Dover Download

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Margaret Joyce and Jed Allen from the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce about the upcoming 39th annual Cochecho Arts Festival. The festival features a diverse lineup of Friday night headliners from July 11 through Aug. 15, including The Coastals, Moon Boot Lover, New Norde and Donaher, Harsh, Toby McAllister and the Sierra Sounds, and W...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with outgoing Dover School Superintendent Dr. William Harbron about his eight-year tenure and upcoming retirement. Harbron reflects on what drew him to Dover from Ohio, particularly the quality and supportiveness of the Board of Education and the community's commitment to education. He discusses his role in "healing the district,&qu...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Erin Bassegio from the Planning Department about Dover's 2025 Land Use Chapter update to the Master Plan. Bassegio explains that this critical chapter, one of two required by the state, hasn't been updated since 2014 and encompasses much more than just land use, including demographics, economic development, housing, and community charac...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Rob Simmons, director of development for Cathartes, and Jamie Stevens, the city's project manager for the Waterfront Project, to discuss the mid-year progress on Dover's waterfront development.

Rob Simmons provides an update on the private development portion, highlighting that the mixed-use buildings are fully framed with ro...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Community Service Director John Storer about major construction projects underway and planned for Dover. The episode also features updates on City Council and Planning Board activities from May.

Parker and Storer discuss the downtown streetlight replacement project, which began as a pilot program near Franklin Square and will expand ...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Suzanne Weete, a 24-year Dover resident and community mental health advocate who works at Community Partners, a local community mental health center. Weete discusses her role in founding the Dover Mental Health Alliance, a grassroots coalition dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and education in the community.

The conversa...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with COAST Bus Executive Director Rad Nichols and Operations Director Michael Williams.

COAST operates both fixed-route bus services, connecting 10 communities, and demand-response services for older adults and people with disabilities across 13 communities in the greater Seacoast area of New Hampshire and Maine. The organization is prima...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with former Planning Director Steve Stancel about his career with the city from 1986 to 2007, followed by a conversation with City Engineer Ken Mavrogeorge about Public Works Week activities.

Parker and Stancel discuss Stancel's journey from growing up in Dover to becoming its planning director. Stancel reflects on major accomplishmen...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Kirt Schuman about his 15-year tenure on the Dover Planning Board. Schuman shares his journey from joining the Main Street Design Committee in 2004 to eventually becoming Planning Board Chair. He discusses his involvement in developing the 2007 Land Use Master Plan and the 2012 Community Visioning Chapter, which prioritized downtown rev...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with John Swartzendruber, a former Planning Board member who served from 2003 until the 2010s. This is the third episode in a series looking back at the Planning Board over the years. Swartzendruber discusses how he joined the board after his father-in-law, who had been a planning director in Portsmouth, suggested he get involved in the comm...

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

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with George Maglaras, a long-time Dover public servant who served on the Planning Board in the 1980s, the first in a series of episodes looking back at the Planning Board over the decades. Maglaras discusses his transition from the state legislature and chairing the Community Development program to joining the Planning Board during what he c...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Deb Clough about the upcoming "Power of an Hour" litter collection event scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Clough explains that this will be the second annual citywide cleanup, organized by ward, with volunteers meeting at their respective voting locations 15 minutes before the event starts. Last year's eve...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, we hear the State of the City address focused on Dover's Waterfront Development project, held March 27 at 121 Broadway in Dover, and hosted by the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce. The event features multiple speakers including Chris Parker (Deputy City Manager), Jackie Huber and Rob Simmons from Cathartes (the development partner), Norm Fracassa (chair of the Cochecho Waterfront Deve...

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

John Storer discusses Community Services' fifteen budget areas totaling about $35 million (3.6% increase from last year). He explains how they track historical data on expenses like ele...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Sarah Wrightsman and Ryan Pope from New Hampshire Housing Finance about the relationship between housing development and school enrollment. They discuss common misconceptions about housing's impact on school enrollment and property taxes. The guests explain that new housing developments typically produce far fewer students than peop...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with several department heads about their proposed FY26 budgets.

Police Chief William Breault discusses how his department builds the budget from the ground up, with input from first-line supervisors. He highlights that the biggest change in the FY26 budget is personnel cost increases due to new union contracts with wage adjustments. Brea...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Perry Plummer and Community Services Director John Storer about a recent major water main break in Dover.

The conversation begins with Storer explaining how the break was first detected late on the night of Feb. 7 when operators noticed more water leaving the system than normal. Despite immediate ...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Dover School District's Dr. William Harbron and CFO Michael Limanni about the FY26 school budget. They discuss the nearly $100 million budget (including $6-8 million in grants), with 70% allocated to wages. They explain how the budget aligns with goals like maintaining current services, enhancing academic programming, prioritizing m...