Lehigh County Commissioners Sept. 13 approved 5-4 a mix of renovations and new construction for the Cedarbrook nursing home in South Whitehall Township near Dorney Park. A second campus of the facility is in Fountain Hill.

The approved plan, often referred to as Option 6B, will take up to four years to complete. The approved plan for the South Whitehall facility allots $68 million for renovation of the existing facility and includes a new four-story addition. The plan allows 480 skilled nursing beds.

Among those opposing the measure was Michael Schware, who said the board had lost sight of the goal. Percy Dougherty said he supported building a new facility instead of rehabilitation of old buildings. Commissioner David Jones said he had hoped for better options. “We are going to spend $69 [sic] million, but we are still not going to have a facility that is truly up to date,” said Jones.

Brad Osbourne, who supported the measure, said the plan “gets us to where we need to be.”

The plan would expand on the existing site at the Allentown or South Whitehall campus and include 480 skilled nursing beds, according to the planning document released by the commissioners Aug. 23. It would also keep Fountain Hill’s facility. Commissioner Dan Hartzell said the plan would allow for a combination of new construction and renovation of existing faculties.

According to Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation’s website, the facility has been “providing highest quality short- and long-term care for residents and their families since the 1840s.”

In other business, the Governance Committee gave preliminary approval to three appointments: Josh Bridges to head the Mental Health Intellectual Disability department; Paula Roberts to head the office of Children and Youth Services; and Emily Leonardo to be a member of the Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board.