[40:31] So they ended up deciding to table that decision, but with the understanding

[40:36] that, that conservation committee member volunteered as part of,

[40:43] the application process to collect a lot of data

[40:46] regarding the tree species and locations.

[40:49] Which was very much appreciated.

[40:51] And staff said even if we don't go further with that application,

[40:55] that it would be very useful for maintenance to have that sort of data.

[40:59] So he committed to doing that this fall.

[41:03] And then the third group was related to,

[41:07] biking. So,

[41:10] currently there are signs that say you can't

[41:12] bring bikes through Pine Hill Cemetery.

[41:16] There was a little bit of confusion because in the Dover code

[41:18] it doesn't mention bikes, but in a two and nine

[41:23] cemetery rules, it does ban bikes.

[41:26] So they were at first trying to see

[41:29] if there needed to be an update to the signs to reflect the code.

[41:32] And then ultimately we're interested in,

[41:37] potentially allowing bikes to be in the Pine Hill Cemetery.

[41:41] And as the cemetery board is reviewing their rules,

[41:47] there's going to be a debate on a bunch of those topics,

[41:49] from bikes to dogs to all those sort of things.

[41:52] And my recollection

[41:55] is that at least the staff members are there were apprehensive to,

[42:01] lifting those bands in the immediate future.

[42:04] So and that's all I got for a cemetery.

[42:07] And do you have any questions?

[42:10] Any questions.

[42:12] And I'll just echo we at the Conservation Commission had a conversation

[42:15] about the conversation at the cemetery board and echo your sort of

[42:20] thanks to the volunteer that has, I believe, has completed the inventory.

[42:24] And there are a lot of trees in Pine Hill Cemetery, including a conversation

[42:28] around exactly what you just mentioned and whether or not there's a designation.

[42:32] The significant environmental and ecosystem services benefits,

[42:35] whether it's shade

[42:36] or water filtration or all of those things that are being provided

[42:39] by all of the trees.

[42:41] And to your point, sort of,

[42:42] how can the cemetery and staff continue to maintain those in the future,

[42:45] regardless of designation?

[42:46] But we have a very healthy and broad suite of trees at the cemetery. So,

[42:54] Next up is Dover Utilities Commission.

[42:56] Councilor Carmichael.

[42:57] Yes, the utilities commission did meet.

[43:00] The city is blowing about.

[43:02] Excuse me.

[43:03] Blowing out about 25 sewer lines there.

[43:06] Just that are used less with less volume than other lines.

[43:10] So sediment builds up during the course of the year.

[43:12] So they do that tend to do that annually.

[43:14] I talked about the group, talked about the drought that we're experiencing,

[43:18] as well as briefly talk about the pond well being shut off.

[43:23] And also just the a bit about the presentation

[43:27] that we received in the previous workshop.

[43:30] Do you want to remind folks, the city and I personally appreciate it.

[43:34] Everybody who is able to conserve water.

[43:37] We are still currently under voluntary water restrictions.

[43:40] While we are expecting some rain this weekend.

[43:42] We're still very dry.

[43:44] As evidenced in the

[43:45] City Manager's Report with the New Hampshire Drought Monitor.

[43:49] That's actually worsened since the report was put together.

[43:52] Most of the state is in drought, with the exception of the southwest.

[43:56] Southern. Excuse me, the southwest corner.

[43:58] So if everybody can continue doing that, even though

[44:02] that the voluntary restrictions won't help as much

[44:05] during the fall and winter months when water usage does tend to come down.

[44:09] And lastly,

[44:10] I just want to, relatedly, encourage everybody to sign up for EyeOnWater.

[44:14] We haven't talked about that in a while, but if you just Google EyeOnWater,

[44:19] You can sign up there. You will need your water bill.

[44:22] But with that we'll do is

[44:24] because all the meters are connected to water sewer billing.

[44:27] It will let you know when you have a leak,

[44:31] which is great based on a threshold that you specify.

[44:34] So if you have a running toilet or something,

[44:36] even though that may seem like very little water,

[44:39] that can actually get super expensive, and I've seen some pretty

[44:42] egregious water leaks during my time on the utilities commission.

[44:45] So this service is 100% free.

[44:47] You'll get a push notification in an email, has a nice app on Android and iOS.

[44:52] Again, it's EyeOnWater, spelled E-Y-E,

[44:55] and I encourage everybody to sign up for that free service.

[45:00] Question.

[45:02] Any other timely reports to cover this evening?

[45:06] That's correct.

[45:07] Yes. The school board also met this week.

[45:09] Really quickly cover what they talked about.

[45:11] The board approved a peer recovery research program with Live Free Recovery.

[45:16] They approved a coherence count math research

[45:19] study with the American Institutes for Research, which they're very excited about.

[45:22] That's going to provide some new tools for learning math

[45:27] to students that they'll get to try and

[45:31] that that that will be optional.

[45:32] But the school system is very excited about that.

[45:36] They ratified the three years contract,

[45:39] and they adopted in a generative

[45:43] AI use plan, which basically rates

[45:46] generative AI use from 0 to 5 with zero meaning

[45:50] assignment is not using AI at all, five is, the assignment is

[45:55] or the work product is delivered written by AI, essentially.

[46:01] This is

[46:02] optional for teachers to use in the sense of the framework.

[46:05] Is is not optional if they do use AI.

[46:08] However, teachers can opt not to use AI at all in the classroom as a tool.

[46:13] So they can allow it for researching.

[46:15] They can allow it to be used like as an editor or whatever.

[46:19] And that's

[46:20] and that that 0 to 5 scale is to help students understand

[46:24] when they receive an assignment, how that how they can use

[46:28] AI or if they're able to in that given assignment.

[46:31] I did ask my daughter about this.

[46:33] She has heard about it.

[46:34] She did not.

[46:36] That the answer that she responded to me was not delivered with AI.

[46:40] To the best of my knowledge

[46:42] and. Level zero.

[46:44] Then it was a level zero.

[46:47] And that's that's a that's it for the school board.

[46:50] Questions on.

[46:51] That saying.

[46:55] I keep sliding in there before you move on.

[46:58] There's two I want to cover.

[46:59] The first is the Arts Commission.

[47:03] Just three quick highlights.

[47:05] Our Literary Laureate, Shane Morin, has stepped down due to a new career opportunity.

[47:10] So the commission is going to handle the interim transition and plan

[47:14] to search for a successor next year, which was the end of Shane's

[47:19] term as the laureate.

[47:21] Public arts projects.

[47:23] The first three sculptures for the Riverside Sculpture

[47:25] Walk have been selected and they're pending installation.

[47:29] Coordination with community services and two designs were also chosen

[47:33] for the coastal bus stops, so those should be appearing

[47:36] at coast Coast bus stops soon.

[47:40] And finally, the commission updated

[47:43] excuse me adopted an updated conduct guideline from

[47:47] the city legal department.

[47:48] And we are actively working and improving public communication to talk about all

[47:52] the great things that the Arts Commission is working on

[47:55] and all the great art

[47:58] features of our city.

[48:02] Moving now to the Planning Board.

[48:04] The planning board met last night.

[48:06] I'm not going to cover a lot, but I just wanted to key in on two things.

[48:12] The planning board

[48:14] held another public hearing for.

[48:17] If you remember, several weeks back, it was mentioned that there

[48:21] we are proposing or the city is proposing

[48:24] some changes to the zoning ordinances.

[48:27] Letters went out to residents and businesses advising them

[48:31] that these changes are being proposed, and public hearings were being scheduled.

[48:36] Another one was held last night.

[48:38] And again, if you don't remember what these changes include, they cover topics

[48:42] such as transfer of development rights, TDR, conditional use permit

[48:46] criteria, custom customary home occupations,

[48:50] accessory dwelling units and data centers, and other items.

[48:56] After discussion last night,

[48:58] the board decided we we need more time.

[49:02] So we're going to extend to an our next session

[49:05] to continue to talk about the changes.

[49:08] So we were looking forward to potentially

[49:12] reviewing the changes last night and moving them forward to this body.

[49:17] But the Planning Board needs just a little bit more time.

[49:26] Wraps up their committee reports this evening,

[49:28] taking us now to 13 B resolutions,

[49:32] 13 B one approving cost items

[49:34] in the Dover Paraeducators' Association master agreement

[49:38] collective bargaining agreement sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request.

[49:41] Motion to approve.

[49:42] Motion to have a second.

[49:46] Councilor

[49:46] Carmichael.

[49:47] So that's been moved and seconded. However,

[49:51] it's been realized by several folks that looking at the data,

[49:54] there was some granularity in the cost that I think

[49:58] it's important for the council to have.

[50:01] And this would allow us to to better understand

[50:04] the difference between the cost of this contract and the cost of the status

[50:08] quo, of having the current contract simply continue.

[50:12] That's a typical element that's usually provided to us.

[50:16] So I am going to move to table this item

[50:20] so that that can be provided and would be readily available

[50:24] to take this up in our first regular meeting in October and maintain

[50:30] within the bounds of the 30 day limit of of us acting on it.

[50:35] So motion to table. Do I have a second?

[50:38] Seconded by Councilor Cullen.

[50:39] All in favor of tabling?

[50:43] That's unanimous.

[50:45] Thank you.

[50:46] Next up is 13 B2.

[50:47] This was our substitute as a whole.

[50:49] Authorization to waive ordinance 29 for disposal of surplus city property.

[50:53] And sell two Ford Explorers to Strafford County Sheriff's Office.

[50:56] Sponsored by Mayor Shanahan, by request.

[50:58] Motion to approve. The motion to have a second.

[51:00] Second. Carmichael.

[51:01] Mr. City Manager. Yeah.

[51:04] The city

[51:06] will sell surplus vehicles

[51:08] after they've been

[51:11] used to their useful life.

[51:12] In this case,

[51:13] we have several older police vehicles that are going to be put up for auction.

[51:17] Strafford County has asked if they can purchase two of those,

[51:21] and we're asking to waive the bidding process

[51:25] to sell two of the several vehicles directly

[51:29] to Strafford County, and the remainder will go to auction.

[51:34] Councilor Robison.

[51:36] I'm no expert, so take this for what it's worth.

[51:39] When I saw this these numbers, I was like, wow, they're getting a great deal.

[51:44] Because if you look at Kelley Blue Book for

[51:48] for a vehicle with this kind of mileage, it's much higher.

[51:51] I realize these are not typical passenger vehicles

[51:53] that have been used like a passenger vehicle.

[51:55] Is that is that what is suppressing the the resale value?

[51:59] Yeah.

[51:59] I mean, you look at the mileage, the mileage is not indicative of the wear

[52:02] and tear on the vehicle.

[52:03] And those used car sites rely heavily on the mileage.

[52:08] So most of these vehicles, all these vehicles are well over 100,000 miles.

[52:13] And but the equivalent wear and tear on that is upwards of a half million miles.

[52:17] Those vehicles will sit at action scenes and run an idle,

[52:21] you know, potentially for hours.

[52:24] And that wear and tear on the engine doesn't bode

[52:28] well for the life of the vehicle.

[52:29] One follow up question.

[52:31] So two of the five are going to the county sheriff.

[52:33] What happens to the other three?

[52:36] I think there's five in total.

[52:38] So the other three will go out to auction.

[52:41] Okay. Thank you.

[52:43] Any other questions? Councilor Veitch?

[52:45] So. Would you say that when the other three

[52:49] go out to auction, you'd expect them to be in that, you know, 2500, 3000 range?

[52:53] Yes. Okay. Thank you.

[52:56] Let's see.

[52:57] None. Call the roll, please.

[52:59] Councilor Richer? Yes.

[53:00] Councilor Carmichael?

[53:01] Yes. Councilor Cullen? Yes.

[53:04] Councilor Robison? Yes. Councilor

[53:06] Granfield? Yes. Councilor Veitch? Yes.

[53:08] Deputy Mayor Williams? Yes.

[53:10] Mayor Shanahan? Yes. Motion passes.

[53:14] Brings us a 13 b three

[53:16] authorization to approve additional design services for B one zero.

[53:20] Sorry, B 18013.

[53:22] Design services for community trail expansion.

[53:25] Phase four.

[53:26] Fuss & O'Neill.

[53:27] Sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request.

[53:29] Motion to approve. A motion to have a second.

[53:31] Seconded by Councilor Richer.

[53:34] Mr. City Manager.

[53:36] This is a resolution to authorize funding.

[53:40] Authorize the approval of the design services for phase four, the community

[53:44] trail.

[53:45] I would like to ask you to make an amendment to the resolution.

[53:49] Our eagle-eyed City Clerk has noticed that there's a number

[53:53] that needs to be adjusted at the very bottom of the page.

[53:56] And that is the fourth line of the financing table.

[54:00] The number

[54:02] $93,596.50 needs to be increased

[54:07] by $2 to be $93,598.50.

[54:13] And of course, the total at the bottom would also be adjusted by $2.

[54:17] So the total would be 482,702,

[54:22] $704.50.

[54:27] A motion to amend

[54:28] the resolution to put that $2 where it belongs.

[54:32] Deputy Mayor Williams and the original mover, and Councilor

[54:37] Richer,

[54:38] As the seconder.

[54:41] So motion to we have a motion and a second to amend.

[54:44] The resolution.

[54:45] Discussion on that.

[54:47] All in favor of that amendment.

[54:49] That's unanimous.

[54:51] Motion to approve as amended.

[54:52] And the motion as amended, seconded by Councilor Richer.

[54:56] Any discussion on the amended resolution? Yes.

[54:59] So the appropriation and the balance numbers for those two rows

[55:03] are all supposed to match.

[55:05] Is that correct? 131.

[55:10] It just looks odd.

[55:14] They are.

[55:14] Match.

[55:18] Yes. Yes.

[55:19] Okay. Yeah.

[55:21] Thank you.

[55:23] Great job.

[55:27] Any other questions?

[55:29] None. Call the roll, please. Councilor Richer?

[55:31] Yes. Councilor Carmichael? Yes.

[55:34] Councilor Cullen?

[55:35] Yes. Councilor Robison? Yes. Councilor Granfield?

[55:38] Yes. Councilor

[55:38] Veitch? Yes.

[55:39] Deputy Mayor

[55:40] Williams? Yes.

[55:41] Mayor Shanahan? Yes. Motion passes.

[55:44] Next up is 13.

[55:45] See ordinances in the first reading. We have two this evening.

[55:47] 13 C one chapter 141, sections 14 and 48 to be referred to a public hearing

[55:53] and a vote on October 14th, 2026 sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request.

[55:57] Motion to refer to a public hearing.

[55:58] A motion.

[55:59] We have a second on the motion to refer, Councilor Granfield.

[56:02] and for the public's information.

[56:04] This is some changes to our parking ordinances

[56:08] that that have come through with, I believe some winter restrictions also

[56:12] built in. But

[56:14] if you look at the ordinance.

[56:15] Committee.

[56:15] And have a public hearing on, as described,

[56:18] any questions on the motion to refer to a public hearing?

[56:20] Seeing none.

[56:21] All in favor referring to a public hearing.

[56:24] That's unanimous.

[56:25] Next up is 13 C two, chapter 145,

[56:28] sections one through six and nine through 16, to be referred to a public hearing

[56:32] and a vote on October 14th, 2026, sponsored by Mayor Shanahan by request.

[56:37] Motion to refer to a public hearing.

[56:39] We have a motion, seconded by Councilor

[56:41] Richer and discussion on the motion.

[56:45] Process question.

[56:46] So these are the ordinance as we were presented prior, right.

[56:53] The presentation we gave were given

[56:56] reinforces what we're seeing here.

[56:58] But there's been a lot of questions.

[57:01] This city staff has been helpful in clarifying those.

[57:06] When is the appropriate time to discuss that in public?

[57:10] When I'd say when we deliberate on the.

[57:12] When we deliberate. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, yeah.

[57:15] And obviously at ordinance.

[57:17] Will.

[57:19] Discussions and again for the public.

[57:22] Chapter 145 is solid waste waste management.

[57:26] This incorporates changes to support the toter system,

[57:30] which would obviously go into 1st July 2027.

[57:35] So we are events of that.

[57:37] So any other questions on the motion to refer to a public hearing.

[57:41] So not all in favor of. The.

[57:43] Public hearing.

[57:44] That's unanimous. Thank you.

[57:47] 14 is council correspondence I don't believe we have any.

[57:51] 15 is council matters of interest.

[57:53] Councilors with matters of interest to discuss. Councilor Granfield first.

[57:58] Yeah.

[57:58] Mr. Mayor, I know you mentioned this in your report, but

[58:01] I just want to say thank you again to all the people involved

[58:04] in the nine over 11 Memorial.

[58:06] That was incredibly, tastefully done.

[58:08] I always find it, hard to to,

[58:13] you know, balance the, the

[58:15] somber occasion, with, with that kind of event.

[58:19] And it was just really well done.

[58:21] And you missed a person to thank.

[58:23] And that was you.

[58:26] You did a great job.

[58:27] So thank you very much.

[58:30] Councilor Veitch.

[58:32] Have kind of two all of the first ones. More.

[58:34] Just an update.

[58:37] Councilor Carmichael and I this past weekend attended

[58:40] an Indonesian festival in Somersworth,

[58:45] which had a lot of good food, a lot of cultural dance.

[58:48] And for those who don't know, Strafford County, by percentage,

[58:53] has the second highest percentage of Indonesian

[58:57] folk of any county in the U.S.

[59:01] and then,

[59:03] my second,

[59:06] Council of interest,

[59:07] a matter of interest, would be actually not

[59:10] with regard to Dover specifically, but I received one complaint.

[59:13] And, and then also some colleagues in the area with regards to,

[59:21] some changes in parking

[59:23] policy going down to our southern neighbor down in Portsmouth.

[59:27] They have a parking problem.

[59:28] And for those who don't know, this summer they have,

[59:32] start a new residential

[59:34] access, parking program.

[59:37] And they have it's a believe it's a pilot.

[59:40] They are changing it routinely.

[59:41] I think they're going to be changing it again.

[59:44] But in short, they are looking at,

[59:49] making it so in many of the lots that they currently have,

[59:52] it would only be access to residents of Portsmouth.

[59:56] And in the paid lots there would be significantly

[1:00:00] increased fees for nonresidents.

[1:00:02] They have a progressive by our rate.

[1:00:05] But I believe when I calculated, a three hour a day,

[1:00:10] it would be about a 140% increase for Dover residents

[1:00:14] that would be traveling there for work or pleasure.

[1:00:18] So obviously they're still kind of testing it out,

[1:00:21] but I have some concerns over this kind of new

[1:00:25] discriminatory pricing model that they're looking at doing.

[1:00:29] So I would bring this up for two reasons.

[1:00:32] If you share my concern, I would, offer maybe

[1:00:36] communicating some of that with them.

[1:00:40] And the other part is, you know,

[1:00:42] this is not kind of a short term thing that just happened to them overnight.

[1:00:47] They've are have low supply and parking over there.

[1:00:51] Partially because, in their attempts to solve their housing crisis,

[1:00:57] they lowered restrict requirements and parking,

[1:01:00] which put more burden on the city to provide parking.

[1:01:04] And then they waived, a lot of their,

[1:01:08] fees, impact fees, which meant that they didn't

[1:01:11] have a fund to make new parking arrangements.

[1:01:14] So now they're stuck with a lot of demand and not a lot of supply.

[1:01:17] So I just caution us to remember that when we're making some of our decisions.

[1:01:23] Thank

[1:01:24] thank you.

[1:01:26] Councilor Robison.

[1:01:27] I have two things.

[1:01:29] First is on the POW/MIA memorial.

[1:01:33] I love that we're doing this.

[1:01:36] I even had one person today ask me what this pin on the side of my is.

[1:01:41] If you're not familiar with it, it's a gold star.

[1:01:44] My oldest brother died while in Navy in 1977.

[1:01:48] And you know, we do get two official holidays every year

[1:01:52] that recognize military service, both Veteran's Day day and Memorial Day,

[1:01:58] to much to my chagrin, they've kind of turned into retail celebrations.

[1:02:03] And in similar, though, there is still a lot of recognition going on.

[1:02:08] But for the families that have participated in the military

[1:02:12] or lost those or missing those, that is not a one day event in their life.

[1:02:16] That's the rest of their life.

[1:02:18] They are missing that person, and it's great that we have something

[1:02:22] that lasts for more than one day in in this city.

[1:02:25] So I love that we're putting that so prominently

[1:02:30] out there for us to remember.

[1:02:33] Second thing is the number one latest

[1:02:36] news item on our website, which is the toter collection workshop

[1:02:41] presentation and some good information about when it becomes effective.

[1:02:46] The City Council has received a couple of

[1:02:50] contacts with questions about the the policy and concerns.

[1:02:54] I've received seven individually.

[1:02:57] I might be leading that race amongst all of us,

[1:03:00] but I do want to show my appreciation.

[1:03:04] Sending feedback to us is not a burden.

[1:03:06] It's it's an expectation of us to receive it and to respond.

[1:03:12] So I responded to everyone.

[1:03:14] I've tried to answer questions the best of my ability.

[1:03:16] When I don't have those answers, I ask for answers.

[1:03:19] And I have a lot of questions too.

[1:03:20] So I'm asking answers for those as well.

[1:03:22] But I like to.

[1:03:24] I like to encourage people to continue to participate.

[1:03:26] Ask questions.

[1:03:28] If you have a concern, raise it.

[1:03:30] There is still time to take concerns into consideration and and craft the policy.

[1:03:37] You know, further.

[1:03:38] So please continue to reach out to us.

[1:03:41] Very good.

[1:03:41] Thank you. Councilor Richer.

[1:03:45] Just want to remind everybody again.

[1:03:47] Apple Harvest Day is coming up.

[1:03:49] So please make sure you have your plans for getting there and enjoying

[1:03:53] some of the Apple products as well as the vendors.

[1:03:57] I also wanted to mention that I mentioned this before,

[1:04:01] but I'm also part of the Home for All Coalition on the Seacoast.

[1:04:04] And next week on September 30th, they're having a pop up care village,

[1:04:09] which for anybody who doesn't know what that is, they provide services,

[1:04:14] basic services to anyone who needs them.

[1:04:18] The gather busses there, they have hairdressers and barbers.

[1:04:22] They have charging stations.

[1:04:24] They have sometimes they have people show up to help

[1:04:28] repair bicycles, clothing swaps,

[1:04:32] charging stations for their phone.

[1:04:34] But it's a it's a great event.

[1:04:36] And for those who,

[1:04:39] those of us who might want to also volunteer, they're looking for volunteers

[1:04:43] to come to the event to help navigate the program.

[1:04:48] So, I just want to mention that we're also coming to

[1:04:51] the close of Library Card Sign-Up Month in the City of Dover.

[1:04:57] So anybody who has a library card, there's a list on the library

[1:05:01] website of locations that are giving out, different prizes.

[1:05:07] I guess you could say, for showing your library card.

[1:05:11] And I know

[1:05:13] Stella's is one of those places they're giving curlers out.

[1:05:16] So, please enjoy the benefits of being a library card holder here in Dover.

[1:05:22] And, I also wanted to mention

[1:05:26] many of you already know that my mom's been here for four months,

[1:05:29] and she's sitting in the crowd today, and she'll be leaving.

[1:05:31] So, it's been nice having her.

[1:05:33] And I just wanted to recognize that she.

[1:05:36] She'll probably wait and see you guys next summer. So.

[1:05:39] Thanks for being here, mom.

[1:05:43] Okay.

[1:05:43] It's good to see you. Thank you.

[1:05:45] Thank you for listening to all that we talked about.

[1:05:47] What had to come see for myself.

[1:05:50] This is what she does on Wednesday nights.

[1:05:54] Appreciate that too.

[1:05:55] Anyone else?

[1:05:57] Councilor Carmichael. I have two.

[1:05:59] Councilor Richer's question about the warming center earlier

[1:06:02] reminded me of an article I saw on WMUR

[1:06:06] explaining that heating oil prices

[1:06:08] are anticipated to go up about 31% this year, which is a lot.

[1:06:13] It's going to be a lot more expensive to heat your homes.

[1:06:16] I will mention this again as the weather becomes cooler.

[1:06:19] But if the state of New Hampshire has a fuel assistance program,

[1:06:24] if you just Google NH fuel assistance, it will take you to their web page

[1:06:28] and a way to apply.

[1:06:30] I know folks, maybe I'm thinking about that right now, but

[1:06:33] I do want to let, given the anticipated climb

[1:06:38] in oil prices and home heating costs, I do want folks to be aware of that.

[1:06:44] Second is related to Apple Harvest Day.

[1:06:47] We need trash

[1:06:49] to help remove trash.

[1:06:52] It is.

[1:06:53] It would be a lot of fun.

[1:06:54] You can hang out with me, maybe even throw some trash at me

[1:06:58] if that doesn't inspire some people to do it.

[1:07:00] But if you go to the chamber's website, dovernh.org,

[1:07:06] it will take you to the page where there is a volunteer link at the bottom left.

[1:07:10] It would be great if you could pick that out so

[1:07:14] other folks will have a place to put their trash.

[1:07:18] We should probably also mention that SWAC will also have a tent.

[1:07:23] The Solid Waste Advisory Committee.

[1:07:24] So for people who have questions about the

[1:07:28] the process the Solid Waste Advisory Committee went through to get to the point of the toters,

[1:07:33] there will be a toter there so people can test-drive them if they would like.

[1:07:38] So please visit

[1:07:39] that booth with any and all questions and inquiries and also to,

[1:07:44] you know, get your first first shot at driving

[1:07:47] your new toter. So.

[1:07:51] Follow up question on something Bret raised.

[1:07:55] Does Dover also have a

[1:07:58] fuel assistance policy within the Public Welfare

[1:08:03] Department?

[1:08:04] Not for not specifically for fuel, but if a person is

[1:08:08] in need, emergency need of assistance,

[1:08:12] they will provide assistance for fuel if they are eligible.

[1:08:16] And there has to go through a process of determining income and assets

[1:08:19] and things like that.

[1:08:22] Ultimately, though,

[1:08:23] the first stop is the state of New Hampshire's Fuel Assistance program.

[1:08:27] Thank you.

[1:08:29] I to sort of piggyback on that as well.

[1:08:32] The, the the event that I mentioned in Somersworth,

[1:08:36] they will provide people who can answer a lot of questions around

[1:08:40] what's happening with our economy and the price of food

[1:08:44] and the price of fuel and how to get resources gather.

[1:08:49] I said, this is going to be there.

[1:08:50] The bus will be there, but gather provides a no barrier,

[1:08:55] food pantry.

[1:08:56] So anyone who might be suffering from the cost of their fuel

[1:09:01] could possibly offset their grocery bills with going to the pantry.

[1:09:07] I gather they have a beautiful facility if people haven't been to it.

[1:09:11] It is gorgeous.

[1:09:13] They have,

[1:09:16] a food recycling program that they do where they capture

[1:09:20] unused food from different places within the sea coast,

[1:09:23] and they make meals out of it and package it and place it in their pantry.

[1:09:27] And it's there for for people who need it.

[1:09:30] And there's no questions asked.

[1:09:32] So I hope people are using those resources because as we know,

[1:09:36] the fuel prices are going up, but also the changes within Snap

[1:09:40] because of the one big beautiful bill is greatly impacting our community.

[1:09:45] And also the cost of,

[1:09:49] the cost

[1:09:50] difference between the taxes will greatly impact people

[1:09:54] as far as the lowest end of a of the tax bracket will be losing money.

[1:09:59] And and that will be a great impact to people as well. So

[1:10:04] thank you.

[1:10:05] And in the the topic of fuel assistance

[1:10:08] Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, CAPSC,

[1:10:12] not only do they have a fuel and electric assistance program,

[1:10:15] but for those of us who may have the ability to help that out,

[1:10:20] they do take donations.

[1:10:22] And I'm looking at for the last winter season, $2.8

[1:10:25] million was dedicated to households to meet their fuel needs.

[1:10:28] I imagine the need is going to be even greater.

[1:10:31] So if you have the ability, certainly can help

[1:10:35] if you have the need and you can apply so there is help out there.

[1:10:38] I hope if any residents in the city are having any concerns, that they know

[1:10:43] they can reach out and we can help them find resources as well.

[1:10:46] So it might be an easier ask to, you know, call a councilor

[1:10:52] or send an email to one of us, and we can help facilitate that as well.

[1:10:57] So I hope I hope people understand that.

[1:11:01] Anyone else

[1:11:03] seeing none.

[1:11:05] Item 16.

[1:11:06] In the spirit of saving electricity and energy costs and turning these lights off.

[1:11:11] Motion to adjourn.

[1:11:12] We have a motion.

[1:11:13] Do we have a second on that motion?

[1:11:15] Seconded by Councilor Veitch.

[1:11:17] Without objection, we can consider ourselves adjourned

[1:11:20] while we await the next meeting in this chamber.

City Council, 9/23/2026

Agenda

Transcript