Meredith Selectboard to host forum on town gov't structure May 18

MEREDITH — The selectboard scheduled the first forum to discuss differences between a town administrator and town manager for Monday, May 18, following energy from a petitioned warrant article at Town Meeting to change the current structure.

The town voted 88-51 to change to a town administrator on an advisory warrant article. With an article on the same expected on next year’s ballot, leaders will be holding multiple forums about the differences between the roles.

“I wanted to have a bigger discussion today about how this looks, because I want to make sure this is done in a way that actually gives people information they need to move forward and make decisions,” Town Manager Judie Milner said at Monday’s selectboard meeting.

Milner brought forth some brainstormed ideas, and some of her own, about times, locations, what the forum will look like, the need for a facilitator, or “a little bit of both.”

“Do we bring people in to talk about their experiences from other communities?” Milner said. “How does it look? So, I wanted to open it up to the board for discussion on that.”

Selectboard member Mike Pelczar said it is all about providing the best way to get the information out, and fellow member Jeanie Forrester added there needs to be “at least two, possibly more.”

“I think we should have one sooner than later while it is fresh in people’s minds,” Forrester said. “We should have one just before Town Meeting, and I don’t know how much sooner. We’re going to need that information feedback from the community, because if the community is in support, we’re going to have to put it on the ballot.”

One area of discussion was about legal support, as Milner said the town attorney could be on hand. She also said a representative of the New Hampshire Municipal Association, or the town’s insurance provider, Primex, could be an outside facilitator. The board also discussed having the town moderator involved.

“Whatever it is we decide, I would like personally to be involved, and I don’t want to hand it off,” Forrester said. “I would like to be personally involved in how this is set up, and who we choose for facilitators, and if we choose facilitators.”

Forrester said she would like the discussion at a selectboard meeting, as it was an advisory article to the board. She doesn’t think a roundtable discussion would be the right format.

Selectboard member Lynn Leighton wants to have at least three meetings on the subject, and said the community center is fine, and also suggested a larger location, because she expects a big crowd.

“I hope that people would want to educate themselves,” Leighton said.

Pelczar recommended sticking with the community center, because he thinks people will watch from home. Selectboard members agreed, and Milner said they could also open up other rooms in the community center for spillover.

“A lot of people are going to want to hear both sides, and not leave their living room,” Pelczar said. “That’s the way of the world.”

Vice Chair Jim Gregoire suggested a debate format, where people argue in favor and against. He said participants could be people with some relative experience on this topic.

“Somebody from a town that has gone through this change would be interesting to hear from,” Gregoire said, and Forrester agreed.

Forrester feels the format should start with a presentation, then have pros and cons, and finish with a discussion. Leighton added that after the first meeting, the second and third meetings could be tweaked based on feedback, so the three meetings could actually be quite different.

The advisory article voted was petitioned by Mike Faller, who was in the audience, seated next to Craig Skinner. Faller said in an interview before Town Meeting that Skinner was another proponent of the article.

“I’m very interested in trying to ensure that for a forum perspective, this stays as much as possible within the board, since the advisory article was to the board, as Jeanie points out,” Skinner said. “So, I am kind of curious to get a sense in my mind’s eye, of where you think you want to be as a forum to ensure the board takes on the leadership role in that capacity.”

Chair Steve Aiken said aside from Forrester, who has been a town administrator in the past in Tilton, the other four selectboard members don’t have enough information themselves.

“This is a process to help us answer questions, so I can provide advice based on what I know, and Jeanie already has experience in that field.”

He said since they lack the knowledge, and will likely learn from the first meeting, he expects the second and third meetings will be different from each other.

The first forum will be held at 4:30 p.m., on Monday, May 18, at Meredith Community Center. Dates of the subsequent forums are to be announced.