Council Meeting Summary - February 24, 2021
City Council met this evening for our second regular meeting in the month of February. Below is a brief summary from my perspective. The full meeting agenda, materials, and recording will is available here. The video of the meeting will also be posted shortly.
Public Input: There were no speakers for the public hearing or for citizens forum.
City Managers Report: The full report is available in writing. The City Manager called attention to the status of storm cleanup funding, arena budget, and acknowledgment of City employee anniversaries. There was a brief discussion of the parking fees for the garage with the confirmation that the garage is the one place in the City where there are parking fees 24/7. See the Parking Bureau page for full details.
Mayors Report: Mayor Carrier invited District 2 Executive Councilor Warmington to provide a brief update. The update covered recent nominations, contracts, and the upcoming 10 year transportation plan. Councilor Warmington noted that there are many state level Boards and Commissions with vacancies and that she will share more info on opportunities with us. More information on the Executive Council meetings is available here. The Mayor continued his update noting that the new Police Community Engagement Committee held its first meeting, and that the Mayoral Roundtable continues to meet regularly. The Mayor also underscored the importance of getting vaccinated.
Resolution on Chinburg Management, LLC Application under RSA 79-E: After review and recommendation by the Dover Heritage Commission and Downtown Dover Tax Increment Finance District Advisory Board, the Council discussed and ultimately approved the Chinburg “Community Revitalization Tax Relief Application” for their proposed redevelopment of the old Courthouse on First Street. This approval provides tax incentives for the redevelopment due to its benefit to downtown Dover, including at least 20% affordable housing units in the building. Additional background can be found in the meeting materials as well as in workshop video from January 6 (click on “Downtown Redevelopment District” in the clips list). One highlight I was very encouraged to hear is that the affordable units will be dispersed throughout the building benefiting the broader community feel by having mixed income residents throughout the building. I encouraged the Assistant City Manager to continue to use this model in other projects.
Committee Reports: The Council heard committee reports from the Stormwater and Flood Resilience Funding Ad-Hoc Committee; Transportation Advisory Commission; Joint Building Committee – Dover High School and Regional Career Technical Center; COAST; and Dover Main Street. See the City website for the full listing of all Boards and Commissions.
Resolution opposing HB 315 relative to the aggregation of electric customers: Dover has taken important steps towards energy efficiency and innovation and viewed the 2019 Community Power Law as an important new opportunity. Given the changes HB 315 would make to that law, the City Council voted to oppose this bill. More information on Community Power is available here.
Proposed Board of Health revisions: Councilor Thibodeaux introduced a resolution to modernize the Dover Board of Health (see meeting materials or Dover Code for existing language). This Resolution was referred to public hearing on Mar 10. If you have ideas please contact Councilor Thibodeaux or me anytime or you can attend the hearing to provide feedback.
Council meets next week for a workshop meeting where we’ll discuss affordable housing. All meeting materials and information on how to contact your Councilors is available online.