Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident says town has spent nearly $300,000 on Red Hook Boat Club eminent-domain effort
Summary
During public comment Roxanne Fisher delivered documents she obtained via FOIL and told the board she found nearly $300,000 in legal/planning costs tied to the town's Red Hook Boat Club acquisition; she urged officials to rescind prior votes and stop the litigation.
During the public comment period Roxanne Fisher of Barre Town addressed the board about the town's ongoing eminent-domain pursuit of the Red Hook Boat Club.
Fisher said she obtained detailed records through FOIL requests, including legal, planning and consulting expenses coded to the boat-club acquisition and related zoning amendments. "These records show that the town has now spent just under $300,000 on matters related directly or closely related to the boat club acquisition," she told the board and submitted a spreadsheet for the record. She said the spreadsheet covers expenditures through November 2025 and warned that discovery and depositions in the ongoing eminent-domain litigation will add costs.
Fisher asked the board to rescind votes by two named town officials and to end what she described as wasteful litigation, calling for greater transparency and fiscal responsibility.
The board thanked Fisher and accepted the spreadsheet for inclusion in the official record; the transcript records no substantive numeric rebuttal or roll-call response during the meeting.
