What's New

With the planned transition of Deputy City Manager and Regulatory Counsel Suzanne Woodland at the end of the current fiscal year, City Manager Karen S. Conard is pleased to announce the appointment of Carl Weber as the City’s next Deputy City Manager, effective June 30, 2025.

The City of Portsmouth presents the annual fireworks display on Thursday, July 3, 2025 at South Mill Pond with a rain date of Saturday, July 5. This celebration is an alcohol-free, family-friendly event. The City has not allocated funds for fireworks in next year’s budget. Unless a private donor steps forward to sponsor the event, this year’s celebration will mark the final Independence Day fireworks display.

The City's Planning & Sustainability Department and the Housing Blue Ribbon Committee invited community members to a public meeting on Thursday, July 10. The meeting featured a presentation by RKG Associates on their findings related to the City’s workforce housing incentives policy.

The Department of Public Works Parks & Greenery Group continues to apply a variety of measures intended to control the impact Canada Geese are having at Four Tree Island, Prescott Park, and Bohenko Gateway Park.

As the Seacoast experiences wet conditions conducive to the proliferation of mosquitoes, the City of Portsmouth is continuing its annual mosquito control program, active since April. The program includes larval monitoring and the application of larvicide in identified risk areas, such as wetlands and salt marshes. The City’s consultant Dragon Mosquito Control, Inc.

The Portsmouth Recreation Department and the Portsmouth Public Library host the 3rd Annual Community Picnic and Summer Reading Program Kick-Off on Friday, June 20, 2025 from 5 to 7 pm at the Connie Bean Center Field. This event is free and open to all.

The event includes games, arts and crafts, free popcorn, DJ music, and food trucks (with food for sale). The Recreation Department’s Camp FunStuff Counselors will meet and greet residents. In case of rain, the event will move inside to the Connie Bean Center gym.

The City of Portsmouth, NH increases the protection of its surface water supply by conserving lands surrounding the Bellamy Reservoir. The City’s Department of Public Works Water Division has partnered with Southeast Land Trust of NH (SELT) to purchase a conservation easement on 44.6 acres owned by Jodi Fernald, adjacent to the Reservoir. The transaction closed on June 4, 2025.

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works hosted an open house with guided public tours of the Peirce Island Wastewater Facility (WWTF) and Road Resiliency Project on Saturday, May 31, 2025. City staff guided visitors through the facility and answered questions about the City’s wastewater treatment process and the raising of Peirce Island Road.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has selected the City of Portsmouth Senior Activity Center’s “Rock the Crock” program, a collaboration with Gather and the Portsmouth Housing Authority (PHA), to receive one of just seven NCOA National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) Program of Excellence Awards.