Dover Board of Health Approves Intern Agreement, Sets 2026 PFAS and Housing Agenda

DOVER -- January 5, 2026, Dover Board of Health votes unanimously to join a regional intern program and advances an associate member bylaw ahead of town meeting. The three-member board, Chair K. Peterson, Stephen Crescall, and John Quackenbush, approved a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts Health Officers Association and the Town of Needham to host a health department intern, pending town counsel review of an intellectual property clause that Crescall flagged as potentially unfavorable. The board also voted 3-0 to place a placeholder bylaw on the town warrant that would create an appointed associate board member position, with Crescall winning agreement that any appointment must be made by unanimous vote of sitting members. Health Director Jason Schlager reported an uptick in voluntary PFAS well testing ahead of home sales, and the board directed him to pursue a guest presentation from a Nantucket environmental specialist on PFAS and private wells, part of a broader push to update Dover's decade-old well regulations to require testing at property transfer and new well installation.