Ron Angle to Host Town Meetings on Gracedale

With the vote on whether to sell or keep Gracedale less than a month a way, Northampton County Councilman Ron Angle is hosting a series of townhall meetings on the issue, including one in Bushkill Township.

Angle -- who's arguably the public face of the "sell Gracedale" side of the battle -- says he wants to hear people's ideas and provide information to what he says are undecided and uninformed voters.

"A lot of people have asked me for more information," Angle said in a  news conference Thursday at county council chambers. "A lot of people are undecided."

The debate over Gracedale has gone on for months, and has even led to a few court battles. County Executive John Stoffa says the county can no longer afford to keep the home, and needs to sell it.

Opponents of the sale say they worry that the level of care will diminish and people will lose their jobs if Gracedale winds up in private hands.

Stoffa says the Gracedale debate will end in one of two ways.

If voters decide to sell Gracedale, the Upper Nazareth-based nursing home will be . Stoffa says that will mean better care for the residents, because a private owner will invest more money than the county can afford to spend.

If voters choose not to sell, Stoffa and Angle say the county would have to spend $6.5 million a year to fund Gracedale, and float a bond issue -- to the tune of $15-25 million -- to pay for capital improvements.

But because county council is unlikely to approve that kind of spending, Stoffa says the : laying off workers and closing off parts of the facility.

In the past, Stoffa had talked about bringing in a new management company if the voters decide to keep Gracedale. But he argued Thursday that new management wouldn't recoup the $6.5 million needed "even if you bring John the Baptist in."

Asked why he was only holding three meetings in one corner of the county, Angle said he felt it was his responsibility to residents of his district. He said he will leave it to other council members to do the same in their districts. Angle also denied this has anything to do with the November election, in which he will face a challenge from Wind Gap Councilman Scott Parsons.

Stoffa said he's considering holding hearings on Gracedale as well, but hasn't yet ironed out the details.

Angle's meetings:

• Monday, April 25, at 7 p.m., at the Beehive Community Center, 197 Pennsylvania Avenue in Bangor.
• Tuesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. at the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. Banquet Hall, 4188 Lehigh Dr. in Cherryville.
• Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m. at the , 155 Firehouse Lane, Bushkill Township