In 2023, Dover Township and Dover Borough completed a Joint Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Plan (Rec Plan). The Rec Plan set six different goals with many recommendations for each goal.
- Renewal and Investment
- Recreation for All
- Recreation Program Expansion
- Relationship and Capacity Building
- Identity and Awareness
- Connected Community
The Rec Plan serves as a guide for the next 10 years of development of Recreation in the Dover Community.
In 2024, Dover Recreation accomplished the following:
Recommendation 1.6 (partial) – Master Plan Brookside Park, Mayfield Park and New Parkland to Maximize Recreation Opportunities
- Brookside Park’s Master Plan is complete.
Recommendation 2.1 – Adopt a Written Inclusion Statement
- Dover Area Parks & Recreation Department promotes acceptance, kindness, and equality. The Department leadership, staff and participants value all people regardless of their race, age, sex, gender, or ability. We strive to create opportunities both internally and externally. We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for all. We are dedicated to working diligently to ensure our Parks and Recreation programming, facilities, and parks systems are accessible to all persons.
Recommendation 2.2 (partial) – Provide Park and Program Accessibility Information
- A park amenities chart was created showing the accessibility of buildings, bathrooms, trails, etc. at the Dover Township Parks. The chart is available on the Dover Rec website – https://doverpa.myrec.com/forms/5958_park_spreadsheet.pdf
Recommendation 3.2 – Create New Parks & Recreation Staff Positions
- In 2024, the Dover Township Board of Supervisors approved a second full time position in the Recreation Department. The Recreation Program Coordinator position was created. Tracy, who worked on the Parks & Facilities Crew, was promoted to the new position. This will allow us to create more programming (Recommendation 2.3/3.1) in 2025.
Recommendation 4.1 – Formalize the Provision of Joint Parks & Recreation Services in Dover Borough and Dover Township
- We have been working with Tonya Brown as we navigate through the possibility of creating joint recreation services. A team was created with representation from Dover Borough Council, Dover Township Board of Supervisors, Parks & Recreation Director, and members of the community that reside in both Dover Borough and Dover Township. The team went through a SWOT analysis of recreation in the community, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Meetings were also held with youth sports groups to discuss their specific needs. Meetings were also held with the school district to discuss their potential involvement with the joint recreation services. The process is still ongoing.
Recommendation 4.4 (partial) – Apply for a DCNR Peer-to-Peer Grant to Facilitate Forming Joint Parks & Recreation Services, Adopting a School District Memorandum of Understanding, and Creating an Umbrella Youth Sports Organization
- We applied to DCNR for a Peer-to-Peer Grant and were awarded the project. We are working through the process (4.1).
Recommendation 5.4 – Utilize One Website for Parks & Recreation
- Recreation now uses doverpa.myrec.com for all recreation information and registration.
Recommendation 6.3 (partial)– Develop Trails in Existing Parks
- An old trail was rediscovered at Brookside Park. The Parks & Facilities Crew helped open the trail back up by cutting away fallen trees. This “new” trail has several access points to the stream. It is now open.