HONESDALE, PA — The April 18 meeting of the Honesdale Borough Council saw two of the borough’s longstanding debates reignited, neither by council instigation.

A letter to the council from former councilwoman Juanita Pisano called into question the necessity for a borough manager, a position four of the five newly-elected councilmen think is crucial to efficient running of the borough.

Pisano’s letter accused the council of relegating its own responsibilities to the borough manager, noting that during her time on the council, she singlehandedly performed one of the foremost responsibilities of the borough manager: writing grant applications.

Council President Mike Augello countered her claim, saying the borough manager position is envisioned as one of head administrator, and the role of council members is that of policymakers and legislators. Comparing those roles to school board and principal, he said the council cannot and should not be responsible for day-to-day running of the borough; that would be the province of the borough manager.

Progress to date in filling the borough manager position was detailed by borough secretary Judy Poltanis, who reported that seven applications had been received by the deadline of April 18, some of them incomplete.

Augello said application review would begin immediately, with an eye toward conducting interviews at a mid-May work session, but emphasized that interviews would take place only if qualified candidates were found.

The other recurring debate regards an arcane borough ordinance prohibiting third-party advertising on signs displayed in public. It was sparked by a Greater Honesdale Partnership (GHP) request to hang “Welcome to Honesdale” banners from streetlight poles on Main Street during the summer tourist season. The same request last year resulted in a similar debate, ending in a decision to permit the banners.

The printed name of a borough business sponsoring the banner project constitutes the advertising in question. On each banner, under “Welcome to Honesdale” would appear “Greater Honesdale Partnership,” and under that, in smaller print, the name of one business that contributed funding to make possible the banner project.

Saying that ordinance language was not explicit enough for him to make a decision, zoning officer Dan Hnatko asked the council to decide whether a business name by itself, minus logo, slogan, location or other contact information, could legitimately be considered advertising.

The council decided to permit the banner display again this year, but Hnatko said the same ordinance applied to at least one other project pending: the Walk of Honor Veterans Memorial in Central Park. There, engraved plaques will bear the names of businesses that contributed to the memorial’s construction.

The council wanted more time to weigh that decision, as the memorial is designed to be a permanent installation. So when Hnatko pressed for an immediate decision, Councilman Bill Canfield asked why it had been presented on such short notice. Hnatko replied that it was backlogged from his recent absence. And the council voted to approve the request.

Solicitor Richard Henry told the council that refinement of ordinance language would eliminate the need for council deliberation in similar future requests, an opinion seconded by planning commission member Jerry Theobald.

Theobald said he didn’t think a business name by itself should be considered advertising and he doubted the planning commission had ever intended that interpretation of the ordinance. Noting that many other borough ordinances also need language refinement and updating to reflect both changing times and advanced technology, he asked the council to provide the planning commission with expert legal advice necessary for the task.