Hempstead Town picks animal shelter director

The Hempstead Town Board has appointed a permanent animal-shelter director.

At its meeting Tuesday, the board selected Cynthia Iacopella after she scored No. 1 on the town’s Civil Service Commission exam for the position with a score of 95 percent. Iacopella will be paid $103,750 annually as the director, town spokesman Michael Deery said.

Iacopella, of Huntington Station, was first hired as assistant director of the shelter in July 2011. She was later appointed as provisional shelter director, after she completed her bachelor’s degree in August. The town requires the shelter director to have a bachelor’s degree; she already holds two associate degrees.

Also at the meeting, after several town residents signed up to speak about a request for the repaving of residential streets in an area known as Campgrounds or Tiny Town in North Merrick, Supervisor Kate Murray said the remaining pothole-filled streets will be paved in 2013. The area is made up of circular streets, such as Fletcher and Wesley avenues, lined with small cottages.