Hall's Pond Park project moves forward

Nassau County officials say they will soon be a step closer to beginning a rehabilitation project at Hall’s Pond Park in West Hempstead.

The project, which has been categorized by the county as a two-part plan because it includes separate park-improvement and stormwater components, is slated to give the 11-acre park a needed facelift.

Brian Schneider, a hydrogeologist in the county Department of Public Works, said that the county is finalizing the project’s paperwork, and will begin advertising for a contractor on its Web site by the end of this week. Schneider added that the county is aiming to have a single contractor work on the Hall’s Pond project and similar county projects at three preserves in Rockville Centre, Roosevelt and Seaford.

“There are four park projects included with this bid in total,” Schneider said, “and we want to complete Hall’s Pond Park first because it needs the most work, and it’s also the largest of the four.”

The project includes the installation of a sedimentation and baffle structure to address many of the debris problems in the park’s 5.5-acre pond, and the installation of new park benches, lighting and trash receptacles, among other aesthetic enhancements.

Funding for the project was included in the county’s 2004 $50 million Environmental Bond Act Program, which helps the county renovate parks, preserve open space and farmland, and protect drinking water, bays and harbors, among other environmental initiatives. The park improvement part will cost $573,000, with a little more than $140,000 devoted to the stormwater component. County officials estimate that the project will take nearly a year to complete.

“We have already received the required permits from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation for the Hall’s Pond project, which was also another step in this whole process,” Schneider explained. “This is a big project, so it takes time, but we’re moving along, and we still plan to begin construction in early spring.”