The Wayne County Commissioners say plans to build a $6 million agricultural center next to a proposed YMCA in Cherry Ridge Twp. have been shelved.
Commissioners Brian Smith and Jocelyn Cramer said Friday they do not have sufficient support from dairy farmers, the proposed project was too costly and they would have to build on leased property.
That also means the county will not seek a special use exception from the township for the agricultural project. The decision was made at Thursday's commissioners meeting, the commissioners said.
“At this point in time … [with] the way the economy is, and the money that we have, and what we thought we could accomplish, we've reevaluated [the project.] And we're going to take another look at it,” Smith said. “But we did pull our application, and are no longer going to have that located on the same property as the YMCA.”
The agricultural center would mostly serve as a warehouse area, a pantry to support the charitable food system and a kitchen that could extend farm products’ shelf life, Smith said.
The YMCA of Wayne County, which has long operated out of a former armory in Honesdale Borough, is looking to build a new, 38,000-square-foot facility on a 40-acre site off Spinner Road and Leinert Lane, adjacent to state Route 191 in Cherry Ridge Twp.
Wayne Memorial Hospital's parent organization, Wayne Memorial Health System, donated half of the land to the YMCA and had planned to sign off on a 99-year lease with the county commissioners for the agricultural center. Efforts to confirm the status of that proposed lease with county officials later Friday were not immediately successful.
The YMCA project is the subject of an ongoing conditional use hearing before the township supervisors. There have been several sessions since October, with the next hearing date set for Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. The hearing will continue the following night, if necessary.
Maneuvers at last hearing
The county had promised at the Dec. 29 meeting, the fourth hearing session in the YMCA and agricultural center saga, to “immediately” apply in a separate application to the zoning board.
The other co-developer, the YMCA of Wayne County, would continue its conditional use application process on half of the 40-acre site off Spinner Road and Leinert Lane, adjacent to state Route 191.
Smith and Cramer said Friday the county decided at Thursday’s county meeting they would step back from the project until they find a new building site.
Smith said the county’s decision is “very fresh” and that the YMCA, the county’s grant writers and people involved with the local food pantry were notified.
Cramer said the county would support the county YMCA in its efforts to build a new YMCA by “pointing them in the right direction” for grants.
Concerned residents surprised but pleased
Ronald Bugaj, an attorney for concerned residents Carol and Mark Leinert, who own property adjacent to the site, said he and the Leinerts were unaware of the commissioners’ decision when contacted by WVIA News.
"My client and I did not know about the decision of the commissioners to drop their project, the ag (agricultural) center, which was supposed to be in tandem with the Wayne County YMCA on the hospital property near my clients," Bugaj said.
"This is news to us, and I'm hopeful that they realize … that although the YMCA itself is a very noble project, on that location … the type of project they have planned, it just doesn't make any sense,” Bugaj said. “So we're glad [to hear this decision.]”
Dennis Cheng, a resident who represented himself against the project, said he supports the commissioners' "decision to pull back."
"I think that other sites are available that make a lot more sense, and hopefully they'll pursue those," Cheng said.
Cheng said he continues to have concerns about whether the applicants properly considered all details for the two developments. That includes stormwater runoff — and whether the county's withdrawal will affect a detention pond which would be located on the agricultural center's proposed half of the land, Cheng said.
"I really do not see a way that they (the YMCA) can effectively manage stormwater runoff for a project of that size, at that location, without leveraging the parcel that is still currently owned by Wayne Memorial," Cheng said.
Smith said the county would also be involved in a Local Share Account (LSA) grant to help the YMCA file for a sewer line, which is another water-related consideration.
“To use an LSA grant, either you need a parent municipality or a parent county to do the application for you … So, something like that, we would definitely be involved in. But if it wasn't something that we had to be involved in, other than letters of support, [we would not be involved in it,]” Smith said.
Commissioners: Support from dairy farmers lacking
Smith said the county did a feasibility study about 10 years ago that identified soft cheese production as an untapped market in the Wayne County area.
But the interest wasn’t there.
“We've not been able to get anybody to take ownership of that project and actually put that in place,” he said.
The county also looked to using the center as a way to help young farmers engage in agriculture.
Smith also said farmers across several industries told the commissioners that the planned center did not meet their needs.
“We've talked to the farmers who are involved in our farmers markets and people who are growing fruits and vegetables, and they didn't really think that a big concrete ag (agricultural) innovation center was something that fit in their needs … So, we have to consider that,” he said.
“We talked to some of the farmers who are in … big agriculture, like dairy, and an agricultural center doesn't fit into their needs. So you know, even though we believe that ag innovation is something that is necessary, when you have people that are in the business telling you you're going in a wrong direction, you got to strongly consider those situations. And certainly when it's the same population you're trying to help,” Smith said.
He said the county needs time to “reevaluate” what it can do for the agricultural industry.
Cramer added that the county has focused on its AgroLegacy program, which certifies food and agricultural products grown or raised on farms in the county and has invested in other services, like a 24/7 walk-in crisis center in Honesdale.
The commissioners also said the planned agricultural center would not have a meat processing plant attached to it, but the county would be interested in that in the future.
“But we'd love to see one. You know, our community definitely needs one. But know that …because of what happens in a meat processing center, [it] would not be part of an ag innovation center."
Potential cost, leased land a factor
Smith said the original plans from the project’s design engineer would have cost $18 million.
“Now, nobody thought that that was going to be feasible at all,” he said.
“We asked the engineer to go back to the drawing board and come back to us with something that was less expensive. They came back to us with a $10 million building, still something that nobody thought could really be financially feasible. And when you start wondering, you know, what is the outcome going to be measured against the investment? It's speculation,” Smith said.
The design team went back to the drawing board for a third time and presented commissioners with the $6 million plan. Smith said the center as it was proposed in Cherry Ridge would be a “big, concrete structure.”
Cramer said the county is under a “microscope” over the project and “we just knew that at a certain point we couldn't make this much of an investment on leased land.”
***
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.
