Last week, NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski delivered her first "State of the County" address at Bethlehem's Nation Museum of Industrial History. Though unable to attend, I did watch her address on Facebook and wrote about it. Zrinski has also just posted her speech on her Substack, including all the photos she used.
What I like best among these images is her plan for the Gracedale campus. She plans to convert the existing facility, which crams four residents into a room, into aging-in-place apartments. There would also be a 700-bed skilled nursing facility, medical offices, a dialysis center (Gracedale currently does dialysis in house), a retail center and workforce housing. There appears to be no interference with any of the existing farmland.
Without question, this is an ambitious project and merits very close scrutiny. But if the county wishes to continue to provide a nursing home, it is necessary. The existing Gracedale facility was built for a different time. While four residents in one room is still permissible, the trend is to reduce occupancy to two.
The existing facility could easily be converted into apartments for seniors and the disabled who wish to age in place. I could see getting HUD involved and using the Housing Authority to manage this building.
There are lots of questions to be considered. But this plan is an excellent starting point.
17 comments:
That entire proposed development sits on almost all of the existing farmland on the south side of Penn Allen Road.
Oh, how intelligent. Throw more money at a white elephant. Stoffa had it right
The best way to describe TZ's plan is bend over norco citizens
The environmental damage and stress on natural resources will be immeasurable and irreversible. This plan is environmental violence.
Tara: sell Gracedale to St. Luke's or LVHN. They've already done disastrous damage to farmland and our environment. Don't let your legacy fall on this sword. You have ambitions for hire office. Destroying environmental natural resources and jacking up taxes for a medical facility is no longer an exhaustive problem that County Government can afford, nor should we.
Bernie I'm not sure where you're getting the claim that the project doesn't impact farmland. As proposed it looked like it would take about 50 acres out of production and put most of it into impervious surface. The mid-rise buildings would also basically be sitting on a hill and radically chang the viewshed of the west side of Nazareth and the whole Gracedale property.
As usual the concept image also doesn't show any stormwater controls. The forensics center required a basin as large as the building itself. I think this plan as presented is probably unworkable, unless they're also planning on turning part of the open space north of Penn Allen into a giant basin.
so Bernie, your on the sell gracedale wagon again, do you have anyone on council in your pocket for that to be started, LVH, Giovanni, David? Lets get them to put a proposal out to sell it before it costs the taxpayers $$$$$$$
I believe it affects less farmland than I had thought before, but it will take some out of production. The other points you raise will need to be addressed. The area on the north side of Penn Allen is pretty much scrubland. I see shotgun shells all the time when I walk there.
So far as I know, the only persons who advocate the sale of Gracedale do so anonymously. I believe Gracedale can be turned around with different management and a plan like the one proposed by Zrinski. I believe that once the plan is refined and a cost is determined, the voters should decide on whether to incur debt to save Gracedale in a referendum as they did before. So I have no idea where you get the idea that I would just sell it. But that decision might be out of the county's hands if the deficiencies continue. They are quite serious and need to be addressed.
I don’t read this as Bernie wanting to sell Gracedale, my understanding is he’s all for any new approach to bring the home into compliance, not close it. That being said, Tara is not listening to good advice regarding what Dave Holland has offered and others begging her to seek out a nursing home management advisor …but she has one on council! This is all on Tara now.
The big question. How much $$$
Why don't you just try paying a livable wage to your employees and watch all the county staffing issues go away!!! And when the staffing issues go away so will most of all the other major issues in all the departments.
Her publically posted proposed Gracedale redo, unless she has hidden and anonymous investors, will only be a distraction for council and the public if she doesn’t address the licensing. Maybe she should have secured the licensing first, before sending out photos and plans without solid footing on operational requirements.
This will be an eye opening moment for TZ. If she has given lip service without procuring funds or grants or whatever she intends to use as basis for this
Project, she will fail, and her political aspirations are over.
I’m a citizen and I’m fine with it! Hope it happens!
LOL any eliminated a few acres of corn field and a retention pond? You are really stretching the truth.. LOL
LOL read the article…
Embarrassing yourself! She doesn’t want taxpayers paying for anything..
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