Burns: Bombshell details emerge as Vision 2025 refugee recruitment plan sees light of day

White House call, agreement with federal government, recruiting interpreters, clustering up to 100 families within neighborhoods – and more eye-openers

EBENSBURG, Feb. 25 – Seven weeks after his call for public hearings was poo-pooed as unwarranted by Vision Together 2025 and one local newspaper, state Rep. Frank Burns feels vindicated by a citizen-journalist’s publication of an email that shows greater depth and detail than planners previously admitted.

As the result of a Right-to-Know request, John DeBartola obtained the Nov. 1 email sent by Mike Tedesco, Vision 2025 president/CEO, to William Polacek (Vision 2025 board chairman and the president/CEO of JWF Industries) and Ethan Imhoff (Vision 2025 board vice chairman and executive director of the Cambria County Planning Commission).

DeBartola published the information on the Revitalize Johnstown website, and Burns confirmed the information’s authenticity through a source of his own.

“What’s emerged is a far cry from Mike Tedesco’s comment in a January 6 news story in the Tribune-Democrat, where he said Vision 2025 was ‘simply investigating successful programs in other parts of the country’ that brought in a small number of vetted, legal immigrants,” Burns said. “And these new revelations show why the Tribune-Democrat was so quick to dismiss my call for public hearings, authoring an editorial where I, as a state legislator, was basically told to ‘Just. Calm. Down.’

“They were deathly afraid of a public hearing – and now we’re starting to see why. If Vision 2025 truly considered the public as a full partner, they would have come clean from the start. Instead, they have a secret plan that includes pursuing state funding to develop ‘English as a second language’ programs – and they never even told me anything as a state representative?”

Burns said he is baffled at the purposeful omission of himself and the county’s other state elected officials, especially after he read that, “The plan is based on numerous educational conversations with everyone from the Pittsburgh Mayor’s Office, to the state, to national non-profits operating within the sector.”

“Apparently, Vision 2025 thinks it best to chart Cambria County’s future via calls to the White House and consultation with the mayor of Pittsburgh,” Burns said. “My definition of ‘community-driven’ is very different than theirs. The people who live here should come first, not last. I think their handling of this sucks.”

Burns said these highlights from the Vision 2025 “Draft Refugee Placement Plan” show it is far more developed than previously admitted to – down to recruitment of interpreters that speak Dari and/or Pashto, and clustering up to 100 imported families within the same neighborhoods:

Step 1 – Engage with the Feds:

  • Prepare to place up to 100 Afghan families.
  • Participate in Nov. 8 White House call.
  • Execute an agreement with the federal government outlining both parties’ roles and responsibilities.

Step 2 – Pursue State Funding:

  • Engage the commonwealth to secure a partnership to help with English as a second language capacity building programs.

Step 2 – Grow our Capacity to Absorb Refugees:

  • Identify and recruit interpreters that speak Dari and/or Pashto.
  • Identify who manages the initial back-end management for each family, e.g., distribution of funds for first and last month’s rent, school registration, food and necessities, basic furniture, etc.
  • Work with the real estate community to identify the appropriate number of housing units to place families. Preference should be given to clustering families within the same neighborhoods.

Step 3 – Gain Support:

  • Brief city leadership on our plan.
  • Gain support from local service and church groups.
  • Manage social media and write columns for the Tribune-Democrat.

The complete Vision 2025 plan can be viewed here: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3.

Burns noted that on Page 3, the subject line of Tedesco’s email reads, “Draft Refugee Placement Plan,” offering a clear indication of the plan’s focus. “I guess it’s OK for Vision 2025 to use the word ‘refugee,’ but not for me or anyone else,” Burns said.