Exonians Attend Town of Exeter Select Board Meeting

By NICK BAKER, LUKE CHON, and LEVI STOLL

In a stately red-brick building opposite the town hall, you will find a core aspect of the Town of Exeter’s democratic workings meeting every other week: the select board. On Monday, Jan. 6, students enrolled in Instructor in History Bill Jordan’s American Politics and Public Policy course had the opportunity to experience this essential process first-hand.

The select board is a common system of government among New England towns. Members of the Exeter select board are in charge of arbitrating open town hall meetings where various town committees present budgetary proposals, eventually leading to the creation of the yearly town warrant containing new budget articles. This warrant then goes back to the citizens of Exeter for deliberation and an eventual vote. Exeter’s select board consists of Chair Niko Papakonstantis, Vice Chair Molly Cowan, Clerk Julie D. Gilman, Nancy Belanger, and Daniel Chartrand.

The meeting last Monday discussed several important issues. Selectwoman (and state representative for Exeter) Gilman described some of its contents: “the energy committee came, not a regulatory committee, a grassroots one, which talked about a project that we’re doing for the community called window dressers.”

First, the town put out bids for water treatment companies, “and they had five to ten envelopes [from the companies], and they had to open them during the session so that people could see that it was on the up and up,” described Mr. Jordan. The meeting also consisted of a discussion about Exeter’s town hall renovation program. “The meeting was largely on our town hall because it needs some renovations …. we are very focused on making [it] more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible for all,” added Selectwoman Belanger.

Mr. Jordan sees the yearly excursions to a select board meeting, now a staple of his Public Policy and Politics course, as a complement to class discussions. “[As opposed to] just reading about it on a piece of paper … here’s a time when they actually can go and see people in the practice of government doing their thing.”

However, the nonpartisan meetings have taken a new form of relevance in America’s current political environment. “There’s been a large focus in this class on the epistemic crisis and outstanding issues with how politics is being conducted,” said senior Lucy Previn. “Another thing we’ve talked a lot about is just government [national and local] in general, how it’s organized, and whether it’s organized in a way that allows for effective change,” Previn continued.

Mr. Jordan backed up that assertion. “When we talk about policy issues … you look at these issues and you think, ‘oh, this is what the policy should be,’ and then you see that we’re not doing it that way…. I think that when they go to the select board meeting [they notice that] it’s not particularly partisan. [There’s no] divide between Democrats and Republicans.”

“Those meetings can be fairly dull,” Mr. Jordan conceded. “But that’s what government is about. When government’s working well, it’s more dull.”

Selectwoman Gilman concurred that “the select board meetings vary from being interesting to really boring,” but the meetings remained a great opportunity to see Exeter’s government in action nonetheless.

Students did find solace in the seeming monotony, though. “A lot of people in my class thought that just watching them open each [water treatment] envelope slowly was really boring, but it’s amazing that they have that sort of transparency,” described Erin Chen, a senior also enrolled in the Politics and Public Policy course.

The meeting also inspired students to get involved directly. “I am going to try to volunteer [for the window dressing initiative]. I was really inspired by that meeting and the action that they’re actually taking to make it work,” added Chen.

This sentiment seems relevant to the majority of Exonians. Despite committing their high school years to life in the Town of Exeter, students tend to lack as much engagement with Exeter’s local politics. In response to the Public Policy and Politics class’ visit, Belanger invited more students to attend such meetings, noting how “it’s so great to have any students from the Academy or Exeter High School come in to talk about the process.” 

Papakonstantis echoed similar sentiments, remembering instances where students were invited to “be a liaison [on behalf of the select board] back to their schools.” The select board encourages more students of the Academy to attend these meetings to better grasp the democratic processes that transpire beyond our campus. Students are free to attend any select board session, or view meetings online.

“We’re approachable, we’re out in the community,” Gilman said. “People have no problem telling us their opinion, whether they like what we’re doing or not.”