During the April 8 Lehigh County Board of Commissioners meeting, Bill 2026-14 received its first read and brought about quite a discussion as the legislation looks to approve a regional youth detention center intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Lehigh, Berks, Dauphin and Lackawanna counties. This bill would establish the Southeast Youth Detention Agency and serve as both a treatment and detention center.

Sponsoring this bill, Commissioner Antonio Pineda introduced the bill as a partnership and regional effort to generate a known, safe location for temporarily detaining troubled youths who require detention for their own safety and the safety of the public.

During the meeting, multiple individuals reiterated there inevitably is a need for a detention center.

Commissioner Ron Beitler said, “450 youth are in the system roughly at any given time, and five per day require detention. That’s 1.3% ... and these are not minor cases. This is where detention is truly the last resort.”

The county’s current approach to juvenile detention forces the county to buy beds from various facilities, many of which are far away from Lehigh County and one in particular — Abraxas Academy — has multiple lawsuits against it for alleged mistreatment of youths.

Kevin Miller, chief juvenile probation officer for Lehigh County, President Judge Doug Reichley, as well as members from the Berks County government were in attendance to convey years of hard work at finding the next solution for juvenile detention in Lehigh County since the previous detention center closed 12 years ago.

Miller emphasized the county is currently putting juveniles into secure environments that might be unsafe.

“Inaction at this particular point is just going to continue to facilitate putting kids in facilities that don’t have the license, which is wrong, but I don’t have a choice,” Miller said.

In the absence of any other solutions being brought forward, Miller said, he is confident this regional youth detention center agreement aligns with the oath he took to protect the youth of Lehigh County.

Despite the voices in support of the bill, several commissioners and citizens noted their hesitations.

Commissioners Jon Irons and Sarah Fevig vocalized their concern about the 20-year commitment, foreshadowing inevitable changes and improvements to both medicine and technology, which could impact how incarceration is viewed in 20 years.

Concerned citizens Ed Angelo, Sharon Finnegan, Tinku Khanwalkar and others spoke of their respective uncertainties but ultimately requested a slow down on this bill and pleaded with the board to consider other options.

Commissioner Geoff Brace leveled the discussion by reminding all present Lehigh County currently spends $7.7 million for treatment of youths under the juvenile probation and parole office.

While this is multiple factors above the monies spent on detention, Brace said he wanted to clarify the commitment to treatment will not change as this bill is not an “either-or proposition.”

Several bills followed and also received their first read for the evening.

Of the three bills read, bill 2026-16 generated a discussion as it proposed to add a paid parental leave policy to the Lehigh County personnel policies and procedures manual for up to eight weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees.

Ensuing conversations clarified this leave extends to parents adopting and fostering children, as well as to fathers.

In response to several questions posed by a community member, Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel assured all this policy “will not have an additional cost on taxpayers because it’s not an extraneous cost” since each county employee’s salary is already budgeted for the full 52 weeks of the year.

Also at the meeting, a citizen took to the podium with the request for a focused evaluation of property taxes and affordability within the county to accompany bill 2026-12. The aforementioned bill was approved during the March 25 meeting and establishes an annual conversation and report regarding the potential for reassessment.

Briana M. Gaumer was successfully appointed to the Aging and Adult Services Advisory Council with a term expiring Dec. 31, 2029. Ara Barlieb was also reappointed to serve on the same council for another term.

Vicky Kistler received a positive recommendation and her appointment to the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority was confirmed with no opposition.

Lastly, Vijay Singh’s appointment to Lehigh County Authority was confirmed by all commissioners in attendance.

Joshua A. Bridges received a positive recommendation and was unanimously appointed to serve as the director of human services.

Widely recognized for his time and dedication to serving in local government for more than 30 years, Commissioner Geoff Brace stated his appointment is indeed “right for the moment.”

Additionally, Jeffrey R. Smith was successfully appointed to the position of warden II, department of corrections.

Praised for his attention and commitment to this position, several of the commissioners, as well as Siegel, acknowledged an appreciation and excitement for his strategic plan to address the issues facing Lehigh County Jail.

In old business, bill 2026-13 was adopted to continue the lease with Let Farms LLC for an additional five years regarding approximately 10 acres of agricultural land located in Lynn Township.

Under new business, a motion was made and approved for the county executive to authorize six remnant defendants with a combined subdivision participation and release form to hold them accountable for their contribution to the opioid epidemic. This motion will execute settlements to folks who were previously not yet held accountable with the goal for the resources generated to be funneled back into Lehigh County to combat and support those affected by the opioid crisis.

Resolution 2026-16 approved an agreement with Shepherd Hills Family Practice to provide services to residents in Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation, both at the Allentown and Fountain Hill facilities.

The board of commissioners will next meet 7:30 p.m. April 22.