By Carol Britton Meyer

During a recent half-hour select board meeting last week, two openings on the newly created Hull Waterfront Access Advisory Committee were filled and Town Manager Jennifer Constable was given a 3% cost-of-living raise as the board looks toward beginning negotiations to extend her three year contract.

David Kellem and Scott Taylor were appointed as resident-at-large members of the waterfront advisory committee – which was formed recently to continue the work of the former Hull Waterfront Access Working Group.

The working group was formed in July 2024 to evaluate and prioritize Hull’s more than 160 identified waterfront access points. This initiative was motivated by the need to “preserve and enhance public access to Hull’s unique and varied coastal environments – including sandy ocean beaches, protected bays, rocky coastline, tidal rivers, and freshwater ponds, which are “essential for public recreation, environmental appreciation, community gathering, and small watercraft access.”

Kellem explained his reasons for applying for a seat on the committee. Taylor was out of town and did not attend last Wednesday’s meeting.

“The working group’s charge was completed as a group, but I wanted to continue the work and go into the implementation phase, which is essentially to provide assistance and encouragement to the town to make improvements to the priority waterfront access points, to maintain them, and to promote their use to various neighborhoods, residents, and visitors and tourists who come to Hull so they can have access to our resources throughout the 27-mile length of the peninsula,” he told the board.

Kellem quipped that with only two applicants for the two resident-at-large seats, he was feeling “quite confident” that he would be appointed.

Select board member Greg Grey noted the “energy, enthusiasm, and positivity” expressed by both men.

Select board member Jason McCann was appointed to the committee until his term ends in May. He is not running for re-election. He was the select board representative to the working group.

To read the Hull Waterfront Access Working Group Report, click here.

In other business

• The board went into executive session following the meeting to conduct contract negotiations for the town manager’s 2023-2026 contract and to consider the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property regarding the railroad bed.

The meeting reconvened for roughly a minute and a half, during which Nesoff announced that the board unanimously approved a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for Constable, “based on the Consumer Price Index, which is [currently] 2.7%.”

Constable was hired in 2023 under a three-year contract. Negotiations are to begin soon on a new agreement.

• The select board will begin offering its new once-a-month office hours prior to the beginning of the April 8 meeting, from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Grey and board member Jerry Taverna will be present to talk with citizens who would like to ask questions, provide input on a particular subject, or share their thoughts. The board will decide whether to put any of the subjects that are talked about during the office hours – which will not be taped by Hull Community TV as are the regular meetings – on an upcoming agenda or address them in another way.

• Constable provided the 2026 annual liquor license certification based on current licenses held by Hull businesses. There is currently one available all alcohol license, four beer-and-wine licenses, and two beer-and-wine package store licenses. There are no available all-alcohol package store licenses. The availability of seasonal licenses is unlimited, she said. “There is no quota.” The select board unanimously accepted this certification.

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