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| Gracedale gazebo |
In a three-way race for County Executive, a majority of Democrats picked Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan over the nursing home's self-proclaimed Savior, Lamont McClure. Callahan won in all of the Gracedale communities (Nazareth, Upper Nazareth and Lower Nazareth). McClure, who finished third, won only in Bath Borough and Washington Tp. If Gracedale was still a front-burner issue, McClure should have done much better.
Once the voters made clear that they wanted the nursing home kept County-owned, Executive John Stoffa has done everything he can to turn things around. In addition to hiring a private management firm, Stoffa has even exposed himself to a lawsuit by a Council hell-bent on forcing him to negotiate a transport contract at the nursing home that is $240,000 more than the one desired by nursing home administrators.
I've heard no lingering talk about selling the nursing home from anyone. Frankly, I doubt it could be done now.
22 comments:
The controversy was that Stoffa is still blaming future tax increases ion the Nursing Home and not his incompetence in dealing wth the swaption and buying and leasing too many buildings.
People are suspicious and should be so. The elections in November will reflect a vote by people who were lied to once but not again.
What Stoffa did was truthfully state that Gracedale is going to cost money this year, notwithstanding all the changes that have been made to improve the nursing home's bottom line. The only reason he was able to avoid a substantial tax hike is bc the County borrowed money to pay off the swaption.
It will cost the County at least $4 million this year. That's just reality.
Your claim that Stoffa is incompetent for centralizing human services is pure nonsense, as is the claim that the County should spend no money to fix bridges. You would be the first one calling him a murderer if a bridge collapsed.
You speak prophetically of the election in November, ignoring the fact that last Tuesday, Democrats stated they don't want Lamont McClure and Republicans thankfully said they don't want Tricia Mezzacappa.
Stoffa is trying to cement his legacy.. Fortunately, it will be truthful and not the media fabricated one he has tried to push.
The new Administration and county council will have Gracedale back in the black within three years. it was in the past and only lost money when Stoffa was involved.
Never happen my 2:08 friend.
Gracedale made money when reimbursements were higher and everybody anted to get in the place. Nobody wants to go to a nursing home anymore bc there are o many other options. If they do, it is now a saturated market with many options other than the county home. If they go anyway, reimbursement rate from the state and the feds are declining.
The people have voted to keep the home. The quality of care there is excellent and the workers really do care about the residents. I have seen that with my own eyes. In fact, I actually feel bad that they gave up so much for the residents.
Though the people were deceived into thinking their loved ones were being carted away or thrown into the street, the people did speak. I think that, to some extent, their vote indicates a willingness to make a county contribution to keep county afloat.
But there is a red line when the people will also say enough. It's not $4 million or $7 million. It might be $10 million.
The County rakes in $80 million in taxes every year. It can raise taxes to make ends meet, but there is a breaking point.
If it does decide to sell down the road, and I honestly doubt that will ever be tried, I question whether the time has now passed for finding a buyer.
Tic Tac
Tricia Mezzacappa, who is mentally ill, demonstrates with the above anonymous comment precisely why voters said NO to her. She has the emotional stability of a sixth-grader, but is beginning to accumulate the criminal record of a gang member.
Have NO FEAR..... Johnny Casino is coming and He will make everything ok..........right Bernie...LMAO
The joint is an albatross. It's a relic of a bygone era that we cannot afford. It will continue to offer endless opportunities to overspend a quarter million bucks here and there, like the Lifestar debacle. Sell it now or sell it later. It's going to be sold eventually, with the deal getting worse each day. Stoffa's legacy will be getting to say I told you so for the rest of his life. But he won't.
That is the problem. The nursing home market is getting saturated, and people prefer other ways of spending their final years. I doubt that 5 years from now, the County will attract any buyers. I will say that I am very impressed by how much the staff care for the residents. That is no lie. They really do care, to the point that they actually gave concessions. That "family fest" opened my eyes about the special relationship between residents and their caregivers. So if we are going to waste money, that might be the best place to do it.
"They really do care, to the point that they actually gave concessions."
But did they realize they'd be effectively giving those concessions to Nazareth Ambulance? They did their part, but it could be argued that County Council has let them down.
Lighthouse,
That is an awesome point. I never really looked at it that way. That would make for a very interesting discussion between council members at the Executive if anyone chooses to take that approach. I would love to see that point debated out. Thanks!
Anon 1:59, He already is, over and over again. don't cross any angry old man.
He got the building he wanted now if they name it after him despite his faint protestations he will be happy with his sixteen public pensions.
I do not believe Mr. Stofa is a bad man.I view him as citizen at the county level that had a need to help the county resident/taxpayers and others.I think that people who beat up on him could not fit in his shoes to start with.He always seemed tome to be kind and concerned and the same time ---well, time will tell.
Peter, I can think of few people who are more selfless than Stoffa. He can be criticized for being wrong, but these attempts to ascribe bad motives to him come from not-so-nice people with an agenda.
love the ambulance service controversy
Peter(aka) Stoffa man Harp, your boss is a vindictive angry old man. Soon the two if you can enjoy your multiple public pensions while sipping koolade on the veranda together.
I think we can all see who the vindictive and bitter people are.
So did the voters.
Had Stoffa run for a third term he would have been thrown out on his ass by the biggest margin in county history. That is the reason he decided not to run.
3:01 am must be Reibman. Stoffa would have beaten anybody if he decided to run for a 3rd term. No problem. But you keep on dreaming because you never know. No one wanted to run against him. Not even Barron. And Barron threw a little pity party when McClure bitch slapped him into not running because ole red faced McClure had illusions of grandeur. Now we will see whose ass Barron sucks next. For that matter we will see whose ass McClure will suck next.
6:03, Stoffa could not have beaten Ron Angle for dog catcher at this point. Keep dreaming.
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