By Carol Britton Meyer
One word best sums up Town Manager Jennifer Constable’s feelings about stepping into her new role – “excited!”
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to get back to work in Hull and to working with the staff, select board, and other town boards and committees in a different capacity,” Constable told The Hull Times. “I missed being involved while I was on the sidelines” following her resignation as select board chair earlier this year prior to applying for the town manager position. The Select Board approved an employment contract with Constable last week.
Constable, who is looking forward to working with the “new and dynamic” select board following the recent town election, recently resigned from her job as Rockland’s assistant town administrator after four years in that role.
Constable’s past service to the Town of Hull during the 20 years she and her family have lived here, including the planning board and seven years on the select board, and her master’s degree in public administration, will hold her in good stead as she moves forward.
“When I first moved to Hull, I joined the affordable housing committee, and I was hooked,” Constable recalls.
She sees the role of town manager as “the glue that pulls things together.” Job responsibilities include guiding the select board, which is the policy-setter, and making sure members have all the information to make sound decisions, and supporting staff and department heads and ensuring they have all the resources they need “because they are the touchpoint of the community.”
Constable’s external relationships – including as a member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the MBTA Advisory Board, Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the South Shore Coalition in addition to her past discussions with the Department of Conservation & Recreation as a select board member – will also contribute to a smooth transition into the town manager position.
Constable’s first priority will be talking with the staff, including department heads, to understand their work and their objectives, and meeting with the select board to learn more about its goals for the upcoming year.
“Having served on the board, I will have an understanding from both perspectives,” she said.
Working with the Hull Public Schools on the school building consolidation is also high on Constable’s list of priorities.
Enhancing communication between town government and citizens is another focus point “to ensure we’re engaging with the community” about important issues.
“I want the town to be proactive rather than reactive,” she said.
Challenges facing the town include dealing with climate resiliency issues and deciding “how the town wants to identify itself – what it is and who it wants to be,” Constable said. “That’s an issue we’ve struggled with, and I think having a master plan in place [would go a long way in accomplishing this].”
While her career going back more than two decades has been mainly in public service – and she had not earlier envisioned herself working in local government – doing so has proved to be the right choice, and she has no regrets.
“So many people supported me in applying for the town manager position that I felt energized to [do so],” she said.
“I like being challenged, and the town manager is challenged daily in different ways, which really holds my interest,” Constable said. “It’s also rewarding to see first-hand your work come to fruition and to know that you have a direct impact [on what’s happening in the community].”
When asked about serving in the town in which she lives, Constable sees no conflict.
“I’ve always been mission-driven and hold myself to a high standard, so [it makes sense to] want to [work] in my own community,” she said. “It’s almost as though I would hold myself to a higher standard, because if you’re living and working in the same town, you have to live with your decisions. You can’t retreat at the end of the day, because you’ll see members of the community in the grocery store, at the bank, and elsewhere.”
While dedicated to her new job and realizing it’s a 24/7 position, Constable said her family “will always come first.” Constable’s husband, Mark, and two children, Max and Madison, are supportive of her in this new role.
Constable sees a similarity between Yonkers, N.Y., where she grew up, and Hull, which she and her husband fell in love with while living in Quincy.
“There’s a lot of community spirit, economic and cultural diversity, and looking out for one another in both places,” she said. “Once we discovered Hull, we agreed that we would not be going anywhere else, despite earlier plans to return to New York. Although we have family, we feel as though Hull is also our family. We’re part of Hull and Hull is part of us.”
In her spare time, Constable enjoys spending time with her family and on the water, rowing and paddleboarding.
“It’s a peaceful, mind-clearing experience spending time on the ocean, where you’re in your own space,” she said.
Constable also enjoys doing yoga, “which gives me a mental break and helps keep me centered,” and playing golf.
Her favorite part of Hull is the ocean, sense of community, and the “boundless” opportunities for those raising a family or operating a business.
“I already see this happening,” she said. “It’s all about balancing the new with the old, which is what I’m hearing from the community.” A
