Former 911 dispatcher LoriAnn Fehnel, of Whitehall Township, addressed the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners and Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong Feb. 12, stating she was disappointed in their decision to fire three supervisors and to allegedly force the resignation of seven dispatchers who used rum-laced eggnog to toast the New Year while on duty in the dispatch room Dec. 31, 2019.

Fehnel, a 911 dispatcher from 2007 to 2010 in Allentown, said she felt someone needed to speak up for the dismissed emergency services personnel.

“People would like to speak up, but they fear retribution,” she said. “These people are tired. You have no idea what it is like to be in that seat. People say, ‘You signed up for it.’ Yes, we did because we want to help the public.

“Do the right thing, Mr. Phillips Armstrong. Reinstate them,” Fehnel urged.

“It was not a justified firing,” she said in an interview. “Suspension would have been more appropriate.”

Fehnel said she doesn’t believe the executive understands how stressful the job is.

“They work 12- to 16-hour days. They get tired,” she said.

Later in the meeting, Commissioner Marc Grammes told the board of a $200,000 grant that will be administered by the Lehigh Valley Homeless Veteran Fund recently established to assist Lehigh Valley homeless veterans.

Grammes noted the 2019 point-in-time count - a one-day effort held each January to identify the homeless throughout a community - identified 38 homeless veterans in the Lehigh Valley. This number has held fairly steady since 2013 when veterans became a subcategory of the count, according to a statement released by state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th.

Commissioners approved a new 20-year lease with the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society. This $1-per-year lease extends the previous lease the county provides the Trexler Nature Preserve, on which the Lehigh County Zoo operates and which contains a clause for reimbursable expenses for the daily care of the bison, horses and elk owned by the county.

In other business, commissioners had a first reading for a bill establishing a nondiscrimination policy for Lehigh County contracts and grants. This will codify a policy already in place by executive order. They also approved a lease agreement with Sovereign Executive Offices Inc. for office and storage space.

Armstrong said he planned to present the State of the County address 4 p.m. Feb. 27 at Coca-Cola Park, 1050 IronPigs Way, Allentown.

The newly hired public information secretary specialist, Laura Grammes, was introduced at the meeting. Armstrong said there were 32 applicants for the job previously held by Joshua Siegel, who was recently elected to Allentown City Council. Laura Grammes is the daughter of Commissioner Marc Grammes.

Armstrong also reported the recently announced plan for Allegiant Air to move its regional hub to Lehigh Valley International Airport will bring 60 new jobs to the Lehigh Valley.

In other business, commissioners appointed several nominees to fill positions: Tracy Roman to Aging and Adult Services Advisory Council; Norma Cusick to Lehigh County Authority; Sheila Alvarado, Matthew B. Malozi and Jennifer Ramos to Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority; and Jamie Johnson, Joshua Siegel and Amy Zanelli to Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.