Oceanside street repavings included in supervisor's capital plan

Repaving of town roads as part of Supervisor Laura Gillen’s five-year capital plan, including four in Oceanside, will commence in the coming months after its passage on June 4 by the Hempstead Town Board.

Besade and Maxine courts, as well as portions of Skillman and Waukena avenues are both slated for repaving in the coming year as part of the $244 million plan, which was introduced at a May 8 Hempstead Town Board meeting. But citing increased borrowing called for by the plan and a lack of familiarity with it, Councilwoman Erin King-Sweeney initially voted to table the measure.

“We need a few days to meet with the commissioners to understand what the capital plan calls for,” she said. “If we rushed it through, and we voted for it quickly we wouldn’t be fulfilling our responsibilities as councilmembers.”

Gillen shot back saying that she had given the council adequate time to review the plan and that she was “deeply disappointed that this board is going to hold up critical environmental infrastructure planning.” After weeks of discussion the board unanimously passed the measure.

Work to repave 2,100 feet of Skillman Avenue, running alongside Oceanside High School from Dennis Street to Brower Avenue, is estimated to cost $1 million. Survey and design work is scheduled to take place from August to September, with construction to begin in October, lasting seven months.

Additionally, Maxine and Besade courts, both culs-de-sac, are scheduled for repaving, costing roughly $100,000 and $70,000 respectively. And as the Herald previously reported, $420,000 would go towards repaving a portion of Waukena Avenue, between Skillman and Ocean avenues.

Town Spokesman Michael Fricchione said engineers from the Town Engineering Department identify roads most in need of repair by inspecting town roadways and assigning grades on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being a road in the worst possible condition. The grade is determined by a number of factors including the age of the roadway, potholes, depressions, drainage, “alligator cracking” and rideability.

Officials said the purpose of the capital plan is to allow for better financial planning of the bonds typically required for large-scale projects such a road repavings.