Northampton County Council met Jan. 20 to consider appointments to various boards and commissions, as well as a couple of resolutions.

All 13 nominated people were appointed or reappointed to their respective boards.

Among those were John Mauser and Jeff Keifer, who were appointed to the conservation district board, with terms to expire at the end of 2024 and 2025, respectively. Fred Williams was reappointed to the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority board. Tara Zrinski was appointed as the council liaison to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for a one-year term.

Appointments to the election commission were another story. Nominations included Margie DeRenzis, Selina Winchester, Daniel Lopresti, Scott Hough and Vicki Evert.

Winchester’s appointment to the election commission was tabled by a 6-3 vote. Winchester is employed by state Rep. Susan Wild, and many council members felt this could be a major conflict of interest.

Hough, on the other hand, travels back and forth between Las Vegas and Northampton County for work. Council was concerned about his commitment to the election commission, but after talking with him, his appointment was approved.

In other business, council discussed a few different resolutions. One resolution, the American Rescue Plan small business grants, proposes to divide $863,076 among 67 small businesses in the county. This resolution was passed by council with a vote of 9-0.

Another resolution concerned hazard pay at Gracedale Nursing Home. This motion proposes to compensate Gracedale employees working directly with residents who have contracted COVID-19. Qualifying shifts and employees, as determined by Gracedale administration, will receive hazard pay at 25 percent, effective until April 30. This motion was also passed unanimously.

Northampton County Council will next meet 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at 669 Washington St., Easton. It will be streamed on the county’s YouTube page.