A Working Board

When the dust settles, the Southampton Town Board of Trustees likely will see its four incumbents who sought reelection all returned to office, and a fifth seat filled by a former longtime Trustee who returns after taking two years away from elected office. But there is talk of change — and it’s welcome.

The Trustees have been an active board, and the dedication of its members has never been an issue. There was one very big blunder — in 2018, the decision to trade the use of a portion of the Rose Hill Road park and boat launch site to a neighbor, in exchange for a maintenance agreement — that, for what it’s worth, appears to be acknowledged as such by all who voted for it. Perhaps it was a learning moment.

More important, each of the Trustees seems to realize that there is dysfunction in the way the board has operated in recent years, and it needs to stop. Most often, the cause has been summed up as “politics,” but it seems to be a bit more complicated.

In truth, it seems to be about varying degrees of commitment to transparency, power struggles within the five-member panel, and colleagues who simply do not seem to like nor trust each other. It’s hard for certain members to hide their suspicions, or for others to hide their disdain. In short, it’s a mess.

But it’s not beyond repair — far from it. With a few adjustments in behavior, and perspective, there’s more uniting these Trustees than separating them. All have a close connection to the waters that are their purview, all take their responsibilities seriously, all are active and proactive. Rose Hill, for example, is a mistake that grew out of an attempt to find creative solutions to funding restrictions. It was a lesson learned: Creativity has its limits, and there’s no priority above protecting the commonly held real estate this board is entrusted with.

When it comes to interpersonal relationships, there’s also some work to do. There’s clear rancor shared by several members, a lack of trust (and good reason for it), grandstanding and complaints about information being withheld. It’s “politics,” in the broadest sense of the word, though it encompasses party alliances. Which is silly: If there’s a board that should be outside the petty world of local politics, it’s the one charged with protecting water quality and preserving commonly held lands. No party has a monopoly on that.

“I hope the new board is a nonpolitical board,” Bill Pell said after last week’s vote. “I hope, with the new members, politics will be left out so we have a working board.” A working board is the goal, without question — and only its members, embracing change, can make that a reality.