Dover residents help with lowering energy costs

After a plea from Dover officials to conserve energy on Jan. 17 due to cold weather, Mayor Shane Gunnoe reported good news at the Feb. 5 council meeting.

“As a result of the energy conservation efforts of our residents and all our electric-generation equipment operating at peak efficiency during Winter Storm Gerri on Jan. 17, the City of Dover expects our purchased power transmission cost to be reduced by nearly $1.5 million beginning in 2025,” Gunnoe said.

With the residents’ help, the city was able to remove the community from utilizing the regional electric grid system and be an exporter of power to the grid, which will help improve transmission rates in the following year.

Gunnoe also announced the city’s new website will go live the week of Feb. 5. The redesign is a continuation of the city’s commitment to improve communication with residents.

“The update is designed to create better usability, provide key documents to residents in a more user-friendly way, encourage reporting of concerns via our 311 reporting system and allow for an employee portal to access internal documents,” Gunnoe said. “We expect continuing changes and improvements in the future such as a parks and recreation micro site for online activities registration.”

Council member Cody Jerles announced the creation of another new way being implemented to improve communication.

“I am excited to announce we're going to start a series called Coffee with Council that will be on the second Saturday of each month at Magic Mugs at 11 a.m.,” Jerles said.

The first one will be Saturday, Feb. 10 with Nate Johnson and Jerles.

Work is continuing on the field turf project for field seven.

“The contractor will be completing the excavation of the dirt on the field and installation of drainage this week,” Gunnoe said. “The road running along the baseball and softball fields may temporarily be closed while this work is ongoing. We expect the turf to arrive for installation the week of Feb. 19, weather permitting, and are looking forward to this project being completed early this spring.”

Council members were encouraged to attend some upcoming training sessions for Dover city employees on Ohio Ethics Training, Drug Free Workplace Training and Sexual Harassment Training.

Gunnoe wanted to remind residents there are job openings within the city.

The Dover Police Department is accepting applications for an entrance exam that will be given on March 9. The application and testing fee of $20 is due March 6 at 4 p.m. Additional information is available on the city’s website and Facebook page.

The parks and recreation department is accepting applications for a part-time Deis Hill watchman. The position is available from Memorial Day weekend through mid-September. Those interested may call or stop by the park office.

In the public comment portion of the meeting, council heard from Michaela Thomas of Newsymom on a new program aimed at helping mothers and families in Tuscarawas County. Thomas plans to remodel a space at New Towne Mall in New Philadelphia to be called Flourish. It will open in May.

The facility will feature state-licensed, supervised play for children age 18 months to 5 years and will be open seven days a week. It also will feature networking space for moms. Bookings can be made for one to four hours with long-term care commitments available but not required.

Thomas hopes Flourish will help solve some childcare problems for moms and give them the needed time to become the best version of themselves.

“That's the biggest element that we're trying to provide,” Thomas said. “However, with the workforce-development component, we can give our parents two extra hours a week where they know their kids are taken care of and they don't feel like they have to choose between their own ambition or their own mental health or their own overall health and the care of their children.”

Council went into executive session at the Committee of the Whole meeting at 6:30 p.m. to start the evening with an update from outside counsel on pending litigation. At the end of the regular meeting, they went into another executive session for a discussion regarding public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utility services that are directly related to an economic-development project. No action was taken after either executive session.

The next Dover Council meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 19 in council chambers, 121 E. Second St., Dover.