Residents accuse Red Hook board of secret spending on boat‑club eminent‑domain plan

Dozens of residents used the meeting’s public‑comment period to press the Red Hook Town Board to abandon plans to acquire the Red Hook Boat Club property and to demand more transparency about legal and planning costs tied to the potential eminent‑domain action.

The speakers said the board has spent six figures on legal and planning work without explicit public authorization and that public materials misstate how many residents support the acquisition. “This is fiscal malfeasance, plain and simple,” Roxanne Fisher told the board, later adding that “92.4% of residents … oppose this acquisition,” citing letters, public‑hearing comments and an online petition.

Why it matters: Residents said the town has already incurred more than $110,000 in legal and planning fees and that a public acquisition that could cost “more than a million dollars” would impose a significant cost on taxpayers. Several speakers said they had used FOIL requests to try to trace approvals and invoices and that they had filed a complaint with the New York State Comptroller on Aug. 11.

What residents said Roxanne Fisher, a resident who framed her remarks around line‑item increases in the town’s papers, told the board that attorney and planning fees rose sharply and that documents do not show a public vote authorizing the early expenditures. “We have already spent over a $110,000 with costs piling up daily toward a projected acquisition price more than a million dollars,” Fisher said.

Lisa Palero, who identified herself during public comment, said the town’s public filings overstate the number of supporters and that her FOIL results showed far fewer written or oral comments in favor of the acquisition than the town’s legal notice claimed. “Of the 916 documented names … 846 of them expressed opposition,” she said, and she asked board members to explain an earlier comment from a board member that the town had had “a number of conversations with people who have expressed interest,” asking the board to disclose that number.

Other speakers, including a co‑owner of the club, said the board had overlooked alternative sites and urged officials to pause acquisition plans until more public outreach and documentation were provided.

Board response and next steps Town Supervisor Robert McKeon acknowledged he had heard the comments and said the board would “be responding to some of the comments that we received both now and in the future,” and noted the board would present the 2026 preliminary budget in coming meetings. The board did not take a formal vote on the boat‑club issue during the Aug. 12 session.

Claims and records cited by speakers Residents cited increases in line items for outside counsel, unpaid invoices and planning consultant charges and said earlier work began in executive session before public notice. Fisher referenced filing a complaint with the New York State Comptroller. Several speakers requested clearer public records showing who authorized early legal and planning work and asked the board to publish a complete list of comments for and against the project.

What remains unresolved Speakers pressed for specific documentation of who authorized early invoices, the total projected acquisition cost, and whether alternative sites had been pursued. The board did not provide those documents on Aug. 12 and did not set a timeline to release them during the meeting.

Ending Board members did not vote on the boat‑club acquisition at the Aug. 12 meeting. Residents said they intend to pursue FOIL requests, public comment, and the Comptroller’s review; the board said it would respond to comments at a future meeting.