Attachments

20250404-150256-258-20250321-194856-d8f-Immigration Enforcement at Businesses.pdf

HONESDALE BOROUGH, PA — The Honesdale Borough Council passed an ordinance restricting yard-waste burning, heard details about federal agents' mid-March Main Street arrest and discussed other matters of local concern at its Monday, March 28 meeting. Here's what was discussed. 

To burn no more

The council passed an ordinance banning the burning of yard waste within the municipality's borders. 

The ordinance aims to cut down on the fire risk associated with open burnings. The council also plans to apply for a $375,000 grant for grinding equipment that will allow the Department of Public Works to process yard waste, and it needs this ordinance in place to access that grant funding. 

Honesdale resident Gary Schwartz, speaking during the meeting's public comment period, expressed some concerns about the ordinance. 

"What are we supposed to do with all this debris?" he asked. "We can't cut it all up, these 60 foot trees, and cut it in four-foot pieces, and tie it up and put it down by the road."

Mayor Derek Williams said there were concessions in the ordinance for agricultural use and for larger properties, and that he would be happy to discuss it with Schwartz. 

ICE raid

"We know last week we had a visit from federal agents in town," Mayor Derek Williams told the council. Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an employee of Elegante Restaurant and Pizzeria on March 19; click here for more information. 

Williams said there was no evidence that the employee was in the country without the proper documentation; the only paperwork provided by the agents referenced the employee's tattoos, Williams said. 

What Williams did see was the trauma the arrest inflicted on the Honesdale community. "We have neighbors that don't feel safe right now; we have local workers that also feel unsafe; we have business owners that feel unprotected."

"For anyone out there, in this room or otherwise, I do not care a lick what church you go to, what you got in your wallet, what tattoos might be on your body. If you're here, I care about you, and I love you as my neighbor, and that's just my job as Mayor to express that," Williams said. 

Williams has gathered information on the types of warrants ICE agents may or may not have and on residents' legal requirements for interacting with ICE agents. See the attached document for more. 

Getting informed

Greater Honesdale Partnership Executive Director Sandi Levens told the council about an informational kiosk it hoped to place on Main Street, by the Fred R. Miller pavilion. 

The kiosk would be 4'4'' by 4'4'' by 7'8''. It will have a historical look, and it will not be a "fancy-pantsy" digital kiosk, Levens said. 

GHP plans to seek grant funding from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau for the kiosk, with Honesdale Borough as the official applicant for the grant.