Wainscott United Media Advisory
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020

At the WCAC meeting of Oct. 3, members of Wainscott United identified a fatal legal defect in the petition for the incorporation of Wainscott. Alex Edlich, of Citizens to Preserve Wainscott and a proponent of incorporation, acknowledged awareness of the defect, but he declined in response to a specific question to state when he became aware of it.

The premise upon which the incorporation proposal was made and the basis upon which petition signatures were sought was that the Wainscott School District’s borders could be used to define the borders of a Wainscott village. This turns out to have been false. As the attached map demonstrates, the Wainscott School District includes parts of two other villages—Sagaponack to the west and East Hampton to the east—something it can do. But a Wainscott village, obviously, and by statute, cannot include parts of other villages.

Proponents of incorporation also conceded that the $250,000 to $300,000 village budget they put forward in support of their petition is materially inaccurate. They report that the issue is complicated and requires significant further analysis, which they say they are doing with experts. But they don’t deny that what they put out to the public is false. This misrepresentation undermines the validity of the petition and the signatures given in reliance on it.

It is discouraging that the residents of Wainscott have been drawn into a controversy based on misrepresentations and a legally flawed and invalid petition.

Contacts

Doreen Niggles, Tel. (631) 537-1332 Email: rabbitrun@optonline.net  
John Hall, Tel. (646) 388-2575 Email: johnjayhall@mac.com