Allentown City Council urges Lehigh County to do more to stop COVID-19 contagion in jail
A divided Allentown City Council has joined those urging Lehigh County agencies to reduce the population in its jail to stop the spread of COVID-19.
On its second attempt, council adopted a resolution Wednesday recommending the county administration, district attorney’s office and courts system limit future incarcerations and release as many nonviolent offenders as possible to house arrest. The resolution also suggests the county should ensure jail staff, inmates and visitors have clean personal protective equipment.
Lehigh County Jail experienced a surge of cases in mid-December. During a 10-day period, nearly 200 inmates tested positive. A 54-yearold man whose identity was not disclosed died died New Year’s Eve of complications from a COVID-19 infection. A few weeks later, corrections officer Gary Dean also died of complications of a COVID-19 infection he had been battling since December.
As of Wednesday, the jail has had 317 inmates and 103 employees test positive for COVID-19. Seven inmates currently have the virus, and two staff members are recovering.
Allentown’s resolution is nonbinding; the city has no legal say in county government operations.
“But it is really important that we take a stance on this,” council Vice President Cynthia Mota said.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second time council considered the measure. The legislative body deadlocked 3-3 on Feb. 17 because Mota, feeling ill after receiving her COVID-19 vaccine, left the meeting before a contentious half-hour debate. She later asked for another opportunity to cast her vote.
Defense attorney Ed Angelo in January urged the city to voice its concerns given that many inmates are city residents. Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach, who introduced the resolution, said its purpose is to recognize inmates as humans who deserve dignity and respect — and acknowledge “there is still a problem in there.”
Council member Joshua Siegel went a step further, calling the matter one of life or death.
“We have a moral obligation as legislators to hold other parts of the government accountable and encourage them to take actions when individuals’ lives are being threatened,” he said in February.
Council members Daryl Hendricks and Ed Zucal took exception to the resolution and accused Gerlach and Siegel of playing politics.
“I don’t feel it’s our duty to call out county agencies and dictate the guidelines they should follow,” Hendricks said in February. “I don’t have the expertise to challenge their efforts in this field, and I am aware that county officials are meeting on a regular basis regarding this very issue.”
Council member Julio Guridy initially expressed reluctance to vote in favor of what he considered a toothless resolution, but ultimately got behind its symbolic intent.
For the same reason, Councilwoman Candida Affa switched her vote to yes on Wednesday.
“But I hope people realize this is going to go nowhere,” she added.
Hendricks and Zucal again voted no.
The average population of the prison was more than 20% smaller overall in 2020 than the year before and nearly 40% smaller than the largest annual average in the last five years, according to an assessment filed in state Supreme Court in late February by Lehigh County President Judge Brian Johnson.
But amid a resurgence of the virus in December, the prison’s population rebounded to a daily average of 637 inmates, more than the daily average at the start of the pandemic. The jail’s capacity is 1,363.
Some inmates said not enough was done to protect who those had not yet tested positive. County officials contradicted some claims, saying inmates with the virus were separated from those who were healthy.
Both inmates and corrections officers described infrequent and inconsistent meal schedules and significant restrictions on inmates leaving their cells.
A snapshot of the jail population Jan. 26 shows that nearly half of those being held were serving sentences, while slightly more than one-third were being held for trial on felony or misdemeanor offenses either without bail or unable to post bail. The remainder, 14%, were being held on a probation or parole violation or had bail revoked.
The Lehigh Valley Quakers established a fund to try to help prisoners unable to afford bail, but have found that other roadblocks, such as a lack of affordable housing, keep poor people behind bars.
The availability of information about the jail population became an issue last year when Lehigh County Controller Matt Pinsley said he had been stonewalled by the court and its appointed bail agency, Lehigh Valley Pretrial Services, when he sought information about inmates being held under bail. Siegel serves as Pinsley’s assistant operations manager.
Lehigh County Judge Douglas Reichley told county commissioners Wednesday that the criminal judges are considering on a daily basis petitions for early parole and bail modifications.
Despite plans to replace it, the Bethlehem Parking Authority is considering taking out a loan for up to $800,000 in emergency repairs to the Walnut Street Parking garage.
The authority is waiting on the results of a study that will show what it would cost to replace the 46-year-old garage that takes up a city block, what type of parking facility is best suited for the site and what to do about the more than 700 vehicles that would be displaced during construction.
But the results of the study by Desman Design Management are still several months away. Even if the garage is replaced, it would take time to go through the design stage and final approvals, Parking Authority Executive Director Steve Fernstrom said.
“It’s either do the emergency repairs or shut down the garage, and we really don’t have a plan. At this stage we still don’t have a plan for what we are going to do moving forward with the garage, so I think everyone thought it was necessary to get these repairs done,” Jim Broughal, the authority’s solicitor, said in a Feb. 24 meeting of the authority.
Authority member Mark Jobes questioned whether it would make sense to wait for Desman’s feasibility study on a replacement.
But Broughal said the authority must act on the repairs now that it is aware of the need.
“We have a condition report for the Walnut Street garage. It’s not good,” Broughal said. “We have knowledge there are issues with the garage so we have to move ahead and get those issues taken care of or we have to close the garage now.”
If the garage were to shut down now, the authority would lose $800,000 per year, Broughal said.
“To not do the repairs, I think you’re taking a tremendous risk,” he said. “Now you have the knowledge and you have to do whatever you can to protect the public and that’s why those repairs have to be done.”
A June report from Desman examining the garage’s infrastructure found it was in poor condition and would require a major overhaul to continue safely operating. That report has been verified by independent engineers, Fernstrom said.
It estimated $12.6 million in repairs are needed over the next five years and $23.7 million in the next 20 years.
That report found the most significant issue is corrosion of steel beams, columns and connections from the infiltration of water laden with chlorides. Some beams have been shored up and portions of the garage were closed to traffic until repairs were completed. Desman also recommended updating the garage’s electrical system and elevators.
“We need to manage these repairs every year,” Fernstrom said.
In December, the authority requested proposals from engineering firms to identify and manage repairs. Four firms submitted proposals, though one was late. The most cost effective proposal came from Desman, coming in at $58,500 and estimating the garage was in need of up to $800,000 in emergency work, Fernstrom said.
The authority approved that agreement for Desman to handle the engineering and bidding for the emergency repairs Feb. 24. It plans to vote on a loan for the repairs at its meeting March 24.
The state Health Department reported 3,028 additional coronavirus cases Thursday. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 2,636, up 9% from 2,428 a week ago.
While the moving average is about one-quarter of the record December rate of 10,579, it is still twice as high as the original April surge, when about 1,300 cases per day were being reported, and Pennsylvanians withdrew into their bubbles to count toilet paper rolls.
To date, there have been 941,439 infections statewide since the state’s first cases were announced March 6 of last year.
There have been about 340,000 vaccinations of both first and second doses over the last seven days. The latest combined numbers from the Philadelphia and state health departments show more than 3 million shots have been put into more than 2 million arms since Dec. 14, accounting for 19.8% of the state’s eligible population.
More than 23% of Lehigh Valley’s eligible residents, 126,000 people, have received about 194,000 shots, with better than 1 out of 8 people now fully immunized against COVID-19.
There were 50 deaths reported Thursday compared with 69 Wednesday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 50, compared with 65 a week ago.
There were 1,628 people hospitalized as of midday Thursday compared with 1,648 Wednesday. Of those, 177 were on ventilators, and 350 were in ICU beds.
Hospitalizations in the Lehigh Valley stand at 147 COVID-19 patients, with 19 in intensive care beds and 14 of those on ventilators.
There were 10,836 test results reported Thursday, with 19.4% of them positive, compared with 18% on Wednesday.
The overall positive test rate is 17.1% since the state’s first cases were reported last March.
The state Health Department maintains a goal of testing 2% of a region’s population each month. The would require an average of about 8,400 people tested each day. While the current rate meets that goal, the number of test reports has been sliding during the course of the year.
In the Lehigh Valley, there were 202 additional reports, with 85 in Lehigh County and 117 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 58,267.
Three new deaths (two in Lehigh County, and one in Northampton County) brought the Lehigh Valley’s death toll to 1,425, (775 in Lehigh, and 650 in Northampton).