Amenia names counsel in Troutbeck neighbors’ legal action

AMENIA — By unanimous vote at a special meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 29, the Amenia Town Board retained the services of a special counsel to represent the town in a legal action brought against the local planning board.

The action, initiated by neighbors, to be argued before the Dutchess County Supreme Court, seeks to set aside the planning board’s June 2023 decision to approve a multi-phase expansion application submitted by Troutbeck as an adaptive reuse plan.

Representing the town will be David Everett, a partner in the firm of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna LLP, based in Albany. Everett has broad experience with environmental issues as well as matters concerning zoning and planning. His expertise also includes endangered species protection, specifically bog turtle habitats.

Reversal of the planning board decision is being sought by neighboring property owners Barbara Meili, Craig Meili and Arrowhead Hills Partners, who have raised concerns about environmental impact to aquifer, watercourses and wells. They argue that the planning board incorrectly accepted an environmental report that there would be no impact posed by Troutbeck’s adaptive reuse application.

Neighbors’ concerns also touch upon the public hearing process, habitat disruption, construction activity and noise and increased traffic.

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In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
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There are artists who make objects, and then there are artists who alter the way we move through the world. Tim Prentice belonged to the latter. The kinetic sculptor, architect and longtime Cornwall resident died in November 2025 at age 95, leaving a legacy of what he called “toys for the wind,” work that did not simply occupy space but activated it, inviting viewers to slow down, look longer and feel more deeply the invisible forces that shape daily life.

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