The Town of North Hempstead Board has disputed various issues at the dias from employee appointments to permit approvals, but the most recent matter to divide the board along partisan lines revolves around carpet.
“This is a basic improvement to the building,” Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “It will last 15 years.”
The board voted at the Oct. 1 meeting to install $15,300 worth of new carpet in the town hall, but only in the supervisor’s office and two communal conference rooms.
All three Democrats on the Town Board – Council members Mariann Dalimonte, Christine Liu and Robert Troiano – voted against the purchase and installation of the carpet. All board Republicans, including DeSena, voted for it.
DeSena said the last time the carpet was replaced was at the beginning of former Supervisor Judi Bosworth’s term. She said there are problems with the carpet because it is “tile glued down to the floor” without padding.
Dalimonte, the main Council member disputing the carpet purchase, said she does not have access to enter the supervisor’s suite so could not comment on the necessity for the new carpet.
The carpet company also measured to install carpet in the Town Board Suite, But DeSena said Dalimonte told them not to. Dalimonte refuted the claim, saying that she told them she did not need new carpet in her office and was not speaking about the entire Town Board Suite.
The other Council members said they were not consulted about whether or not they wanted their offices measured for new carpets or if they wanted new carpet installed.
Dalimonte said nothing about this was communicated to them prior to the carpet company coming to measure the offices. Liu said she was never asked if she wanted new carpet.
DeSena said the Council members are able to request new carpet as well.
“This is part of maintaining the building, so I hope you’re not trying to make this political,” DeSena said.
Dalimonte said she was not making it political but voicing her thoughts on where $15,000 should be spent instead.
She said the funds should be prioritized for other areas of improvements, such as the sound system in the town hall meeting room.
“It’s not political,” Dalimonte said. “It’s about spending the money and using it where it’s going to affect everyone and I don’t have to be getting texts [from residents] ‘I can’t hear you, speak up, I can’t hear the person.’ I mean we get that all the time.”
“What did you say?” Troiano jokingly said, referring to the low audio issues in the meeting room.
Dalimonte said the sound system is a needed project and would benefit the broader community.
“This is something that for the past three years everyone that comes to our Town Board meetings complains about,” Dalimonte said. “Why aren’t we doing this first, using this money first for a sound system before carpet?”
DeSena said she agrees a new sound system is needed but that installing new carpet is not preventing them from purchasing one. She suggested Dalimonte start the process to do so.
“There is nothing prohibiting us from doing that,” DeSena said.
