Zrinski Discusses County Response to Hampton Hotel Fire and a $400,000 Budget Cut to Area Agency on Aging

On February 20, around 30 people were displaced by a fire at Hotel Hampton in downtown Easton. This was the permanent home of many of those who were victimized by the conflagration. A Wilson Borough firefighter was injured and had to be hospitalized. Northampton County Executive discussed what actions the county took to help during her presentation to county council last week. 

Zrinski stated that officials were able to identify those who lost their homes and provide emergency shelter and services. She added that she was also able to get help from the state but has had difficulty obtaining a long-term housing solution. She thanked Easton City Council member Frank Pintabone for persuading Easton's Methodist Church to provide 30 days of temporary shelter. Some of those displaced lost everything, including birth certificates and social security cards. Human services agencies have worked on getting duplicates. 

She also noted a pop-up block party where local businesses and residents provided food, clothing and emotional support. "It's really nice to see everybody coming together to help and support our community," she said. "We realize we have great neighbors. And if you live in Easton, you know your neighbors are pretty awesome."

Nobody lost their life in the blaze except for one cat, whose nine lives expired. 

Zrinski also addressed several other topics.

Area Agency on Aging. - "We also received noticed that the area agency on aging budget will be cut by almost $400,000, requiring us to figure out how to remediate the shortfall. We're good now through June 30th, and we're making progress on a strategy that will continue to provide senior centers and meals for our seniors, but we might have some challenges ahead."

Digitalization. -  The county is continuing the task of digitalizing records to obviate the need for paper. Zrinski is trying to free up as much space as she can to see if it's possible to avoid an additional building. 

Corrections. - Recruitment and professional development remain high priorities. Potential corrections officers are being interviewed, and new recruits are currently shadowing veteran officers to gain hands on experience. The department is proposing a new written exam for corrections, recruitment, that will cover comprehension, language skills, math, and report writing with the goal of selecting candidates who are well prepared for the demands of the jail.

Corrections is also planning a reentry fair to support short-term inmates, those with sentences of approximately 30 to 60 days by connecting them with community resources to ease their transition back into the community, with a date in April still to be finalized. 

In February 2026, Corrections placed 16 inmates directly into inpatient treatment facilities. This resulted in 209 bed days saved at the jail.The estimated daily savings of these 16 inmates is $39,613.86 daily. Zrinski observed that inpatient tratment better addresses the needs of those individuals.

So that also allows them to better address the needs of those individuals as well.

ICE DETAINERS. - Director DeeAnn Lawrence personally reviewed and attended a 7 a.m. ICE arrival to take into custody 3 released inmates with detainers in order to observe the current process and ensure it is handled appropriately and transparently.

Sheriffs. - recently conducted a physical agility test at Lafayette University. The Sheriff is currently reviewing the weapons screening process. Boomer, a black lab trained to detect explosive devices, will be retiring soon. 

Public Works. - designing a parking plan for county visitors and employees to minimize inconvenience once construction of a new parking deck begins.