Dover Board of Selectmen awards $100,000 housing study contract to Barrett Planning Group

DOVER -- October 9, 2025, Dover Board of Selectmen unanimously awards $100,000 housing study contract and approves cemetery benches. The board voted 3-0 on October 9 to hire Barrett Planning Group LLC for a housing development study and plan, the highest of three proposals ranging from the $80,000s to $100,000, all within a budget approved at the May 2024 town meeting. Chair Robin Hunter and Town Administrator Mike Donoghue said the firm, which has done similar work for Wellesley and has an existing relationship with Dover, scored highest on qualitative review metrics conducted before costs were unsealed. The board also drew on the 1917 Chering Fund bequest, not to exceed $6,229.13, to purchase four six-foot cast-aluminum benches for the cemetery's new columbarium, which held its first burial the previous Friday. A separate unanimous vote formally established a permanent Investment Advisory Committee composed of one Board of Selectmen member, one Warrant Committee member, and one at-large member, with a charter and appointments to follow at a future meeting.