This story originally appeared in The River Reporter by Sonia Ahmed

CHERRY RIDGE, PA — Heated discussions have followed a proposed new Wayne County YMCA that will cost an estimated $20 million and be located on a 40-acre parcel of land off Spinner Road and Lienert Lane.

Half of the 40-acre parcel was donated to the YMCA by the Wayne Memorial Hospital. An Agriculture Innovation Center project spearheaded by county commissioners, a proposed building to centralize agriculture promotion programs, was originally planned to be next to it on the other half. That part of the project has since been withdrawn, with commissioners citing high costs as a reason. 

The current YMCA is located in a 114-year-old former armory on 105 Park St. in Honesdale Borough and is on a third of an acre of land. The proposed project will add more space for facilities such as a pool and a child care center.

The project began its conditional use hearings in October, and withdrew its application in January after the commissioners pulled out. It has since begun the reapplication process this summer. 

“The expansion is really about the community,” Sherman Bronson, board of directors president for the Wayne County YMCA said. Bronson added that expanding would allow the YMCA to better serve its youth programs and create programs for seniors as well.

Community opinion

Many residents of Cherry Ridge near the proposed site oppose the project. Their concerns primarily center around the location, not the project itself.

“I don’t think free is free.” Shaun Dietrich, president of the citizen’s group the Committee for Responsible Development (CRD) and Cherry Ridge resident, said about the donated 20-acre parcel. “Maybe the reason the land is getting donated is because there is no infrastructure there,”

Dietrich, who moved to Cherry Ridge three years ago from Long Island, said he wanted to move his family to an area with space for his kids to run around in and where he could find a close community. Dietrich said he found those things in Cherry Ridge, and started the committee to inform his neighbors about the YMCA project, which he was fine with until he realized the scale of the project.

Of the many concerns residents have about the project, one seemed the strongest among community members: the current lack of a sewer system that could support a building of that scale. A survey conducted by CRD in the spring found that a lack of existing sewer systems was the main concern, garnering 43% of the 148 total responses.

Dennis Cheng, an opposer to the project who lives 700 feet from the proposed site (and Dietrich’s neighbor) said that while the YMCA predicts the sewer will cost an estimated $1.5 million, he believes it could cost upwards of $2.5 million when actually installed. The YMCA is attempting to fund this through Local Share Account (LSA) grants, which is a share of money from gambling proceeds that goes to local communities, according to Cheng.

However, not all local residents oppose the project. Some don’t understand why residents would oppose a sewer. 

“I think most people who don’t have sewers would like to have sewers, so I think they’re just clutching at straws,” Cobbs Lake resident and supporter of the YMCA project Shelley Braunstein said.

Besides the cost, opposers to the project fear that installing a sewer system would allow unwanted infrastructure into the area as well, as opposed to just a YMCA. 

If a sewer is installed, “you can put other things there that may be even worse to that community,” CRD member Aldo Vagnini said. Cheng cited vape shops and gas stations as things that could be installed as a result of creating a new sewer system that would ruin the rural character of the community.

Besides the sewer, concerns about the heavy traffic on the existing roads have come up.

”That spot was never intended to house heavy traffic,” Vagnini commented. 

A traffic study conducted in October 2023 indicated that a traffic light would not have to be installed, but left and right turning lanes would have to be installed to accommodate heavier traffic that current roads cannot support. 

“To me, it’s too far outta town. It’s too much infrastructure work to make it happen,” Vagnini said. ”You’re not putting it in the community; you’re putting it three miles away from it.”

The proposed location is about a six minute drive from the current location. However, Cheng stated that an estimated 20% of residents in Honesdale do not have cars, making it inaccessible for that population. No transit line operates to the proposed location, according to the study.

Braunstein, who regularly travels to the Carbondale YMCA, said she is not concerned about the roads near the Cherry Ridge location. She is, however, concerned with those in Carbondale.

“The road to the Carbondale Y goes through a park; it can be very scary.” she said. “The road is deserted. I often think if something happened to me on that road, it could be half an hour before another car went by.”

Other concerns included how the parcel responds to weather conditions and staffing issues.

“The problem is, the property there is damp. It’s not wet land, but it’s a wet parcel. When it rains, it stays wet there forever,” Vagnini said about the proposed site. 

As for staffing, a look at the YMCA’s Facebook page shows multiple class and program cancellations during June and July. 

“If you are closing your capacity because you can’t staff it, and you’re missing revenue, that’s a problem,” Cheng commented. 

Bronson told the River Reporter that a lot of those cancellations were due to the youth summer camp and weather conditions.

“When it rains or when weather is inclement, we do have to pivot,” he said about the summer camp which is hosted outside in Honesdale Borough’s Apple Grove Park. “When you have those 100+ kids in our building, there’s just not a lot of space for the programs that we would typically offer.”

The lack of programming and resources offered at the current Wayne County YMCA is why project supporter Braunstein travels about 20 extra minutes to the Carbondale YMCA regularly.

”It offers an indoor track, programs both in and out of the water, pickleball, basketball, after school camp [and] summer camp for kids,” Braunstein said about Carbondale’s offerings. 

Braunstein added that due to her older age, driving can be difficult for her. If the Wayne County YMCA could offer all the same things as the Carbondale location, she would go more often, as would other members she’s encountered who are from Honesdale that go to the Carbondale location.

“I think it would be the most wonderful thing that could happen to the whole Honesdale area,” Braunstein said about the project. ”It really has the ability to open up people’s lives,”

Tensions rise

As disagreements arose between Cherry Ridge residents and the YMCA board, the temperature of the dialogue surrounding the project did too.

“You’re alienating the community you’re trying to serve,” Cheng said, about what he sees as a lack of dialogue with the YMCA. “We’re [residents] being treated as a nuisance.”

Emails sent by Cheng to Bronson communicate a desire of the residents to work together with the YMCA to create a better plan before moving forward with the project. While the emails indicate Bronson intended to bring it up in an executive session, the YMCA continued pursuing the proposed plan.

“They don’t care because I’m just a resident, nothing more,” Vagnini said, about how much he feels his concerns are being heard by the board. “I’m not a superintendent, not a chairman.” 

Dietrich stated that the residents have asked for feasibility studies and other material to be shared with them, but the YMCA board of trustees refused.

“The likelihood of us being able to perhaps work something out would be better if the YMCA could be more transparent about what their situation is,” he said.

Dietrich added that while the YMCA is ignoring residents’ requests, they are still receiving letters in the mail requesting donations.

“That’s not exactly neighborly,” he said.

Bronson stated that there have been opportunities for community members to voice their concern. “It’s a vocal minority, as far as we can tell at this point,” he said, about opposers to the project.

In May, previous Long-Island resident Dietrich received an anonymous letter in the mail. 

“99% of the folks who move to our area from NY, NJ, & Nassau County are wonderful people who bring much to our area + support our wonderful community in all that we do. However there is that 1% who should be sent back to NY, NJ, & Nassau County as they don’t add to our quality of life + are not welcome here. What percentage, Shawn and Danielle, do you want to belong to??” the letter read.

Bronson said that because the letter didn’t come from the board, and it’s not clear who sent it, there’s not much the board can do to address it.

Braunstein claimed that signage informing community members about the YMCA hearings have frequently been removed.

“You see no sewers all over there, but you don’t see no YMCA because that would alert people that it was gonna be a YMCA.” she said. ”The publicity for this has been nonexistent, which is one reason why there hasn’t been an absolute storm activating for it.”

Funding

Besides the LSA grants, the YMCA was recently granted $1.25 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), which aims to prompt economic development. This was out of a $5 million ask, according to Cheng. 

“Typically, a $5 million ask is not commonly granted,” Cheng remarked. “The fact that it’s 1.25 says it’s essentially a token nod to the project, but not a full-throated endorsement.”

Cheng added that the RACP grant is not a direct grant but a reimbursement grant, which means the YMCA must spend the money first to get costs covered.

Cheng stated that many foundations also won’t want to fund a project with a pool due to it being a liability. 

The YMCA has also secured $1.5 million in funding through private sources and the Neighborhood Assistance Program.

Still, the YMCA has yet to finish funding the $20 million project.

“These guys [the YMCA] haven’t recalculated costs at all. They don’t have financing in line.Their big grail was this RACP grant.” Cheng remarked.

In terms of funding, Bronson said that nothing’s off the table. “We’re turning over every stone.”

What’s next?

During an August 13th commissioners meeting, the commissioners adopted a cooperation agreement to help the YMCA apply for LSA grants to cover engineering costs.

A scheduled August 19th conditional use hearing was canceled due to the township not properly posting it. The next hearing is now tentatively scheduled for October 21st.

“I think we’re more unified.” Cheng said. “We’re close with our neighbors.”

Editor’s note: YMCA board of trustees co-president Paul Edwards declined to speak with the River Reporter, citing advice from his attorney.