North Hempstead $127M capital plan includes park, road, lighthouse improvements

North Hempstead's Town Board approved a capital plan last week that calls for about $127 million in spending for the next five years on initiatives that include road and park improvements and the restoration of a historic lighthouse.

Council members agreed on the 97-page plan outlining the town's upcoming projects until 2027 with a vote of 7-0.

“I believe that the town should be seeking to not just maintain, but significantly improve our parks and our town infrastructure,” Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said in a statement. “There are a number of projects in this capital plan which have had multiyear life spans, and that is unacceptable. I expect these to reach substantial completion at some point this year.”

Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey called the plan "a blueprint for major infrastructure work" for the next five years.

Town officials expect to bond for about $97.5 million over five years to cover the anticipated cost of the projects. The remaining balance will be covered by grants and cash on hand — money left over from previous borrowing.

More than $22 million will be spent on residential and industrial road resurfacing, according to the plan, which says the town will allocate $4.3 million for equipment purchases and improvements to the greens and cart paths at municipal-owned Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington.

Town officials will bond nearly $1.8 million in the next two years to finish Phase One improvements at North Hempstead Beach Park, which focus on shoreline rehabilitation and future engineering work for the Port Washington recreation spot.

More than $2.5 million will go toward upgrades of Wi-Fi access points, replacement of desktops and laptops and software purchases for town facilities, according to the plan.

North Hempstead officials also included an expenditure of more than $535,000, which includes grant and cash-on-hand funding, for the restoration of the Stepping Stones Lighthouse, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005. 

The first phase of the restoration will include the installation of a new fixed pier and a floating dock at the structure about a mile north of Kings Point.

Local preservationists have fought to raise funding to save the structure that in the 1800s warned mariners of a shoal and rocks  in Long Island Sound, according to the Great Neck Historical Society. The town took ownership in 2008.

Under the capital plan, the town’s solid waste management facility in Port Washington will receive various improvements with an estimated bonding requirement of more than $12 million.

Town officials also will seek to buy more electric vehicles, install vehicle charging stations and look to upgrade green infrastructure on town properties at a projected cost of about $330,000, according to the plan.