Merlin Glass

Merlin Glass


Dover City Council

Occupation: Retired fire officer, veteran, educator, federal emergency management specialist.


Family: Wife Dodie, two daughters and two sons.


1. Dover is a beautiful and welcoming community and should be govern with historical context and clear values. I retired from the Fire Service after 36 years and the last eight years I have deployed  to disasters all over the Nation with FEMA. I'm still willing to serve my community and apply responsible management.

I saw a need in my own back yard.  Public Safety needs our support and gratitude. Assistance with recruitment, retention and training is needed. Also doing what can be done to ensure  responsible growth. I hope to do that. We are one Dover is a good motto for me.

1. With over four decades of emergency management behind me I have developed a way of seeing problems that can be explained and broken down in manageable pieces. And that is what the citizen wants hear. We all have Objectives, things we want to get done, and prioritize those Objectives. We plan a Strategy for those Objectives using the resources we have. And then apply  the Tactics according to Policy and Law to accomplish those tasks. We all end up putting people in the right place for success. 

3. Responsible growth you hear a lot of that these days. For Dover it is becoming more important than ever. As the Community gets closer to full development the challenge becomes greater to find that balance we all seek. And that create Zoning issues. We are getting at that stage rather quickly.

Public Safety is another issue that needs monitoring. We are in a Joint Powers agreement with two other communities. They need our support and gratitude , but also the resources they need to function properly. That would mean assistance and support for recruitment, retention and training. Every community promises a certain level of service and we must maintain that.

Citizenship. As we look around the State and Nationally we can see where there is a disconnect. Dover is blessed with good people that are interested in their community. That must be encouraged, We can't be a series of neighborhoods and I would like to see more city community functions that brings the people together.

4. Have a vision for the future that maintains community norms for development. There is a shortage of commercial development that supports employment within the city they live. Create a balance that maintains the look and texture of our city with the diversity needed to maintain it for years to come.

Our Public Safety needs are not being met because they are stretched too thin and are behind the rapid growth we have experienced.

1. Thank my constituents.

6. The issues of Ponderay and Sandpoint have a real effect on the plans and discussions here in Dover.

The fact is that we need to be one Dover and not just a collection of neighborhoods. We have our community divided physically by Highway 2. North and south, and on the south side divided east and west with historic Dover and Dover Bay, and Dover Bay is divided by HOAs. So that not a community model that should  be ignored. We need to be one Dover. 

7. Participate and be heard. The problems are solvable but the results are better with the community in accord. We are citizens in the best part, of the best state, of the best country in the world. Trust in God and common sense and we will use good discernment to address any challenge that comes along.

8. I am on the board for the Dover Urban Renewal Agency and believe Dover government is doing a fine job of working through challenging issues, but have been suffering with vacancies on the board. I have attended almost all the meetings over the last eight months and believe they are very through and deliberate with their decisions. This election will fill those vacancies.

9. What is the persons name and where do they live. Every member of the city council should be familiar with the neighborhoods and be accessible. A tall order but important.
10. Most of the employment is occurring in Dover Bay presently and they live elsewhere.
Being a residential resort area the council has to keep their eye on the ball with employers needs. Deciding on what kind of business to get behind has to be done in full view of the public.

1. With little or no light industry or commercial property in Dover it is difficult to answer that. The Construction trade is active here right now, and much of the housing are second homes. Right sizing and insisting on smaller homes for a targeted income bracket would be a good discussion that the council could have.

Workshops and symposiums are a good place to discuss these issues.

1. Encourage people to attend Planning meetings to see what is in Dover's future, Attend council meetings to express your view and listen to the deliberations and then meet your neighbor.

We also need to find those people in the neighborhood that are great in planning community events. Festivals of one kind or another that brings people together is an idea.