HONESDALE, Pa. — With a little bit of snow left on the ground, and most storefronts still decorated for Christmas, it is hard to think about the landscaping work that will need to get done this upcoming spring and summer in downtown Honesdale, but Lisa Burns is doing exactly that.
"Sidewalks in Honesdale and the front of the buildings are to be maintained by the business or the owners, and sometimes it gets a little gray area with who actually does the weeding in town," said Burns, the executive director for the Greater Honesdale Partnership.
Because of that gray area, Burns and the Greater Honesdale Partnership are looking for volunteers to "Adopt a Block" and join the Weeding Committee. Basically, each interested organization will be assigned one block, and volunteers will be in charge of weeding on both sides of just that block.
Keep Hawley-Honesdale Beautiful is a volunteer group in Wayne County; of course, they were the first ones to sign up.
"It's a great extension to KHHB. We're going to be keeping the sidewalks weed-free and also looking beautiful," said Kate Johnson, a volunteer with Keep Hawley-Honesdale Beautiful.
"Weeding a block is such a simple task, and the changes that you see with that little bit of work are amazing. You can notice the natural beauty and take in all of the atmosphere really makes a difference to everyone who comes to the area," said Holly Przasnyski, executive director, Chamber of the Northern Poconos.
KHHB and the Chamber are two of the organizations already signed up, but the Greater Honesdale Partnership is looking for even more, so every block on Main Street is covered.
"They will get their block. That's what they have. We're only asking them to weed five times, once a month, May through September," Burns explained.
The Weeding Committee is just one part of a bigger downtown revitalization plan that involves updating building facades, crosswalks, and sidewalks here in the borough.
"We want to make sure that when visitors come to Honesdale, they are focused on the beauty of Honesdale and nothing else."