In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Dover School District Superintendent Dr. Christine Boston about the 2025-26 school year, then reviews recent city government activities with Erin Bassegio from the Planning Department and Brian Early from Media Services.

Parker and Boston discuss the major changes facing students and families, particularly the new state-mandated cell phone ban that prohibits devices from "bell to bell." Boston, who has 17 years of experience in Dover's school system in various roles, explains how the district will implement the policy while balancing safety concerns and the needs of parents. She also highlights positive developments, including a 93% staff return rate, the restoration of middle school teaming structures, new playground equipment plans, and upcoming celebrations for the middle school's 25th anniversary. Boston discusses the district's new strategic plan, which runs through 2030, focusing on student well-being and equity, as well as the exciting athletic complex project at the high school.

Bassegio reviews Planning Board actions from August, including approvals related to the waterfront development project, a McDonald's proposal on Grapevine Drive, and various residential developments. The board addressed zoning amendments, conditional use permits, and site plans while managing significant community input on several projects.

Early covers City Council's budget-focused agenda, including rescinding debt authorizations for the High School Athletic Complex project, funds for Broadway paving, and a Dover Housing Authority grant sponsorship.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Aaron Williams about the Strong Towns movement and its local group in Dover. Williams explains that Strong Towns was founded by civil engineer Chuck Marohn, who identified that North American communities were building more infrastructure than their tax base could sustainably maintain. The movement focuses on practical, data-driven solutions to urban challenges like street safety and housing crises.

A key concept discussed is the distinction between "roads" and "streets," - roads are designed for efficient movement between destinations, while streets serve as platforms for community collaboration and wealth creation. Williams argues that mixing these functions creates dangerous "stroads" that are neither efficient for travel nor conducive to local business activity. The conversation explores how Dover can orient its infrastructure toward constituents rather than just traffic flow.

Williams describes his group, Strong Towns Seacoast, which meets monthly at Juniper Kitchen and advocates for incremental improvements to Dover's transportation infrastructure. Their recent successes include supporting curb bump-outs on Central Avenue and advocating for expanded bike lanes throughout the city. Parker discusses ongoing projects, including pedestrian crossing improvements that should be completed by year's end.

The discussion also touches on housing policy, with Williams explaining how Strong Towns advocates for zoning changes that allow neighborhoods to adapt and grow while preserving character. Both speakers emphasize the importance of small, incremental changes that can be implemented quickly rather than waiting for large, comprehensive projects.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Dover residents' concerns in 1925 regarding a potential national coal shortage and the rising cost of living.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with George Maglaras for the second installment of their series about the Cochecho River and Dover's waterfront history. Building on their previous discussion about river pollution and cleanup efforts, Maglaras shares his extensive knowledge of the diverse industries that once thrived along the river from the late 1600s through the early 1900s.

Maglaras details how the landing area served as Dover's commercial and industrial center for 200 years, describing the six brick yards that operated along the river and supplied materials for major cities including Boston, Portland and New York. He explains the evolution from whale oil to coal gasification for lighting Dover's streets, and how the byproducts of coal tar and creosote were initially dumped in the river before finding commercial uses.

The conversation explores the shipping industry's prominence before the railroad's arrival in 1850, including stories of massive schooners like the 150-foot City of Green Bay that delivered cotton to Dover's mills. Maglaras recounts colorful local history, including Captain Flagg, a privateer-turned-pirate who became Dover's wealthiest resident and built Flagg Road (now Gulf Road).

He also describes Dover's ethnic neighborhoods, and shares memories of industrial pollution from his childhood, when mills dumped resins directly out windows onto massive piles below. The discussion illustrates how the waterfront area has been developed, demolished, and redeveloped multiple times throughout Dover's history.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Makayla Edgecomb, Assistant City Planner for the City of Dover, and Lindsay Watkins, Strafford County Forester with the University of New Hampshire's Cooperative Extension, about the critical issue facing Dover's downtown ash trees.

The conversation centers on the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia that has devastated ash tree populations across the Midwest since the early 2000s and has now reached Dover. The beautiful, shiny green beetle lays eggs in ash tree bark, and its larvae burrow into the tree's growth tissue, eventually cutting off the flow of nutrients and water. This process kills the tree from the top down, creating visible signs like branch dieback and woodpecker damage.

Dover's Central Avenue is lined with approximately 54 ash trees, all of which are infected and in decline. While some treatments exist for high-value trees, they are expensive and must be repeated regularly. For Dover's street trees, replacement is the only viable option. The city plans to phase the removal and replanting to avoid clearing the entire avenue at once, and will diversify tree species to prevent future monoculture vulnerabilities.

The guests organized public ash tree walks to educate residents about the problem and gather input on replacement planning. A second walk is scheduled for Aug. 21 at 6 p.m., starting at City Hall and ending at Garrison City Beer Works for community feedback on the downtown's future canopy.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Dover's 1982 downtown renovation when the city planted over 150 ash trees along Main Street as part of a broader beautification effort, planting the very trees now threatened by the emerald ash borer.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Abby Galloway-Burke, Dover's new housing planner, about the recently released Ad-Hoc Committee to Address Community Housing Needs report and her personal experience purchasing a home in the city.

Galloway-Burke discusses her background working on housing programs at Community Action Partnership of Strafford County and Granite United Way before joining Dover's team. She shares her firsthand experience buying an 1880s duplex in Dover after being initially outbid, highlighting the competitive housing market that even housing professionals face.

The conversation focuses on the 45-page housing report, which includes a five-page executive summary showing how Dover's housing market has shifted over the past decade. Key findings reveal that construction costs have risen from $120 per square foot in 2019 to approximately $250 today, with multifamily units costing over $400,000 to build. The report shows how housing costs affect essential workers, with the living wage now at $29 per hour just for rental housing.

Parker also speaks with City Clerk Jerrica Vansylyvong-Bizier about the upcoming municipal election. The filing period runs Sept. 8-19 for candidates seeking City Council, School Board and election officer positions. All council seats are up for election, including six ward Councilors, two at-large Councilors and the Mayor. The election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with newly appointed Dover Rotary Club President Cathy Beaudoin about the organization's century-long commitment to community service. Beaudoin discusses how the club, now in its 101st year, raises approximately $100,000 annually through weekly bingo operations to support local charities and community projects. She highlights the club's diverse initiatives, including providing milk and egg coupons for food pantry users, supplying shoes and boots to students in need, creating mittens for the unhoused, and sponsoring scholarships. The club meets twice monthly at 121 Broadway and seeks new members from all backgrounds, dispelling outdated perceptions about membership requirements.

Parker then speaks with Brian Early and Erin Bassegio about July's City Council and Planning Board activities. Early reports on council approvals for groundwater monitoring contracts, additional funding for the Fifth and Grove reconstruction project, and budget adjustments, including rescinding authorization for the sports complex design and Fire Rescue South station projects. He also mentions the council receiving a housing needs report and a donation from Mr. Handyman of Dover for trail improvements.

Bassegio covers Planning Board approvals for lot line adjustments, conditional use permits, and a 16-unit housing development at Dover Point Road. She also updates listeners on Energy Commission discussions about solar projects and Arts Commission achievements, including a new mural at Park Street Park and sculpture installation at Central Avenue.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with former Mayor George Maglaras, owner of George's Marina, about the dramatic transformation of the Cochecho River from one of the most polluted waterways in America to the recreational resource Dover residents enjoy today.

Maglaras shares the history of river pollution that began after Dover's Black Day flood in 1896 and intensified through the mid-20th century. Before the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Cochecho River served as an open sewer for all domestic waste, industrial chemicals from tanneries and chrome plating plants, and medical waste from hospitals. The pollution was so severe that Cornell University ranked it among the top 10 most polluted rivers in the United States in the early 1960s. The river would literally foam with detergent suds, boil from chemical reactions, and kill thousands of migrating fish annually.

Maglaras credits his father and Uncle John, also a former Dover mayor, with leading the decades-long fight to clean up the river, despite significant community resistance. Their efforts culminated in Dover's first wastewater treatment plant in 1960, though only half the city was initially connected. The complete cleanup required separating storm drains from sewer systems throughout the city, a process that took over 20 years.

Through vivid personal anecdotes, including falling into toxic mudflats as a child, Maglaras illustrates just how contaminated the river once was. He emphasizes that without the environmental vision and persistence of earlier generations, none of today's waterfront development would have been possible.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Eric Chinburg and Chad Kageleiry about Dover's use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as an economic development tool. Both developers have extensive experience working with the city on various projects over the past decade.

Eric Chinburg, who owns and operates several historic mill properties, including the Washington Street Mills and Cocheco Mills, discusses the former Strafford County Courthouse redevelopment project. Using New Hampshire's RSA 79E statute, the city provided tax relief incentives to make the historic preservation economically viable, while Chinburg contributed 20% affordable housing units and helped establish a Community Trail easement.

Chad Kageleiry, a Dover native who operates Summit Land Development, explains his work on the Stonewall Drive Industrial Park project. Rather than the city taking on upfront costs and risks to develop industrial land, Kageleiry built the necessary infrastructure and was reimbursed by the city. The project also included recreational components, creating multi-use athletic fields.

Both developers emphasize that Dover's collaborative approach makes these partnerships successful. The city's "open for business" mentality, combined with trusted relationships and creative problem-solving, allows projects to move forward that might otherwise be economically unfeasible. Parker notes that successful PPPs require mutual trust and shared goals, with the city, developer, and public all benefiting from the arrangement.

In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Dover firefighters' 1911 response to a wildfire threatening York Beach, Maine, when they loaded their steamer and hose wagon onto a special train to help battle the blaze alongside sailors from USS Montana and Tennessee.