City Council to meet this Wednesday, Dec. 9

posted on: 12/7/2020

The City Council will meet for its last regular meeting of 2020 on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

On the agenda is a public hearing and possible adoption of an updated fine schedule.

In the past, the City Council adopts a fee and fine schedule annually with the City’s budget. However, with the adoption of the City’s new code in February 2020, the fine schedule became part of the City’s code adoption ordinance. Therefore, the fine schedule is now part of an ordinance and is to be updated by way of an ordinance amendment.

Revisions being considered in these ordinance updates include: 

• Deletion of references to “FY20” given that the fine schedule will not be geared toward the City’s fiscal years and insertion of a revision month/year to identify and bookmark the most recent revision going forward;
• Chapter 69: (1) imposing limitation on fines for “at large” violations consistent with RSA 466:30; (2) replacement of inadvertent textual reference with Section 17(A) reference;
• Chapter 141: (1) creating new Section 12 fine provisions; (2) retitling the section addressing Table violations to correspond with title headings used in the City’s new code; (3) deleting vestigial references to “City Ordinance #166-30”; (4) technical amendments to the Section 23 section to clarify and update Code references; (5) clarifying that the table violation fines escalate as the fine remains unaddressed; (6) retitling “OTHER” section to correspond with the City’s new code, as well as delete references to provisions not part of the current code.; (7) incorporate the current Code reference for chronic meter offenses; and (8) include a specific fine for weight limit violations.

There is a second public hearing regarding other proposed changes to Chapter 141 of the City’s code.

The amendments to Dover Code 141-23 are technical and meant to update and correct references to the current code.

The amendment to Dover Code 141-30 would update the ordinance to require paid parking 24 hours a day in all metered parking areas in the Orchard Street Parking Garage. The Dover Parking Commission made the recommendation following a 4-2 vote at its Oct. 20 meeting.

The City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Click here to see the full agenda and accompanying materials. The public is welcome to attend the meetings, provided they wear a face mask and follow COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.

The public is also encouraged to participate remotely by phone or email. Call and leave a message at 516-MEET (6338) or email the City Council at CityCouncil-All@dover.nh.gov. To have your voice heard ahead of the meeting, please call or email at least two hours before the meeting begins. 

The City Council had also planned this Wednesday to consider is whether to refer a resolution to authorize borrowing $1.7 million to build a production facility on an Enterprise Park parcel for a Dover-based business in a lease to own program to a public hearing in January. However, this items has been postponed until January. 

If approved as currently drafted, the City of Dover would provide funding to develop a City-owned Quality Way parcel. The firm would pay debt service costs and have the option to purchase the building for the remaining cost of the loan during a specified period of the agreement. If the firm chose not to buy the building, it could continue to lease and pay debt service costs. If the firm wanted to purchase the building at a later date, the sale price would then be based on the property’s assessed value, City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr. told the City Council at a workshop this past Wednesday, Dec. 2. The firm would also pay the assessed property tax for the parcel. 

Economic Development Director Daniel Barufaldi told the Council the firm seeking the lease-to-own option is Popzup Popcorn, which has outgrown its space at the Washington Mills at 1 Washington St., in Dover. Barufaldi said that it appeared likely that if the deal was not approved, that Popzup Popcorn would relocate out of the City and the region because there is no building available to suit their needs. He noted that medium-sized facilities, between 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, are challenging to come by and are costly to build.

The City of Dover Business and Industrial Development Authority (DBIDA) owns the parcel in question and unanimously approved the request to become before the City Council for approval, Barufaldi said. He noted that Dover has successfully used this program in the past with success to aid companies to expand in the City or relocate here. Other neighboring cities, such as Rochester and Portsmouth, have also utilized a similar program, Barufaldi told the Council.

DBIDA is an 11-member advisory committee for the City of Dover and acts as the manager of the City’s business park, Enterprise Park.