By Carol Britton Meyer

During an often contentious select board meeting this week, Chair Irwin Nesoff, Vice Chair Greg Grey, and Clerk Jason McCann were elected to those same positions for the coming year, with board member Jerry Taverna nominating himself for all three seats. There were no seconds to his nomination motions.

The votes were 4-1 (with Taverna voting no) for the chair and vice chair positions. The vote for McCann to remain in the clerk seat was unanimous.

“Even if this might be ceremonial, I’m doing it as an example to help people understand how [the process] works,” Taverna said after nominating himself for vice chair.

While saying he was pleased with some board accomplishments during his first year, Taverna said he is “not completely onboard with a lot of things that have happened since. … The second year has not gone as expected.”

Select board members brian Mccarthy, greg Grey, Jason McCann, Irwin Nesoff, and Jerry Taverna.

Nesoff said he was out of order, saying that the board was in the process of making nominations.

After nominating himself for clerk, Taverna said again, “I know it’s ceremonial, but I’m trying to break into this board of officers. I’m willing to start at the bottom, gentlemen. Is there a second?”

There was no second, and McCann was elected on a unanimous vote.

Nesoff thanked board members for their confidence in him and explained that he expected the board to disagree in a respectful manner and to “treat each other with respect. Unfortunately, that is not the case with a board member who feels he needs to go on social media.” He did not mention a specific individual.

“Can I call you out of order?” Taverna asked, to which Nesoff responded, “Not at this time.”

Nesoff read a number of social media posts he said were made by the board member he referred to that he deemed “not acceptable.”

As a board, “we should respect each other and not call out another board member publicly,” he said. “Facebook is not the place for us to have disagreements, which belong in the board room among board members.”

Because of these posts, Nesoff asked that a copy of the “Dignity Pledge” recently supported by the board be placed in each member’s packet of information for that meeting.

Nesoff said he believed that everyone doesn’t have to agree on every issue.

A member of the audience said she knew who Nesoff was referring to and didn’t feel the posts were inappropriate. Another resident said she saw a post by a No Place for Hate Committee member “making derogatory comments” about someone running for office. “The select board should look at what other people are saying on Facebook,” she said.

“It would be up to the NPFH chair to address that,” Nesoff responded.

In other business…

• During select board updates, Nesoff said he wanted “to assure people that this board is not stonewalling on Article 37” which passed at the recent town meeting. The purpose of the article was to remove the town manager as the light plant manager.

“It’s a long process, not something we can do in [the] three weeks since town meeting met,” he said. “The town manager has met with counsel for the town and light plant to discuss next steps and legal ramifications, so that vote is not being ignored and is moving forward.” Town Manager Jennifer Constable was absent due to another commitment.

Taverna said he believes the select board should be involved “in those discussions, but that’s for the chair to decide.”

He added concerns about the 2024 select board retreat following an earlier mention of setting this year’s date – which he said was not attended by any members of the public, unlike the previous year’s.

“I don’t want to waste another Saturday going through that experience again and would like to see a clear agenda before I agree to attend,” he said. “The first one wasn’t bad.”

Nesoff asked Taverna to pause his comments because he said it was not the time “to critique our retreat meeting.”

“Should I prepare a statement?” Taverna asked, at which time Nesoff said, “If you continue, I will call you out of order.”

“Fair enough,” Taverna responded. “Mr. Chairman, the floor is yours.”

Nesoff said that “this is the time for select board updates,” to which Taverna responded, “I don’t want to be called out of order. It would be a stain on my good record.”

During the meeting, there was some back-and-forth discussion about when members of the audience are allowed to speak.

“We don’t have a public comment period. If an agenda item is posted, they can talk,” Grey explained. Article 37 was not on that night’s agenda.

Light Commissioner Jake Vaillancourt, who spearheaded Article 37 as a citizens’ petition, was in the audience. Following discussion with Nesoff, he said that “serious matters have been raised that haven’t been addressed, and there are more,” without giving specifics.

Nesoff suggested Vaillancourt request to have this issue put on an upcoming agenda.

Vaillancourt said he was not available for the June 11 board meeting but plans to attend the June 25 meeting “after sending the board some information.”

“We will follow up directly,” Nesoff responded.

When asked by light board member Tom Burns whether public comment is only accepted when an item is on an agenda, Grey said that agenda items involve “discussions with an audience. If we go by the fly [and talk about items not on the agenda], anyone could go with any topic they want.” Public comment on agenda items is encouraged.

McCann noted that if items are discussed that aren’t on the agenda, citizens who watch the meeting live on community television or later on the replay could say, “I didn’t realize the board was going to talk about this.”

“It’s about transparency and giving notice, and not having an item that’s discussed on the agenda is a huge disservice to the community,” he said.

Citizens who wish for certain items to be placed on an agenda are encouraged to email a member of the select board, the town manager, or assistant town manager, “and if appropriate, we will see about putting them on a future agenda,” Nesoff said.

• Nesoff read a proclamation declaring Saturday, June 7, as Hull Pride Day. This will be the town’s 12th annual Pride celebration.

• The board approved Public Health Nurse Elizabeth Gudmand’s request to host an event with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Sun Safety and Skin Care Prevention Program van on the HRA property for skin cancer prevention screenings and Dana-Farber’s mammography van to do breast cancer prevention screenings at the Manet Community Health Center on June 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Rhoda Kanet was appointed as a member of Hull’s newly created 250th Anniversary Committee, created to help celebrate the USA’s semiquincentennial anniversary.

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