Dover hears updates on city construction projects

Mayor Shane Gunnoe provided an update to council on several projects in the city including the municipal building project.

“Last week the service director and I met with the architect and general contractor,” Gunnoe said. “The project is currently slated for completion in February and remains within our authorized budget. They were out at the site today; a lot of the drywall has been hung. A substantial part of the building has been painted at least once, and they were pouring concrete on the back portion of the building. So, everything's headed in the right direction there.”

Planning for the Phase 2 renovations of the police and fire departments is underway.

“We expect a package to take to council for authorization on the fire department renovations to be available in January and for the Police Department renovation package to follow,” Gunnoe said.

The reconstruction of Crown Road continues with contractors installing a new four by seven-foot box culvert under the railroad tracks this past weekend.

“This was a very time sensitive part of the project had to be coordinated closely with the railroads. They had to do it after the last train went through on Friday and have it completed before the trains began coming through on Monday,” Gunnoe said. “It was an intricate project. The new box culvert will benefit all the businesses along Crown Road by allowing heavy flows of water to better pass under the railroad tracks instead of pooling up around Crown Road.”

Gunnoe clarified some recent information shared by the Tuscarawas County Health Department regarding moderate COVID-19 virus levels found in wastewater at the Dover City Wastewater Treatment Plant. No influenza or RSV levels were detected at the time.

“The health department monitors wastewater to help track information to use as a good indicator of the general presence of various viruses within our community,” Gunnoe said.

Wastewater refers to water that travels through the sewer system to the treatment plant. It is completely separate from drinking water.

“Our drinking water remains safe and clean and is continuously tested to meet all state and federal standards,” Gunnoe said. “I appreciate the community’s attention to this information and want to assure you COVID-19 has never been detected in drinking water.”

The Dover Municipal Offices will be closed Nov. 27 in observance of Thanksgiving. Recycling and refuse collection will not be impacted.

Safety Director Bob Everett informed council the police department will use a new program, Lexipol, that will help them keep up on policy and changes. The service is used by many departments.

“When the law is changed, it automatically changes the policy so it conforms to the new law, whatever the new law may be. And then they'll ship that out to the department, and the officers will be notified that that policy has changed,” Everett said.

Council approved several pieces of legislation at the meeting:

Ordinance 40-25 authorizes the mayor or safety director to enter into a contract with the Tuscarawas County Board of County Commissioners for housing inmates in the Tuscarawas County Jail for 2026.

Ordinance 41-25 authorized entering into a contract with the Tuscarawas County Public Defender Commission to provide legal counsel to indigent persons charged with certain loss of liberty offenses as a cost not to exceed $18,000 for 2026.

Emergency Ordinance 48-25 to authorize a payment of up to $4,000 per employee to the health insurance trust fund from various departments within the city of Dover. Unforeseen health cost increases made the extra funding necessary. This increase was authorized by Resolution 14-25 earlier in the year.

Resolution 23-25 was approved to thank the Dover New Philadelphia Kiwanians and the Rainbow Connection for their donations to new playground equipment to expand the playground on Deis Hill.

Council went into executive session at the end of the meeting for the discussion of public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utility services that are requested and directly related to an economic development project. No action was taken.

The next Dover Council meeting will be held Dec. 1 in council chambers, 121 E. Second St., Dover.