Improvement projects at Northampton County's Gracedale nursing home may soon

be fully funded by the home itself. 

County officials are discussing a plan that would require any profits made at Gracedale to be re-invested into the nursing home.  All of the money will go to repairs.

County officials would set up a special bank account to make sure this happens.

County Executive John Stoffa said Gracedale needs $20 million of updates and repairs; the county has funded $13 million of that money so far.  Work is currently being completed with the gas and a new sewer line.

As for the plan to fund other projects, it will be voted on at the February 2 meeting.

Also at that meeting, Council will vote on an ordinance providing for the West Easton Treatment Center lease.

Stoffa reported the parcel collection service collected $401,000 from January 3 -December 30, 2011.

Stoffa said a new retirement insurance program allows the county to seek reimbursement from the federal government under the Affordable Care Act for coverage of early retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare. They are expecting to get half a million dollars from the program this year.

Jeff Parks presented an update on ArtsQuest, located in SouthSide Bethlehem. While the facility is meeting its goals in terms of attendance and events, a $700,000 operating loss is projected. This is five percent of the organization’s annual budget of $14,000,000. 

This arises from pledge agreements and grants, where an amount of the original sum will be donated yearly to ArtsQuest. ArtsQuest has seen 500,000 visitors for all the events, including festivals. Parks also stated MusikFest will continue to take place on both the North and SouthSide of Bethlehem.

Council member Bruce Gilbert stated it has been “an amazing transformation from industry to arts.”

Council member Ken Kraft thanked Parks for utilizing all local labor during construction of the Steel Stacks facility.

The McClure Company presented an update on the Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement (GESA) projects occurring in the county.

Phase 1 of the operation focused on all county buildings, except Gracedale, replacing old units with more energy efficient ones.

The prison boilers were 60 years old, operating under emergency repair. The immediate capital improvement costs were estimated at $3.6 million.  There is expected to be a $10 million savings over the next 15 years.

McClure is on target to finish the project in June 2012. 

Phase 2 of the operation focuses on Gracedale with a total utility expenditure of $2.5 million. Over a 10-year span, it is estimated to save $16,219,410. Gracedale's project is expected to be complete in October 2012. They plan to evacuate one floor at a time, moving residents for 6 – 8 weeks while the floor is under the operation.

Council also gave permission to PennDOT to allow it to work on the bridge replacement.

A vote was passed by the council to repeal an ordinance which established the policy of the Northampton County Council for the approval of Northampton County's 21^st century open space initiative natural areas project.  Ellen Lott, project manager of the Nature Conservancy, asked council to repeal the ordinance. The council agreed to meet with committee members to further address the issue.  

The collective bargaining unit agreement between Pennsylvania Social Services Union, PSSU Local 668, SEIU and County of Northampton was approved by council.

Council member Gilbert felt “we need to look at different options down the road. Taking steps is good but we need to look at this long term.” The agreement allows the employee to contribute more to their benefits.

The consideration of the resolution regarding the appointment of a United States district judge was also approved by the council to fill the vacancy of the judge position.

The county approved the appointments/re-appointments of the following individuals: David Heintzelman of the Gaming Revenue and Economic Redevelopment Authority, term to expire 12/31/12. Re-appointments of J. Michel Dowd and Shawn Donahue of the General Purpose Authority, terms to expire 12/31/16; Appointment of David DeRemer of the Northampton County Housing Authority, term to expire 2/9/17; Reappointments of Luis Campos and Lisa Nesbitt of the Leigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, terms to expire 12/31/14; Appointment of Colin McShane from Mental Health, Early Intervention and Developmental Programs Advisory Board, term to expire 1/19/15; Edward Boscola and Diane Elliott are appointed to the Prison Advisory Board, and William Argeros and Anthony Lopsonzski have been re-appointed, terms to expire 12/31/13.

Robert Daday from the Airport Authority has been re-appointed, term to expire 12/31/16. John Valkovec is appointed as Farmer Director of the Conservation District, term to expire 12/31/13. Reappointed to the Conservation District as Public Director, Theodore Veresink,term to expire 12/31/13.  Margaret Ferraro was reappointed to the Conservation District, term to expire 12/31/12. Donnell Bowie (D) has been appointed to election commission. Re-appointed to the election commission include George Treisner (D), Nicole Schlener (D), Mary Diggs (R) and Joan Rosenthal (R). Election Commission terms expire 12/31/13. John Blair was appointed for the Gaming Revenue and Economic Redevelopment Authority, and re-appointed John Finnigan, Jr., terms expire 12/31/16. Peter Gray was re-appointed for the Higher Education Authority, term to expire 12/31/16. Peter Gray was re-appointed to the Hospital Authority, term to expire 12/31/16.