Public hearing on middle school HVAC upgrades on City Council agenda

posted on 6/8/2026

The City Council will hold a public hearing on a resolution that would authorize bonding $2,433,068 for the Dover Middle School geothermal HVAC upgrades and parking lot repairs as part of a fiscal year 2027 Capital Improvements Program project.

The project would install geothermal well technology, a rooftop solar installation, and flat roof restoration work, as detailed in the School Department's energy infrastructure modernization plan. It would also repair the parking lot after the geothermal well installation is complete. The City Council has authorized $7,854,980 for the project in previous resolutions. According to background materials, the project is estimated to be eligible for $3,442,279 in rebate and incentive revenues. The School Board received a presentation on the proposed project at its May 11 meeting. The City Council will vote on the resolution at its Wednesday, June 24 meeting.

Also on the agenda is a resolution that would authorize the city to seek the use of $510,000 from the Jeremy Belknap Guppey Trust to help fund Dover’s portion for the building of the Strafford County warming center. The charitable trust was created in 1917 by the will of Jeremy Belknap Guppey. It included property in Rollinsford for the City of Dover, which the city sold last year for $510,000. The city would need to enter into a nonjudicial settlement agreement with the New Hampshire Director of Charitable Trusts and obtain judicial approval for the use of the funds. Dover’s portion of the warming center is $1,698,878. The building is being constructed on the Strafford County land near the county jail.

The City Council will also vote on a resolution that reconfirms the City Council’s authorization to sell bonds for the waterfront project that was previously authorized by the City Council in April 2023. The need to reauthorize the 2023 resolution will correct a procedural error regarding the sale of bonds, which requires that a public hearing notice be published in a newspaper of general circulation, but was never published. The city recently discovered the error while preparing for the sale of bonds scheduled later this month. The resolution will validate, ratify, and adopt the resolution to sell $6 million in bonds, retroactive to April 26, 2023. The repayment of the debt will be funded through the Waterfront Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District. A public hearing was held at the City Council's June 3 special meeting this week.

Find the complete agenda posted online.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. It will be televised on DoverTV and online, where it will be available on demand.