HONESDALE, PA — “Where is everybody?” asked Mayor Melody Robinson as she swept into the August 8 meeting of the Honesdale Borough Council.

“Gone to the [Wayne County] fair,” chorused the four council members and four officials present.

“Or trying to get there,” replied Robinson, who noted that Church Street traffic was backed up to Texas Township, due to the heavy volume of fairgoers and an accident near the fairgrounds.

Missing from the council meeting were Bill Canfield, Mike Dux and Robert Jennings. Officials missing were fire chief Steve Bates and zoning officer Dan Hnatko; present were police chief Rick Southerton, director of public works Rich Doney, borough secretary Judy Poltanis and borough solicitor Richard Henry. Even the gallery was bare, save for Greater Honesdale Partnership executive director Gail Tucker and two newspaper reporters.

With no public comment and only a quorum present, the council quickly discharged routine business, unanimously approving a resolution for a public hearing on the conditional-use application filed by Wayne Memorial Hospital (WMH). That hearing, to consider WMH’s proposed building addition, is scheduled for September 26 at 6 p.m.

A comment by Southerton regarding enforcement of Saturday parking meter violations triggered discussion of Honesdale’s current Main Street challenges. President Mike Augello, a Main Street merchant himself, said it was time to end suspension of Saturday enforcement, which has been in effect on and off since the start of the Great Recession in 2009.

Said Augello, “Empty storefronts made for ample parking during the recession, but I’m happy to say that is not the case in summer 2016. There is barely one unoccupied storefront in the whole of Main Street.”

While that is encouraging business news, Augello noted that it comes with its own challenges: increased traffic, crowded sidewalks and insufficient parking. He said those challenges are just as daunting as the challenges of hardship experienced by Main Street for the past seven years: empty storefronts, vacant sidewalks and traffic speeding through the borough’s two commercial thoroughfares, Main and Church streets, as if they were highways to somewhere else.

Augello views the resumption of Saturday parking meter violation enforcement not as a detriment to Main Street customers, but as a protection for them. He claims the long-term parking that meters are designed to discourage is usually done by residents and business owners, causing inconvenience to customers, who normally park for an hour or two as they shop and dine.

Addressing one of the other two challenges that accompany return to prosperity— overcrowded sidewalks—Augello said new language may be necessary for the borough’s sidewalk ordinance. The current ordinance requires business owners to maintain a clear walkway in front of their businesses. But many business owners use their sidewalk space to promote their businesses, either with large potted plants or by displaying some of their wares outside.

Augello admits to being guilty of the latter, and acknowledges that it comes with its own liabilities—the potential for theft and the need to hire security personnel to prevent it. It can also pose potential danger to walkers, making sidewalks virtual obstacle courses. For all of the above reasons, Robinson and Tucker will review sidewalk ordinances with merchants.

As for increased vehicular traffic, council members and the mayor will attend traffic-control training on September 14. At the conclusion of the one-day training, each participant must pass a certification exam to be eligible to direct traffic during parades and other special events.

“Will the borough assume training costs?” asked Poltanis.

“No, I think council members should pay their own way,” said Augello.