Curbside trash/recycling, library and outdoor pool renovations on Council’s Jan. 15 agenda

posted on 1/13/2025

The City Council's first regular meeting of the year includes consideration of numerous significant funding resolutions that would authorize the renovation of the Dover Public Library and the Jenny Thompson Outdoor Pool, and extend the contract with Waste Management for the city’s curbside trash and recycling for seven years.  

The curbside collection contract extension was the sole topic of this week’s City Council workshop, available to view here. It’s been an issue that the Solid Waste Advisory Committee has been investigating for the past three years; the committee recommends the Council approve the contract extension. The contract extension would keep operations as-is for the next two years, followed by a conversion to an automated toter system that allows trucks to collect toter contents via a robotic arm. The conversion to the toter system would replace the current pay-as-you-throw trash bags. The city’s current contract with Waste Management ends on June 30, 2025.

The City Council will also consider awarding bids for:

• The Dover Public Library renovation project to Bonnette, Page & Stone Corp., of Laconia for $7,161,183, which includes a contingency of $490,000. If approved, the project is expected to begin this season and be completed in about a year;
• The Jenny Thompson Outdoor Pool renovation project to Northeast Earth Mechanics LLC of Pittsfield for $3,585,124, which is expected to be partially offset by a $500,000 Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The project will repair the 47-year-old pool, which includes significant structural cracking that leads to excessive water loss. The deck will also be surfaced and the pumping and filtration equipment will be replaced, among other significant work.

At the beginning of the meeting are four public hearings. One is for a non-debt finance appropriation FY2026 Capital Improvements Program for an ambulance replacement. Two are related to funding the Garrison Hill Water Storage Tank rehabilitation project from unused funds of past projects, with one reprogramming unexpended funds from the Ireland Well replacement project and the other reprogramming unexpended bond proceeds from various water fund capital projects. The last public hearing is on reprogramming unused bond proceeds from the Dover High School construction project to an LED lighting upgrade project for the Dover public schools.

Click here for the complete agenda.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers and will be televised on Channel 22 and online at https://dovernh.viebit.com, where it will also be available for on-demand viewing.