Unmasked during Town Board meeting hearing
Palillo addresses mayor and town board Dec. 7
Dec. 10. By Dave Vieser. Despite town officials saying during their “Coffee Chat” earlier Monday morning that face masks must be worn by everyone at the upcoming town board meeting, developer Jake Palillo did not wear one during a 17-minute development proposal that managed to insult public officials and residents.
He used the word “junkyard” to describe the neighborhood where he plans 252 apartments on West Catawba Avenue near Junker Drive. To view the meeting, click here.
Meanwhile, coronavirus numbers are soaring statewide and nationally.
MANAGER GRANT
Town Manager Andrew Grant, who was sitting just a few feet away, said he didn’t notice that Palillo wasn’t wearing a mask.
Neither the mayor nor members of the Town Board, who were facing Palillo, called him out, though they were a little farther away.
Palillo also said the nearby Publix store was an “under-performing supermarket.”
What Publix says
We checked in with Publix: “Our stores in Cornelius and the region are strong and our associates continue to earn the trust and satisfaction of our customers,” said Jared Glover, Charlotte media relations manager for Publix.
“Since we do not break out sales by individual stores, we would find it difficult for a third party to comment on our performance,” he said.
Dec. 7 town board meeting; everyone is masked
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Cornelius doesn’t need any more development and certainly not from a clown! Should be a quick rejection of his plans if the town board has any backbone.
The Board should have removed him from the meeting for not wearing a mask. And after his presentation, do we wand this kind of developer building in Cornelius.
For the record I had a mask on at all times until the presentation. I have presented several projects in the past 2 months and the policy was mask on at all times until you present, take it off to speak then put it back on. I had no idea the policy changed and no one said a word to me during the presentation. I also didn’t insult Public official’s watch the video of the meeting and see for yourself.
Doctor and nurses were there 10 hours a day saving lives and [he] did not mask up or leave
They didn’t call him out during the meeting so why start now.
The mask enforcement is miserable from the fed all the down to NC.
Get some teeth or bal..
Read the law, when you’re presenting at a microphone (just like the governor and his team) you do NOT need to wear a mask, assuming your socially distant, which he was. (or the board should have set it up so he was).
Just because people are loud and obnoxious, does noes make them correct.
You are absolutely correct. Public speaking is exempt from mask wearing. I wish people would worry about more important things then mask shaming.
Our town officials should be much more observant and support the state Corona policies. This incident is at best unfortunate. Let’s do what is right to do our best to ensure we minimize Covid
Cornelius Today paper makes money selling ads to the local businesses. They NEVER do a thing to promote development that helps the businesses they relay on to stay in Business. Aldi’s just opens and Cornelius Today puts a 2 page story comparing non brand Aldi against Fresh Market, Public’s and Harris Teeter. Great paper! Public’s isn’t going to broad cast a slower store but the Cornelius Today isn’t smart enough to figure that out…. OH I heard from a developer your store is under performing and they are going to say, yes we are…… Cornelius Today should support the community and help business…..
Shame on Jake Palillo for not wearing a mask.And who is Mr Jake Papillon to criticize Publix.My wife and I love Publix we sooner go there than HT. Let’s see the stuff he builds. Second let’s put some SHAME on the Town Board Members,for violating a state mandating law and allowing him to speak. They said that they did not see that he was not wearing a mask, because they were further away from him. Were is the security to make sure everybody’s wearing a mask.Just my two cents.
I like Publics and go there often, the point was in we don’t increase the population we will lose a great store like Public.
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It is precisely the science denying possibly capable of being diagnosed as sociopathic people that are propagating the spread and the deaths of too many Americans.
They rail on that it is a liberty issue yet they continue to buckle their seat belt every single time they drive..ALSO a MANDATE but one with a penalty for noncompliance, the seatbelt law lends itself to the personal liberty Infringement arguement far better than a mask.
A seatbelt MAY protect only the individual while a mask also may (does) protect the individual as well as OTHERS.
The developer though he criticized the paper in a comment just minutes ago for lack of support for local businesses and community is a man throwing stones in a glass house.
The only apparent reason he wants to build is to build his personal bank account of course..the Corneliustoday has many instances of championing local interests in obvious support of the local community, what has the developer done from a standpoint of philanthropy?
This project is horrid and should never see the light of day. It should be pulled immediately. Five story apartments? Insane.
Pure greed on part of the developer with no consideration for neighbors or traffic this size of project would add.
It’s a waste of everyone’s time.
That’s what should have been focused on. The mask off for speaking is fine as long as the lectern was sanitized before the next person used it.
Because he’s a DEVELOPER doesn’t make him better than anyone else does it? Typical gutless, spineless, pompous… But why did you all let him get that far? No mask, condescending remarks… Come on people, where’s our backbone. He cares about one thing.Someone should have pulled his chain.
Mask or no mask, rude or gentleman is not the point. The town should not approve ANY new developments along west Catawba, and certainly not high density ones until Catawba Avenue is widened from Jeton to Sam Furr. We obviously can’t wait on the state to pay for it, it is long overdue. The town should make the developers that want to develop in our currently desirable town cover the cost to have infrastructure keep up with new development. Traffic has been bad for years, just think what it is going to be like once just the new developments currently under way are occupied. Then we make it worse doing the road construction later? Good luck getting an ambulance down Catawba then. The traffic is more than an inconvenience for everyone, it is a public safety issue.
Hear, Hear! Nicely stated
Easily the worst presentation by a developer that I have ever heard or watched in my 30 years of presenting million dollar projects. I never heard the word ‘please’ during that entire ramble. Just complaining about how people like him are getting ‘wronged’ in this terrible, junky, dying little town. Photos of roads with no cars present to prove the traffic lie? Photos of surrounding neighborhoods that he will make better by building an apartment complex on the worst location imaginable? Pointing at’Facebook Moms’ as his nemesis? This developer will never be able to admit nor understand that his purchase of this land was ill-advised. The smart people of Cornelius will not buy-in to a mess like this. The best recommendation I can offer is to take your business to some other junky little town.
This is the real FACT! I had a mask on at all times when I was in the Town Hall. I have presented several developments in the last 2 months and the procedure was: 1. wait in the hall until your case is called. 2. keep you mask on until you present your case. When I presented I took my mask off at the podium. I was away from everyone and spoke. When I finished I put my mask on and sat back down. I had NO IDEA the new policy was to keep the mask on during the presentation. If so it would of stayed on! I see facts don’t matter when reporting the news.