MAMAKATING – Joe Porco, who is the spokesman for and one of the principals of Porco Energy, the propane and oil concern which is currently under a cloud in the Town of Mamakating, chairs the town of Marlboro Planning Board, the Journal has learned. Given his position in town government, some in the Town of Mamakating, including Supervisor Robert Fiore, have questioned Mr. Porco's explanation regarding the host of site violations at the company's Route 209 facility, in particular the fact that Porco Energy continues to store propane in tanks that have yet to undergo required safety inspections.

Fiore said that given Mr. Porco's position as Marlboro Planning Board Chairman, he was disappointed to learn that Mr. Porco appeared to be oblivious to certain basic functions of town government.

"I find it incredulous, to tell you the truth, that an individual holding [such] a position, would be unfamiliar with basic planning board procedures," Fiore said, referring to the fact that the facility Porco Energy is building has been altered significantly from the configuration that had been approved by the town planning board. Normally when there is a deviation in a site plan, the applicant would be required to alert the building department as to the modifications being made; if these modifications are significant, the applicant could then be required to appear before the planning board in order that the modifications receive the proper scrutiny by town professionals. In this case, Porco Energy failed to alert town officials to the changes it was making.

"You figure a person with his background and business acumen would know better," Fiore said.

Mr. Porco in a phone interview this past Monday reiterated the statement that he was under the impression that the certificate of occupancy in question applied only to the service buildings on the site and not the storage tanks.

"We installed a tank here in Marlboro a few years ago, and we didn't need a [certificate of occupancy]," Mr. Porco said.

He went on to say that, in his experience, an approved site plan for propane storage would allow a reconfiguration of a construction site as long as it had a smaller footprint than the original plan.

"We thought we were approved for up to a particular amount [of storage]" Porco said.

Town of Marlboro Supervisor Alphonso Lanzetta, when asked to comment on the situation, said that, at the very least, Porco Energy's fiduciaries — attorney, engineer, etc. — should have alerted the company to the fact that town planning boards typically must approve significant changes to a building site; it would appear that Porco Energy either received bad advice — or perhaps never sought the advice of counsel on the changes to the building site.

"My advice to people is always to come down to town hall and talk to the building inspector and code enforcement officer to see what you can and can't do," Lanzetta said.

When asked if he feels that it would be in an applicant's best interest to err on the side caution, Lanzetta said, "absolutely." However, Lanzetta did point out that different towns have different codes, which could explain Mr. Porco's ignorance as to the law; yet, he could not offer an obvious explanation for the fact that Mr. Porco was seemingly ignorant to the basic functions of a town planning board.

"It's really puzzling," Lanzetta said. "If I were going into another town [to build a facility], I would make sure all my 'I's' were dotted and my 'T's' were crossed."

The Porco site on Route 209 was hit with a "stop work" order back in December of last year, and the Mamakating Building Department is currently compiling a list of the numerous violations at the site. The Journal has also learned that the New York Department of State Division of Fire Safety has sent a regulator out to inspect the site, though no details of the visit have yet been made public. There will also be a site visit by state regulators and town officials at some point in the coming weeks, according to Supervisor Fiore.