Aisling Mountain Farm Owners Say Town Scrutiny Has Damaged Business
Christian Rowe with Sofie, one of its therapy horses. One of its herd had to be sold off because the farm had to pull back on therapy services.
Farm owner Kathryn Foley purchased the 22-acre property at 185 West Road in 2019 to establish an equestrian facility at the base of Mount Greylock. The farm offers horse boarding and leasing services and, until recently, also provided riding lessons and equine therapy.
For several years, Foley and her boyfriend, Christian Rowe, who serves as the farm's estate manager, say they have faced a pattern of harassment, false reporting, and alleged misuse of authority by certain municipal employees.
These actions have been compounded by a separate dispute with the company that constructed the riding arena over unforeseen permitting requirements, which have interfered with the farm's ability to provide some of its services, resulting in the closure of its animal-assisted psychotherapy services and riding lessons.
"I have done everything to try to work quietly with the town, with the company … I am not about causing drama … My whole profession is helping people, and that's all I want to do, and I want to do things right, and I want to do my job the right way for people because that's what they deserve," Foley said.
"It breaks my heart that nobody's getting their services, and the last thing I want to do is create a bunch of extra drama around this."
The farm had to sell one of its horses, May, who was frequently used in therapy. Its remaining horses include Guinness, Monty, Asher and Sofie, along with miniature therapy horses Latte and Knick Knack.
"Right now we're trying to make it through the winter," Rowe said, highlighting the costs of legal fees and their need for hay and feed for the horses.
Foley and Rowe provided reams of documentation related to interactions with local officials and iBerkshires has pulled information from lawsuits filed in Superior and U.S. District Court.
Foley said the farm's operations began facing increased scrutiny after Sarah Lesure, a neighboring property owner, was hired as the town's Board of Health code enforcement officer in August 2022. Lesure since moved to the town clerk's office and resigned from that position in April 2026.
Lesure has repeatedly opposed some of the farm's operations, particularly camping, during open meetings. She said at a 2025 meeting that the camping had "significantly altered peaceful enjoyment living in a very negative way." Foley traces the tensions between the neighbors to 2019, when Lesure's husband, Jason, asked whether his family could continue crossing the property on ATVs and snowmobiles, as the previous owners had allowed.
Rowe denied the request after consulting with the farm's insurance company, citing safety and liability concerns.
Foley alleges that Lesure repeatedly targeted the farm by entering the property without permission, photographing and recording its operations. Foley filed a report with the Adams Police Department alleging ongoing harassment by town officials and Sarah Lesure. Police reviewed the allegations but determined the dispute was not a criminal matter.
Additionally, Foley said Lesure submitted several "unfounded complaints" and misinformation to town officials, boards, and agencies.
Complaints were submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection, National Grid and the state Pipeline Safety Division, at times using Lesure's official town email address and code enforcement officer letterhead, Foley said.
Documents or emails from the three agencies indicate that their investigations did not substantiate the reported concerns.
Foley and Rowe brought their concerns surrounding the ongoing "harassment" to the Board of Selectmen and to the two interim town administrators.
In a correspondence with Foley, dated Aug. 22, 2025, Selectman Joseph Nowak expressed his "displeasure with the tactics recently put forth by Dave Rhinemiller toward you and your Farm. To me, this 'attack' is an act of intimidation ! It's just not right. I will be keeping a close eye on these antics."
Among the ongoing disputes is the farm's small-scale camping operation, which Foley said had operated for several years with approval from former town Health Inspector Mark Blaisdell in 2020.
The farm offered overnight camping through Hipcamp, an online platform connecting travelers with private landowners.
However, in August 2024, then Building Commissioner Gerry Garner informed Foley that the camping operation required a special permit.
Foley said the decision followed emails from Lesure to Garner containing photographs of the farm, including one she believes was taken from her property without permission, despite previously prohibiting the Lesure family from entering.
The farm subsequently pursued the necessary approval, which presented challenges of its own, as they worked to address what they described as misinformation about the camping operation and concerns involving utility easements.
Foley specifically raised concerns about David Rhinemiller, who was then chairman of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. She alleges that Rhinemiller questioned whether the campsites violated easements and sought additional documentation.
(According to an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Cathy Foster, Rhinemiller and other members discussed the camping after the adjournment of a Planning Board meeting on Jan. 25, 2025. One member, believed to be Rhinemiller, said the utility easements were a "big issue," according to the finding of facts by the Attorney General's Office. The board was found to have violated OML in an opinion released on Oct. 6.)
On April 22, 2025, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit allowing up to four campsites. Subsequently on April 28, 2025, the Planning Board also approved the campsite operations. Rhinemiller was absent from both meetings.
Despite receiving those approvals, Foley said the farm continued to face regulatory challenges, particularly when Rhinemiller was hired as the code enforcement officer in July 2025 following Lesure's move to the town clerk's office.
Prior to his hiring, Rhinemiller filled a number of other positions within the town — Board of Health, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and wire inspector — which officials felt set up potential conflicts of interest despite his filling out all the proper disclosure forms.
Rhinemiller was required to step down from his role as a Board of Health member when hired as the code enforcement officer.
Given Rhinemiller's previous opposition to the farm's camping operation, Foley said she reviewed state regulations and found that a family campground is defined, in part, as a property accommodating three or more camping groups at a time.
Although the farm had received approval for four campsites, Foley said she and Rowe voluntarily limited occupancy to two groups at a time to avoid additional licensing requirements and oversight by Rhinemiller. The decision came at a financial cost but was necessary to prevent further scrutiny, she said.
After becoming the town's code enforcement officer, Rhinemiller issued two violation notices to the farm, dated Aug. 13 and Sept. 11, 2025, citing concerns involving water supply, sanitation, fire safety and campground licensing requirements.
Foley challenged both notices, arguing that the farm did not meet the state's definition of a family campground because it limited occupancy to two camping groups at a time. However, during a Nov. 21 hearing, the Board of Health unanimously determined that the property constituted a family campground and required Foley to obtain an annual permit and comply with applicable health and safety regulations.
Foley has since filed a lawsuit challenging the Board of Health's decision, seeking to overturn its determination that the farm must comply with family campground regulations. She's also become a member of the Board of Health.
(Rhinemiller is currently facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly making a false report as a public employee in an unrelated code enforcement case.)
Another dispute involved the farm's outdoor riding arena, which Garner, who has since retired, determined did not require a permit following a site visit in 2021 because it was intended for agricultural use. According to Foley, that determination remained in place for several years.
In July 2023, several months after the arena was erected, Garner reversed his earlier determination and informed Foley that a permit was required. The reversal followed communications from Lesure, who had sent Garner photographs of the arena, Foley said.
The farm is also involved in a separate federal lawsuit against Engineering Services and Products Co., doing business as ClearSpan, concerning the riding arena project.
In September 2026, the farm and ClearSpan jointly requested a 60-day pause in the federal lawsuit to pursue mediation. Foley hopes mediation will produce a solution that will allow them to use the arena as they intended when it was purchased.
Tags: agriculture, camping, horses,
