Issues galore for the town of Hempstead to tackle

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and council members Gary Hudes, Dorothy Goosby and Anthony Santino were set to take the oath of office at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

In recent years, relations between the Republican-controlled town and the Democratically controlled county government were cordial, but strained at times, and not especially productive. We hope and trust that those relations will improve with the GOP assuming control of both the county executive’s seat and the Legislature for the first time in eight years.

There are big-picture issues that the town and the county will have to tackle together. Foremost among them is the Lighthouse project, a sweeping proposal to transform 150 acres surrounding the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale from the barren asphalt of a parking lot to a residential and commercial zone. If approved by the town board and the county Legislature, the project will include a new and improved Coliseum, two 36-story apartment complexes, shops, businesses and a canal for ice skating in the winter.

A number of Republican elected officials have expressed concerns about the size and scope of the project, with some suggesting that it be scaled back to one degree or another. Potentially, they fear, the development might strain local fire and waste-disposal services.

We’re calling on the town board to act deliberately, but also swiftly and decisively, on the Lighthouse project to ensure that it eventually comes to fruition. If approved, the project would take 10 years to complete, create 75,000 construction and 19,000 permanent jobs and generate $71 million in new tax revenue annually for the county.

At the same time, the town needs to take a more proactive approach toward consolidation of government services. A hodgepodge of tiny garbage, water and even parking districts, each with its own commissioners and assistants, dot the South Shore — and, for that matter, Nassau County. These districts unnecessarily cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.