By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – From Pittsburg to Hollis, Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the state’s five-member Executive Council are taking their “show on the road” this summer.
They are holding meetings at various locations across the state and are hoping to see new faces and old friends, learn something new and honor local residents and groups who are making a difference in the Granite State.
These are opportunities for the public to attend their meetings, see them at work and for councilors and the governor to hear about issues which are local.
They usually honor local individuals and non-profits.
This has been the tradition of the council to travel the state in summer with each councilor and the governor having an opportunity to host one meeting.
Each spring, the councilors choose a location to host their meeting and integrate into their meeting proclamations and commendations.
This summer, the first meeting is going to be hosted by the governor on July 9 at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, which is in Coos County and among what she describes as one of her favorite places in the state, at the foot of Mount Washington. This is where she held one of two inaugural balls.
The breakfast meeting will be at the grand hotel at 8:00 a.m. and the regular meeting, which the public is encouraged to attend, is also scheduled there and will begin at 10:00 a.m.
Usually, the meetings last about two hours in the summer months.
Rather than hold meetings every other week as they do during the rest of the year at the State House in the historic Executive Council Chambers on the second floor, these meetings are every three weeks and have less of a formal air to them. They still need to approve most state contracts, vote on governor’s nominations for department heads and judicial appointments and other business that may come before the executive branch.
All state department heads attend the meeting. This gives the councilors a chance to get updates on ongoing issues and better understand the contracts they are being presented for action.
The second summer meeting will also be in the North Country.
It will be held July 30 in Pittsburg and will be hosted by Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield.
Kenney’s district includes a lot of the state’s northern region.
The breakfast meeting will be at 8:00 a.m. at the 1840 Restaurant, 8 Back Lake Road, Pittsburg and the regular meeting is set for 10:00 a.m. at the Pittsburg Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club, Club House, 17 Dickson Lane, Pittsburg.
The Aug. 13 meeting will be hosted by Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, who serves the Second Executive Council District.
The plan is for the meeting to be held at Sunapee and the details are still being worked out.
The same is true for the following meeting Aug. 27 which will be hosted by District 3 Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye.
The location will likely be in her district which is the Seacoast.
On Sept. 17 another road trip meeting will be hosted by Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester.
The Breakfast Meeting is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 8:00 a.m. at Medvil Cooperative, 101 Riverledge Drive, Goffstown and the regular meeting will be at 10 a.m. that day at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, 100 St. Anselm Drive, Manchester.
On Oct. 1, the final meeting in the series away from the State House will be hosted by Executive Councilor David Wheeler, R-Milford. It is tentatively set for being held in Hollis and details will be available later in the summer.