Council authorizes city to apply for $1 million recovery-housing grant; some councilors push for more detail

The Dover City Council voted to authorize the city to apply for and accept up to $1,000,000 in Recovery Housing Program (RHP) funds to support a proposed recovery house at 7 Avon Avenue, with the city acting as the grant recipient and passing funds to the Dover Housing Authority (DHA) and partner organization Fairtide.

The grant authorization—framed by staff as a required step so the municipal recipient can access RHP funds—is intended to fund conversion of a city‑owned property into a two‑story recovery house with four bedrooms and shared living space for eight tenants. City manager’s staff said the city’s role would be administrative: receive the grant, account for it, and transfer funds as appropriate rather than directly managing the facility.

Councilors pressed staff and raised concerns during more than an hour of discussion. Councilor Collin said the council had not received a construction budget or an operating budget for the project and noted that a recently opened DHA facility, the Haven on the Falls, appears underutilized; she said that absent documentation and a DHA representative she was hesitant to approve the authorization immediately. "We have not seen a budget for either the construction of this project... We know they're trying to apply for $1,000,000. We have no idea if that's adequate or not," she said.

City manager staff and other council members responded that the city is acting as the applicant because the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority’s RHP rules require a municipality as the recipient. The city manager said the city could put stipulations on the pass‑through and require reporting, but warned that the city would remain responsible for accounting and any audits of those federal or state funds.

A council speaker said the grant application process is detailed and that applicants typically work closely with city staff during preparation; he emphasized local need for recovery housing. Staff also confirmed they would ask the housing authority and partner organization to provide reporting and documentation to the city if the grant is awarded.

After procedural attempts to table the matter failed, the council took a roll‑call vote. The motion passed with seven yeses, one no and one recusal. The council also later adopted the required residential anti‑displacement and relocation assistance plan tied to the grant.

The council’s authorization permits the city manager to sign and submit the RHP application and to execute documents necessary to effectuate the contract if the award is made. The city manager said the city would meet with DHA and partner representatives and return with additional information as appropriate.