Norco Work Release Facility Discussion is Premature

At last night's meeting of Northampton County Council, it was nice to see council VP Wayne Grube, who has been battling his way through some physical problems. He must be getting better because he wasted no time blasting county exec John Stoffa.

According to Grube, Stoffa should talk to Bethlehem Township commissioners about relocating a work release facility in Bethlehem Township before coming to council. "How do you think they felt, reading about it in the newspaper?" Stoffa countered he'd have to be crazy to go there before taking county council members through the facility. "We could have kept you in the dark. One of you blew the whistle on us. If I don't have five or six people interested, why would I go to [Bethlehem Township]? My protocol was to tell you first."

This proposal was tipped to the press before all council members or Bethlehem Township commissioners even knew what was going on. Since that time, there have been discussions here about a possible partnership with Lehigh County, the privatization of this facility and a petition drive by Bethlehem Township residents.

But the truth is, I don't really know what the hell is going on. I know this because, after last night's meeting, Stoffa looked at me, smiled, and said, "You're going in the wrong direction."

- "Well, point me in the right direction," I pleaded.

"I can't do that. You're going to have to figure this out yourself." And then Poof! He disappeared. County execs have superpowers.

I can certainly understand and respect Stoffa's reluctance to share information on so sensitive a subject with a blogger, especially after having been burned once by a member of his own council. But I think Stoffa is trying to hint that this situation is still very fluid and nothing is etched in stone.

When this new treatment center is announced, it may bear very little resemblance to what is being discussed now.

Update: In an editorial published today, The Morning Call raises the same concerns about privatization and the failure to go regional, that have been expressed here. In addition, the paper notes that the upfront cost for going regional with Lehigh is actually far cheaper than the Bethlehem Township proposal. "If there are other concerns regarding politics or 'turf,' let's hear about them in public." After already being burned once, that's unlikely. But based on last night's conversation, I suspect we don't have all the details.