Part three of a conditional use hearing for a proposed YMCA and Agricultural Innovation Center is getting underway this evening, Nov. 25 before the Cherry Ridge Township Supervisors.
Here is a recap of what has happened to date, as well as the key parties and their views.
Two projects in focus
The projects, proposed by the Wayne County Commissioners and the YMCA of Wayne County, would be built on a 40-acre site off Spinner Road and Leinert Lane, adjacent to state Route 191.
It's now just fields.
Backers say the YMCA project would allow the organization to expand and offer more amenities and services than it can at its Honesdale location, while the agricultural project would serve as a food distribution site for charitable work and farmers.
But some neighboring residents have raised concerns about whether the developments are appropriate for the site, and what impact they would have on traffic and sewers in the area.
Wayne Memorial Hospital's parent organization, Wayne Memorial Health System, donated half of the land to the YMCA and is in the process of signing off on a 99-year lease with the county commissioners for the agricultural center.
A reversion clause would return the either property to Wayne Memorial if the respective project failed according to testimony by Timothy Huber, chief facilities officer for Wayne Memorial, as quoted in a hearing transcript obtained by WVIA.
Testimony began with Edwards
Testimony began Oct. 21 before the commissioners, with township solicitor Brendan Ellis presiding as the hearing officer.
That session, which lasted about 90 minutes, saw attorneys questioning just one witness: Paul Edwards, a former executive director of the Wayne County Community Foundation who identified himself as a member of the YMCA's board of trustees and co-chair of the building project.
Edwards is not listed as a board member on the YMCA's website. Reached Monday, YMCA CEO Tina Hoehn said Edwards is co-chair of the board of trustees.
He was questioned at the Oct. 21 session by Mark Zimmer, an attorney representing the YMCA; and by attorney Ronald Bugaj — he is representing residents Carol and Mark Leinert, who own property adjacent to the site.
Edwards said he has been working on the project for two-and-a-half years.
The YMCA's current home is a two-story, 114-year-old former armory, located on a 1/3-acre parcel of land, and was donated to the organization 46 years ago by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Edwards said. It has about 14,000 square feet of usable space and what he described as a "small" parking lot leased from the borough.
"They've been very effective for those 46 years, although it's a struggle with the scope of that building," Edwards said.
"I would note that one of the things that impressed me when I started this was that during the COVID pandemic, they ran a daycare there, when the there was a complete lockdown of the schools," Edwards said.
"So they've been very they've been very active, but it's tough to keep members in this day and age, especially when members wants other services such as such as daycare and swim aquatics," he added.
The new YMCA building would be about 38,000 square feet, Edwards said. It would include a gymnasium, exercise areas, indoor track, lockers, offices, aquatics center, kitchen, and daycare wing, he said, as well as potential health services space that could be rented back to Wayne Memorial Hospital. There also would be outside facilities including non-lighted multipurpose fields and a pavilion.
As the YMCA sought to expand it looked at three properties, Edwards said, but the Cherry Ridge site was best, particularly given the hospital's willingness to donate the land.
"Obviously, this was a donation at no cost to the YMCA," Edwards said.
"The lot itself was flat, and we thought easy to excavate ... and very accessible to the population — not just the Honesdale area, but southward, where we have The Hideout, and Lake Ariel, Waymart, as well as Paupack Township, White Mills and that sort of thing," Edwards said. "And all those areas were within approximately 12 to 13 miles of the property. So it was really an optimum choice."
The project would be built in three stages, with work on the first phase starting in 2026 for completion in 2028, he said.
"Is this use that you're proposing in any way detrimental to that neighborhood as you observe it," Zimmer asked Edwards.
"No," Edwards replied.
"Does the use appear to be in harmony with what's there," Zimmer asked.
"Yes," Edwards replied.
"Do you see it, this use, resulting in any substantial negative or adverse effect to the neighborhood," Zimmer asked.
"No," Edwards replied.
Bugaj: 'It's not appropriate'
Bugaj argued the proposed development is in a poor location for the project as it lacks central water and would need development of a central sewer, among other concerns.
"It's not like we're saying, 'not in my backyard.' We're saying it's (the location is) not appropriate," Bugaj said.
He questioned Edwards at length about details of the project, including expected usage rates, parking, paving, elevation of the land, anticipated traffic, and what YMCA board members knew and didn't know about the proposal.
"Is it fair to say that as you sit here today, you cannot tell this board how many people you expect to use the entire YMCA facility property on a given day, once it's up and running," Bugaj asked.
"No," Edwards said.
Edwards did, however, say the YMCA currently has 686 members, and "we anticipate we could probably double the membership, mainly because of the pool."
On other issues:
● Edwards said no environmental study had been done on the project.
● Edwards said a feasibility study had been done to see how much money could be raised locally.
● Edwards said extending an Aqua Pennsylvania water line to the site was not feasible, and drilling wells would be likely, though he did not know how many wells might be required.
● County and YMCA officials are collaborating with the state Department of Transportation on potential adjustments to the Spinner Road-Route 191 intersection.
● Cost of the project is estimated to be $20 million. So far, Edwards said more than $3 million has been raised. Overall cost distribution is expected to be $10 million from state grants, $2 million from federal sources and $8 million at the local level.
Residents share concerns online
Cherry Ridge Residents for Responsible Development, a third group of interest, is not a party to the hearings, but was formed by concerned landowners and neighbors in response to the project. They post transcript documents, maps and additional information about the project online in a shared Google Drive for public access.
Shaun Dieterich, a residents' committee member, said his family and several others who joined the committee are not against the project, but want the applicants to be mindful of how it will affect Cherry Ridge's rural character.
"The scale of this project is unlike anything we've seen before in this community," Dieterich told WVIA over the phone before Tuesday's hearing.
Dieterich said he and his wife moved with their three young children to Cherry Ridge a few years ago to escape the hustle and bustle of Long Island, New York. They were drawn to the greater Honesdale area after hearing from friends how idyllic the borough was.
"We just want the applicants to be transparent about how this project will change our community going forward," Dieterich said.
Two testified at second hearing
Two witnesses testified during the second hearing: Huber, the chief facilities officer for Wayne Memorial, and Vicky Botjer, a retired chief financial officer for the county and current project manager for the agricultural center.
Huber said Wayne Memorial may open a physical therapy suite in the YMCA, but that no plans were "set in stone."
Botjer said the agricultural center will bolster the county's charitable food system as it currently uses an outdated space at the Tri-County Beer Distributor in Honesdale. It lacks the dry, cold and frozen storage the county needs to accept all the products the county could distribute.
"Especially on a day like today when we may have increased need, it's very difficult to service them (residents) out of this location so this will create a food hub that can serve the other pantries in the county and also would act as the Honesdale distribution location once a month," Botjer said.
Besides serving as a food distribution site, Botjer said the agricultural center will enable farmers to sell their products to schools, prisons and the Area Agency on Aging. It would also provide cooking classes to community members and a year-round farmers market.
Bugaj asked Botjer to state what the total cost of the center would be, which Botjer said she was unable to answer. She said the county had $2.75 million towards the building — and $2 million of that funding is from the county's American Rescue Plan Act funding — but the center would require a total of $5.9 million.
In addition to the building, the county will need roughly an additional $1.5 million to install a sewer line.
The county is fully financing the agricultural center and plans to split the cost 50/50 for the YMCA with the county's YMCA organization.
If the YMCA fails to come to fruition, county officials say it will need to reconsider its shared costs.
The hearing continues tonight and beyond as needed.
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Editor's Note: Dennis Cheng, who is a member of WVIA's board of directors, is among residents who are speaking out against the project.
