Cedarbrook, A Decision Never Reached

It took Lehigh County several years to award outsourced management to Good Shepherd, which was a no brainer decision in the first place. This evening,  the commissioners are having yet again another public meeting on Cedarbrook, this time to supposedly decide how many beds the facility should have. If they ever come to agreement on that issue, next comes if the building(s) should be remodeled or replaced. If any of this sounds familiar, it's only because they have been debating these issues for nearly a decade. Cedarbrook, although the recipient of election promises, never gets the green light for change.

Let me give the readers a two for one special with this post. One of the long time airport authority members is retiring, claiming he no longer has enough time to devote to the position. I recently inquired of another member, supposedly one very involved, as to why the airport was spending money to build a separate building for the car rental operations. I'm always amazed why the airport keeps expanding their facilities, when the passenger volume keeps decreasing. The current baggage area, like the airport itself, is never crowded, and the car rentals being there is convenient. This board member, while even being one of the officers, knew nothing about the justification for the proposal, although he had approved it.

Despite mountains of campaign mailers every spring and fall,  Lehigh Valley residents are not well  served by our elected officials, who in turn appoint their kindred spirits to the boards and authorities.

ADDENDUM: Last night, after two years deliberation,  the commissioner's committee on Cedarbrook decided that the nursing home should stay about the same size.  They literally patted themselves on the back for this statement, which is as close to a decision as they ever get on Cedarbrook.

photocredit: K Mary Hess