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Resident request to discuss Jenkins Brook sediment basin removed after board cites potential legal threat
Summary
Mike Rizzo of Cape Cod Village asked the Hague Town Board to reconsider the Jenkins Brook sediment basin and read a clarifying letter, but the board declined to add it back to the agenda citing language the chair characterized as a potential threat and litigation risk. Board members agreed to provide trucks and labor but resisted direct financial commitments beyond existing in-kind support.
Mike Rizzo, president of Cape Cod Village, asked the Town Board to restore discussion and possible funding for the Jenkins Brook sediment basin after the item was removed from the published agenda. Rizzo read a letter he described as clarifying and apologetic and asked that his email be added to the record and that the board consider a motion to discuss a possible town financial contribution.
The chair told the public the item would not be restored because the board interpreted language in Rizzo’s earlier communications as a potential threat that could have financial repercussions and expose the town to litigation. “So no, we will not be putting it on the agenda… we’ve been threatened with potential litigation,” the chair said. Rizza disputed that characterization and asked the board to read an additional sentence from his letter to clarify intent; the chair declined to read the portion he considered risky.
Board members debated practical support: several noted the town routinely provides trucks and labor for sediment-basin work and voiced support for limited in-kind assistance, but most resisted making a direct cash contribution given competing infrastructure priorities and uncertainty about the project’s overall effectiveness. One board member said the Lake George Association reduced a prior commitment from $5,000 to $3,000, and suggested that modest town help ($1,000–$2,000) might top up the grant, while others warned that the town should prioritize core services.
No final funding commitment was recorded; the board agreed to provide trucking and highway staff labor for one or two days as previously discussed, and the applicant’s email will be included in the meeting minutes after it is forwarded to the clerk.
Provenance: topicintro: SEG 195; topfinish: SEG 466.
