Northampton County Council conducted its first ever Skype meeting April 16. Council President Ron Heckman and VP Lori Vargo-Heffner were physically present, with the remaining seven Council members (John Cusick, Peg Ferraro, Bill McGee, Kevin Lott, Kerry Myers, Tom Giovanni and Tara Zrinski) participating by laptop. Skype is a telecommunications application that enables video chats and online meetings. Although there was lots of noise in the background from time to time, the remote format seemed to be a success. There was no public participation, but members of the public were able to participate from their own phones or computers. The meeting was also broadcast on YouTube.

The reason for this unusual type of meeting was, of course, the COVID-19 crisis. Centers for Disease Control guidelines recommend the cancellation of all events involving 10 or more people. Council President Ron Heckman scratched the council meeting that had been scheduled for April 2, though the Home Rule Charter requires council to meet at least twice a month.

The main reason for the remote meeting was to decide whether to extend Executive Lamont McClure’s emergency powers for another 30 days, until May 19. They were set to expire April 19.

During the 30 days in which McClure has had emergency powers, he’s made every effort to be as transparent as possible. He’s issued as many as five news releases a day concerning COVID-19. He’s been up front about infections at the jail and at Gracedale, instead of hiding details. He’s actually gone above and beyond what the state Department of Health was initially doing when he began breaking down the ages, sex and races of coronavirus victims. His Human Services department has been collecting donations for the homeless, while his economic development office has started a zero interest loan pool for small businesses. His mapping department is not only graphing the daily tally, but offers a comparison to other counties.

McClure told council that Gracedale has been hit hard by COVID-19. Twenty-six residents and 22 employees have tested positive. Unfortunately, four of these residents have died, but two of the staffers have already returned to work. He added that the specter of a novel coronavirus resulted in 400 call-offs in April. “We understand that many of those who called off are scared,” he observed.”But those who show up are scared, too.”

He thanked the state Department of Health for its help at Gracedale. “I don’t know where we would be today without the responsiveness of the Department of Health,” he said.

COVID-19 has hit the jail, too. McClure reported that five inmates and five staffers have been infected. The afflicted staffers include two medical personnel and three corrections officers. One of the corrections officers has returned to work. The jail’s population has been reduced from a census of 661 March 23 to 531 April 15. McClure credited President Judge Michael J Koury, Jr, District Attorney Terry Houck and Chief Public Defender Nuria DiLuzio for their role in identifying nonviolent offenders who could be released.

Using his emergency powers, McClure has declared both the jail and Gracedale off limits to visits and volunteers. He purchased tablets so that Gracedale residents could still talk to family members. He closed the senior centers, and March 19 closed the courthouse to the public. He has also closed county parks, which he said was his most controversial decision. He extended the discount period for county real estate taxes until May 31, conducted a virtual town hall for area businesses and has requested donations for the homeless and Gracedale.

McClure also praised emergency management for their role in securing personal protective equipment for distribution to first responders over the past month and named and thanked several private individuals and businesses who donated masks and hand sanitizer.

John Cusick was the only council member to vote against the extension of McClure’s emergency powers, and said he did so because of McClure’s decision to close all county parks. Though not discussed at the meeting, a recent Chinese study (still awaiting peer review) concludes COVID-19 is almost entirely an indoor phenomenon. On the other hand, Louise Moore Park is located very close to Palmer and Bethlehem townships, the two hardest hit municipalities within Northampton County.

In addition to extending McClure’s emergency powers for another 30 days, council also adopted an “emergency” ordinance giving itself the option of just meeting once a month for the next three months. Council President Ron Heckman explained that it was still his intention to have council meet twice every month, but the ordinance gives council the option of reducing the number of meetings if necessary. The ordinance also cancels all committee meetings for the next three months.

Cusick was again the sole vote against. Having participated in multiple electronic meetings as a teacher, he said, “I see no reason for this ordinance.”

Donations to County

Home Depot - 160 N95 masks

Carpenters’ Union - masks and filters

CIT - gloves, shoe protectors, gowns

Eight Oaks Farm Distillery - 1,600 bottles hand sanitizer

Klingel Farms - 7 gallons hand sanitizer

Social Still - 40 bottles hand sanitizer

Whitehall Pharmacy - 50 bottles hand sanitizer

Morningstar Living Foundation - 200 fabric masks

Swim USA - masks and gowns

Capital Blue Cross - 250 boxed lunches for jail

Optum - 6,000 surgical masks

Hire Painting - 950 surgical masks

Just Born - two boxes N95 masks

Karen Corpora (Easton), Corrie Drosnock (Nazareth), Catherine Engle (Bangor) and Sherry Stecker (Easton) - homemade masks