Yesterday, at the close of the work-day, members of our local ruling party convened at the National Museum of Industrial History on Bethlehem's south side to hear Tara Zrinski's first "State of the County" address as County Executive. I watched it on Facebook, not in person, because I had a conflicting matter at the same time. I'm glad I watched. At the end of her presentation, Zrinski finally unveiled what I've been waiting for - a long-term plan for Gracedale.
The beginning intros were a bit cringeworthy. It's a bit unclear to me, but there may have been an open bar. It wasm, after all, happy hour. But this is a far cry from the 7 am addresses delivered in previous years by the likes of John Stoffa and Glenn Reibman. Instead of black coffee and orange juice, there was Rocky music and some goofy guy who sounded like a WWE announcer introducing speakers who themselves were making introductions and announcing a lengthy list of corporate sponsors. I was waiting for "Let's get ready to ruuuuumble," from this guy but he must have left for a Trump rally somewhere. Nearly eight minutes went by before Zrinski ever made it to the podium.
When she did, she was fairly relaxed and amiable. She started off with the obligatory joke (about her numerous hair colors), told guests she didn't mind of they wanted to sneak off to the bar, and went to work.
About 90% of what she had to say could have been said by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Becky Bradley. It was all about county demographics and how they've changed over the years.
Toward the end of a 47-minute speech, Zrinski unveiled her "strategic" plan for Gracedale. Administrator Michelle Morton had a "strategic plan" for the beleaguered nursing home nearly a year ago. This is a new one.
Zrinski's goal is to keep Gracedale both county-owned and county-operated (meaning no third-party manager). She also wants it to be self-sustaining with no need for county contributions.
To accomplish this feat, she's planning for a new Gracedale that makes use of its 365-acre campus. A rejuvenated Gracedale, with adjoining medical offices, a dialysis center, workforce housing for county employees and retail space. There already is a daycare at the facility, and she is hoping to partner with area colleges that offer nursing, and Gracedale would in turn provide affordable housing for these students after they graduate. "That is how we solve our agency-nurse dependency," she said. She acknowledged "it's not going to be easy."
Zrinski said people might think she's cRaZy after seeing this plan, but I'll be honest. It is eerily similar to a proposal I made in December 2024. I called it "A Modest Plan to Retain NorCo County Workers and Provide Workforce Housing."
The county owns 375 acres at Gracedale and 500 acres elsewhere. Here's what I suggested back then:
Northampton County has about 1700-1800 employees, though its actual number should be closer to 2,000. It has problems attracting nursing care at Gracedale, despite offering retention bonuses and even building a daycare that may or may not yet be open. This is a nationwide problem, and the county has been forced to hire outside nurses to provide care at higher rates than it pays its own.
In addition to a shortage of nursing care at Gracedale, there is also a shortage of corrections officers, youth care workers and 911 dispatchers. They are often forced to work overtime to fill gaps in coverage, which exhausts them and can make conditions unsafe.
Couldn't we express our appreciation to these unsung heroes by providing them with an affordable place to live?
Here's what I would suggest as a pilot program. The Gracedale campus is huge. Some of that land is used neither for farming nor anything else. It's just grass to cut. How about a small development of about 30 homes for workers in critical departments like the jail, Gracedale, Juvenile Justice Center and 911. I'm not speaking of McMansions but am thinking of smaller homes like the Boxable Casita.
The county could offer these homes and agree to hold the mortgage at a low interest rate. The qualifying employee would own, not rent the property to erase any illusion that this is a company store. If the employee either leaves county employment or decides to sell the property for a larger home, the county would have an option to repurchase at its appraised market value. That way the employee could build equity, and the county could attract and retain good workers.
I discussed this idea with several members of County Council, who themselves had similar ideas. So I think she'd have support and believe this could actually solve Gracedale's biggest problem, a reliance on agency nurses who lack the empathy that county employees have. The only part of her Gracedale presentation I dislike is her insistence that the home be county-managed. I think the county has demonstrated over and over that it lacks the expertise to manage a nursing facility.
Zrinski never got into some of the many other issues facing the county. She noted the county has had no tax hike for eight years (hint, hint), that there's been no reassessment since 1995 (hint, hint).
48 comments:
This is not what I voted for not what I want as a tax payer has she lost her mind? This plan is nothing more than a pipe dream and a major waste of tax dollars. The plan is to take county tax revenue and spend millions maybe billions and create this mega center, sorry at the rate it’s going at this nursing home will not last long enough by the time we build it, and what happens when they still cannot get enough staff? What happens then? Not what I voted for!
By now, everyone has to have noticed politicians have nothing to offer us except to SPEND money . . . our tax dollars. Whatever happened to demonstrate their “expertise” and public-minded inclinations by creating SAVINGS through eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse?
Just “throw money at it” and our worries will all wash away painlessly is the plan. Where’s our local version of Elon Musk to uncover foolish spending and inefficiency across all departments and agencies?
Northampton County homeowners (I am one) are about to get fleeced.
She doesn't need to tell jokes, she is one.
You are just exasperating the spending problem for what? 30 nurses / CO's? This doesn't fix any of the root causes to the county wide staffing issues. Im not surprised because Tara never was qualified for a position like this. She has never solved problems of this magnitude before. She's throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
The answer is, county needs more revenue to properly pay employees. The problem is American's are tapped. Between federal, state, and local taxes - we pay too much. But the county is getting way less then their fair share of the pie and the federal govt will have trillions and it will never be enough for their appetites.
Until that problem is worked out, we will continue to have staffing issues.
And her answer to the DOH report was?
Even if Lori and her flying monkeys were agreeable with you at the time you spoke with them, she wouldn't be now. She isn't going to give Zrinski any opportunities to succeed.
She's even more nuts than I knew she is. God help us!
So Gracedale is a Provisional License 2 and this is her idea for the Gracedale campus. Yes, any of you who voted for Tara, this is what you voted for. She , like others in the Democrat party, likes fanfare and propose ideas. that are not within reach. Of course there will be a tax increase. Question is just how much it will be.
Well, reassessment is coming. Gracedale is going to cost A LOT more than they think in the next few years. This plan, I don't even know where to begin........I hope I'm wrong but I don't see this working out very well.
The first thing they should have done is research the agreement that was made when the County acquired the "Gracedale Properties" and what land restrictions are allowed and disallowed. Is building housing units on prime farmland allowed by township zoning? Is it allowed in any deed restrictions when Gracedale farmland was acquired? When are they going to look at the real problem the County faces.......pay your employees a decent wage and stop balancing your budgets on the backs of the employees. Look at what they did to the person who was going to become the new finance director. Pay your people a decent wage and decent benefits and a lot of your employee shortage /staffing problems will go away.
Also, isn't there a STATE LAW that mandates you can't raise taxes in a year when you do a reassessment that restricts the amount of revenues that you realize to a limit of ten percent? It's going to take more than ten percent in increased revenues to get the County out of the mess left by Mr. McClure. You must take a look at the revenue issue before you do a property reassessment. You are restricted to ten percent in increased revenues. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The bottom line is, as tax payers in Northampton County we should not bend over.
More dem foolishness
North Korea provides housing for its workforce.
We were warned this woman is nuts.
This is not feasible yet all of the left leaning press in the Lehigh Valley will applaud this and give it written press and air time (like you Bernie). Gracedale will soon be Provisional 3 which is the final nail. Still waiting to read the state report of the resident with a knife and another elopement.
This pipe dream given during "Happy Hour" doesn't surprise me from a very unserious person. What en embarrassment!
Who could be surprised at this proposal - spend more money that you don’t have. Bless all those who are footing the new Easton high school with their taxes to be followed by an inevitable tax increase bomb from the county.
Judging all Democrats based upon one that is failing miserably is nonsense, we could absolutely make the same statement about the MAGA Republicans based upon their current leader.
DOGE cost more money than it saved. It was an immense failure and it revealed private data.
Stop pretending. Start facing reality.
It’s a first step.
Gotta pay the trade unions back somehow for their support... nothing is free.
Affordable housing built by union labor... eye roll.
Commissar Tzara has spoken! Central planning it is! Glorifica!
SHOE ME A FRIGGIN PAY STUDY. Nothing flies without addressing wages and benefits. Don't vote for anything as a Commissioner until you see a FRIGGIN wage survey
Omg!!! This is her report on the state of the county. It is in shambles... 30 houses!!! The jail is ridiculously short officers !!! A ridiculous amount of unfilled shifts this week. That means mandatory OT for those employees. That means you don't see your family. That means 16 hour shifts multiple days in a row.. And at gracedale just keep bringing in the agency nurses. That's cheap for all their open shifts.
I don't put all the blame on Tara. It falls on Lamont feet. This is his creation. But I'm sure he was standing in the crowd when she was spewing all this nonsense And Tara is doing nothing to try to fix it. That is where it starts to fall on her. She kept all of Lamont little cronies around to keep things under cover. It's going to bite her and This county in a serious way. I wish she took it seriously. She had a chance to do something really great.
It’s what I voted for so I guess I win and you lose
If I understand what Zrinski (and you) are saying, all it will take is:
1) A 10% to 20% increase in county employees;
2) New government programs to build (and possibly maintain) houses for some select county employees; and
3) Build county competition to existing retail and other entities that already provide the same services.
That apparently will make everything better and all of Gracedale's problems will be solved.
A few questions/comments:
How much do you think that's all going to cost, and who do you expect to pay for it?
What happens when some county employees get their subsidized, "affordable" housing and others don't? I'm willing to bet that a costly substitute is worked into every subsequent union contract for those not getting the direct benefit.
Do you expect the county to build this housing at a lower cost than the private sector? If so, you've likely fallen off the wagon.
And don't get me started about whether the employees will actually WANT to live in the new Gracedale commune. Yes, it's really great when you can leave work (and people you might not always get along with) at night, take a short walk, and say hello to them again when you reach your house. Why who wouldn't want to see the same people all day, every day, including weekends and holidays?
What happens when those living in the government housing campus want to sell their homes? Are they going to be limited to just selling to other NorCo employees? If so, they'll likely have to cut their selling price because the pool of buyers is now limited. If they can sell to anyone, I guess NorCo has to then find more land and build more housing to replace the housing lost to outside buyers.
This proposal is nothing worse than doubling (or tripling, or quadrupling) down on more of the same. One of the major problems with Gracedale now is that there are plenty of other private facilities that offer the same services, and they are doing it better and at a lower cost. But somehow we need to get into even MORE such businesses (that we also have no experience running) just to save our failing nursing home that is no longer needed!
County government already can't run a single nursing home competently, but if we add "...medical offices, a dialysis center, workforce housing for county employees and retail space", those in county government will somehow be transformed into business geniuses and be able to handle the extra complexity of all that.
This is a horrible plan, and anyone who thinks it's a good idea loves blowing other people's money and likely failed basic math in elementary school.
I'd say stop the madness, but it's more like stop the stupidity!
Zyrinsky will be an abject failure. Period.
10:51 - Stop with the "Don't blame Tara" crap. She's been a county council person, the county controller, and now county executive.
She was (or should have been) aware of EVERYTHING that was going on.
The fact that she is incompetent and unqualified for every one of those positions does not absolve her of blame.
I know I should not be surprised, but I am nevertheless surprised at the number of comments from people who are attacking this idea simply bc it was proposed by Zrinski. There's a lot of hate out there. While there are reasons to question what will involve a great deal of $, I would rather hear those reasons than the ignorant "Zrinski is incompetent" crap I'm getting. Though I have not checked my sitemeter, I'll bet that most come from the same three people.
It does sound a lot like Mandami's city owned grocery store plan. To me, the county can't run what is has going on now in a competent manner. A massive proposal like this sounds great until you implement it. Whatever the cost projection it ALWAYS costs more. The county is already fiscally challenged. They skipped the pension payment. The county is understaffed and under payed. Perhaps fix those issues before proposing building a county owned master planned community on the taxpayer dime.
12:06, I appreciate your comment. Instead of just attacking Zrinski, you come up with legitimate questions.
1) Will it require a 10-20% increase in county employees? It could, especially if there is an assisted living facility.
2) A workforce housing program for county workers is an excellent idea. I would allow them to rent or buy these properties so long as the county retains a right of first refusal. People who work at Gracedale or 911 will be able to walk there, and if a retail component is added, they will be able to walk to stores. They will also be about a mile from a major grocery. This is the geographic center of the county and an ideal place to live. This will make Gracedale very inviting as a place to work and should eliminate the need for agency nurses.
3) There would be no county competition. Retail outlets would be independently owned and would be competing with other retailers. I would not envision any tax breaks for these outlets.
- As for cost, the major expense is the land. As Will Rogers once noted, "They aren't making any more of it." The cost of construction could be very cheap if what is contemplated are tiny homes. I guess that no one has much enthusiasm for them although I've been a big fan. I do not expect that building costs will be cheaper. They might be more expensive.
- I would argue that, at the onset, preference be given where county manpower is needed most. That is at Gracedale, the jail and 911. As time goes on, the program could be expanded to include workers in other departments that relocate to the Gracedale campus, which is where most county operations belong.
- You say private facilities do the job of nursing just as well. That is certainly true at the moment and this is an attempt to correct it.
- I would put this question to the voters. Would they be willing to incur debt for a redevelopment of Gracedale? We have had referenda on open space and on keeping Gracedale. Let the voters decide.
- I would argue that private management is needed. In that way I disagree with Zrinski.
This is certainly worth discussing. If you have other ideas, please share. If you think the home should be sold, please let's have one person identify himself.
I do not live in Northampton County and never had the opportunity to vote for or against Tara Zrinski. I previously followed some of her political career with just moderate interest and never was greatly impressed. While I do generally consider her to be a supporter of a progressive policies, I also see someone who is maturing into more of an economic realist who still maintains genuine concern for working people and who is advocating a long held American belief in the virtue of helping people improve themselves rather than just providing a hand out. In regard to her plan for the Gracedale complex, I think it deserves some serious consideration before dismissing it as unrealistic. Although she uses her own choice of terms to describe the effort it seems to me to be very similar to the types of private /public partnerships that Lehigh Valley economic development leaders from widely varied political and ideological backgrounds have long supported. Yes, she wants to keep the existing Gracedale facility under government control but the surrounding new housing, medical facilities and other business opportunities that she seems to be proposing will not be able to happen without a serious input of private investment and management. If indeed these private developments and investments do happen it may well create an income stream that allows the public functions to be improved without as great of a need for a tax supported public subsidies. I have not heard enough of the details of this proposal to yet fully become a supporter for it but I think she advanced some ideas that deserve serious review on the financial side before the concept is determined to be unworkable.
I seriously doubt that the “Saving Private Gracedale “ campaign that was initiated when the question of selling it was on the ballot the last time would gather much steam this time around. Apparently it was the employees who helped to save it last time. Those people are apparently no longer there (not with 80 percent agency staff). Those folks don’t care since they’ll just work somewhere else. Property owners in Northampton County (you are not one Bernie) will not want the burden of a huge tax increase and will most definitely move elsewhere or vote to sell it.
How much is Gracedale currently losing each year?
That’s the supposed reason that this “proposal” is being made, right? To eliminate the taxpayers from subsidizing Gracedale.
I see enormous costs in Zrinski's proposal but no mention of how much profit will generated by the proposal.
And that should be the question that everyone is asking.
But nobody is. And that should worry EVERYONE.
So the county holding a mortgage is less encumbering than paying rent? No company store, no sir.
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Will they also have a "stolen land" statement? I hear those are all the rage.
Not surprised that many, including myself, strongly disagree by her not sourcing any nursing home management resources to
reset or fix the home’s problems, but even more concerning , someone unilaterally, decided to
place Gracedale’s fragile and failing management back into the county’s incapable hands, disregarding suggestions from one of the original Premier experts who knew how to manage a nursing home.
Expect this show/tell piece to draw more ire than respect.
The county better choose a management company to take over the operation before the state chooses for you. That is the next step in this process. Gracedale is an incredibly valuable and worthwhile operation, but it is going down the tubes because the county does not understand how to operate it. The proposals by the executive merely amount to window dressing and do not attack the root cause of Gracedale’s Issues - Lack of competence. It’s all Lamont’s fault, but Tara better do something quickly because it’s going to become her fault when the state takes over operations. County executives have an opportunity in year one to blame all their issues on the prior person. If Tara doesn’t understand that, she’s not going to be a good politician.
"I do not live in Northampton County..." Opinion dismissed.
Gracedale lost $7 million in 2025 and is probably on track to lose an equivalent amount this year. The chief reason for this is the cost of agency nursing. And everyone is concerned about cost. Most people are also concerned about a place for elderly indigents, an affordable place for seniors who are more independent, an affordable residence for county employees working in critical departments like Gracedale, 911, jail and human services. Yes, it will cost a lot. I would not dismiss out of hand, but instead would explore the idea and refine it. Then let the voters decide.
Having been on the other side, I agree that many employees were behind this referendum, as well as the families of Alzheimer residents. If the public does not support the idea, it should fail. If they do, county officials should advance it.
You mention a private public partnership. Perhaps you bring in a developer that knows what he’s doing. There’s lots of land out there. Have some for profit entities and housing. Not sure how that would all mesh but it’s worth a discussion. Nat Hyman would have some ideas.
Please show me all these employees that want to live under the county thumb???
You do realize that just because you say something it doesn't make it true. The truth is usually always in the middle.
Well that is pretty much what is happening so....
Sadly, the comment at 6:27 is almost certainly from a fellow Democrat. And I never said who I discussed this with on council.
She herself stated some of you would feel that way. Since I actually proposed this idea in Dec. 2024, you might be right.
Reassessment should be coming and it should happen.
I actually searched the title some years ago. There are no use restrictions on the Deed that I can recall. I'm uncertain how the land is zoned. It might be zoned institutional. Land is leased for farming. Yes, you are unable to raise taxes beyond a small percentage during any year in which there is a reassessment.
Nat Hyman does his work on existing buildings, mostly old factories. I do not think he ever did a development from scratch, but this might interest him.
Post a Comment