Dover Download

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Planning and Community Development Donna Benton about the FY28-33 Capital Improvements Program, presented to the City Council and Planning Board on Oct. 7. Benton explains that the program connects the city's long-term needs with its financial responsibilities and launches the annual bu...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about September's board, committee and commission meetings. The Planning Board tabled proposed zoning amendments after two public hearings and eight months of work, choosing to weigh public feedback before revisiting them in October. Board members also questio...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Margaret Joyce and Jed Allen of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce about the 42nd annual Apple Harvest Day. What began as a small craft fair on Orchard Street with about a dozen crafters has grown into a signature event often described as Dover's homecoming, with roughly 250 vendors, two food co...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Kathy Beebe, executive director of Haven, as part of the podcast's continuing look at local nonprofits. Haven is the Seacoast's domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and support agency. It was formed through the merger of A Safe Place and Sexual Assault Support Services. Beebe explain...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Lily Hanscom, Dover's new director of Public Welfare, about the city's role as a local safety net. Hanscom, a Rochester native, traces her path into the field: volunteering at Haven at 19, an internship with a Strafford County Corrections transition program for young women, and six years with t...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Jennifer Elliott and Christopher Kozak of Community Partners, continuing the podcast's look at nonprofits serving the Dover community. Kozak, the organization's president and CEO, and Elliott, the organization's communications manager, describe Community Partners as a large social service a...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about what Dover's boards, committees and commissions accomplished at their August meetings. At the City Council's Aug. 5 workshop, the police chief reviewed youth outreach programming and shared statistics showing steep declines in 30-day alcohol, cigaret...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christine Boston about the start of the 2026–2027 school year. Boston discusses the district's 30 new teachers, about 10% of its roughly 300-person teaching staff, noting a strong mix of recent graduates and experienced educators new to Dover. She describes the behind-...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Perez about New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law, RSA 91-A, and how Dover handles public records requests. Perez explains that requests can arrive by phone, in person, or through an online form, and that the city's guiding principle is transparency rather than technic...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Susan Ford of My Friend's Place, continuing the podcast's series on local nonprofits. Ford explains the Washington Street shelter opened in 1989 and houses single men, women and families under one roof, serving about 200 people a year. She was once a client herself, staying five months with her...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about what Dover's boards, committees and commissions took up in July. The City Council met twice. They discuss additional scope of work approved at Maglaras Park, tied to the Cochecho waterfront project and paid for with previously identified funding, an appr...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Planning Director Donna Benton and Christine Trearchis of VHB about the transportation chapter of Dover's master plan, now underway about 10 years after the last update. Benton explains this is one of the plan's most technical and costly chapters. A seven-member steering committee representing...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Natalie Bogart, Deputy Director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), which operates the Amtrak Downeaster. Bogart describes the Downeaster's reach: 12 station communities across three states, five daily roundtrips, and over 550,000 riders last year, about 30,000 of whom tr...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Lauren Petraitis, Director of Development at the Dover Children's Home, continuing a series spotlighting local nonprofits. Petraitis explains that although the 133-year-old organization was founded in 1893 as an orphanage, it's now known as a residential treatment program for youth serving any...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Margaret Joyce and Jed Allen of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce about the 40th annual Cochecho Arts Festival. The free, family-friendly summer concert series kicks off July 9 with a community band performance, followed by the Friday night headliner series beginning July 10 with Jon Nolan & Go...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Mike Gillis for an end-of-June recap of city government activity. June was an unusually quiet month, with the City Council holding only one regular meeting, plus a special meeting and workshop on June 3. The special meeting addressed a procedural housekeeping vote on the waterfront TIF, ensuring the $6...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Deputy Community Services Director Ken Mavrogeorge and City Engineer Jillian Semprini about the construction projects underway across Dover. The conversation begins with how projects move from the Capital Improvements Program through design and engineering before any work begins, noting that a major re...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with project manager Jamie Stevens about the long-awaited completion of Dover's waterfront development, including Nebi Park, the rebuilt River Street, Seaport Way, and Payne Street. Three years after the June 2023 groundbreaking, the three-acre park is nearing the finish line ahead of a ribbon cutting o...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Katy Cordova-Brooks, executive director of the Strafford Nutrition and Meals on Wheels program, continuing the series spotlighting nonprofits that strengthen Dover. The program delivers hot lunchtime meals to seniors and adults with disabilities across Strafford County, helping people remain independen...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Director of Media Services Mike Gillis fills in for Deputy City Manager Chris Parker to discuss the major items from Dover's May public meetings. The City Council held three meetings. A May 6 workshop covered housing—where the median home sale price topped $570,000 and a two-bedroom rental requires roughly $90,000 in annual income to be affordable...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Chad Kageleiry of Summit Land Development, the principal behind Sky Hill, a major project off Littleworth Road. Parker calls it likely the largest project Dover has seen, with roughly 600,000 to 800,000 square feet of commercial space and 600 to 800 residential units across about 200 acres. The plan se...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Anne Hayes, executive director of Gather, a Seacoast-area food access and hunger relief organization. Hayes explains that Gather was founded in 1816 by women from Strawbery Banke to support fishermen's families and has evolved significantly since rebranding from Seacoast Family Food Pantry in 2016....

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Planning and Community Development Director Donna Benton and Housing Planner Abby Muirhead about Dover's ongoing housing efforts following their recent City Council presentation. Muirhead reports that Dover permitted over 500 housing units in 2024 and 159 in 2025, highlighting the city's Transf...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Mike Gillis about the major actions taken by Dover's boards, committees, and commissions during April. The City Council kicked off the month on April 1 by adopting a $227.3 million budget following weeks of workshops and public hearings, with Parker praising the balance between veteran councilors a...

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with returning City Attorney Joshua Wyatt and new Fire Chief Brendan Driscoll. Wyatt, who previously served as city attorney from June 2019 to February 2025 before joining the Pease Development Authority as deputy general counsel, returned to the city role on Jan. 26, 2026. He walks through the broad scope...