Palumbo Soccer Camp, Round 2

The Palumbos took an important step at yesterday's Planning Board meeting towards resolving their legal jeopardy with the town stemming from their decision to host the State of the County meeting at their soccer camp in early March. The board voted to "stay" the violation on their indoor soccer field pending a public hearing to consider reinstating their permit in full on May 11th.

James Palumbo did his best to explain how they had come to host a meeting of that nature and size given that it was in clear violation of their special use permit. "We see it as a major misunderstanding," he said. When the county called in January asking if their venue, JP Soccer, could be used, he said he assumed there would be no issue with the town. "We didn't realize that the county is one thing and the town is another," he said. That confusion might have been heightened by the fact that the county executive's chief of staff is Putnam Valley's former town supervisor, Jacqueline Annabi.

Palumbo said they received no compensation for hosting the event, closed their doors for their normal operations, paid their staff to work the event, and only did so because they thought it was the right thing to do to show their support for the town and the county.

Planning Board Chairman Dale Phillips tried to walk a fine line at yesterday's proceeding. On the one hand, he emphasized the importance of respecting a permit and stressed that if there was ever any confusion in the future, Palumbo should reach out to the town's code enforcement officer rather than trust an elected official. But Phillips also expressed the board's desire not to harm Palumbo's business. "We've thought a lot about your situation," he said. "We don't want to hurt you financially, nor do we want to hurt the kids in the town that actually attend your facility, because it is a very well run facility."

In the end, the financial hit to the Palumbo's business was limited by the length of time it took the town's code enforcement officer, Richard Quaglietta, to complete the paperwork. Although the violation occurred on March 2nd, Quaglietta didn't issue the violation until March 31st.

At last night's meeting, Quaglietta placed the blame for this mishap squarely on the county. He said that when he called the county to let them know the event violated the Palumbos' permit, the county tried to claim they were exempt. "It was the county that gave bad advice to the Palumbos," Quaglietta said. "The county knew about it and they kept the event going, which was shame on the county."

After being nudged by the town attorney, Palumbo assured the board he would abide by the permit in the future. "It's a learning experience and a growth moment for all of us as an organization," he said.

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