On Tuesday night January 21, the Greenwich legislative body (the Representative Town Meeting, RTM) voted against proceeding with the new ice rink as approved by Planning & Zoning. The plans were for a new rink that would be built within the same Byram park as the old Dorothy Hamill but "flipped" to the other side of the park so that the old rink could remain open during construction. The vote was 52 in favor and 136 against.
There is overwhelming community support for a new ice rink that has been under study for nearly eight years. However, it seems the overriding issues behind the failed RTM vote were concerns by a vocal group of Byram residents about the composition of the rink committee and its non-transparent decision-making process. Other concerns included the closeness of the new rink to a nearby senior housing complex and a lack of hard cost estimates.
In a meeting on Thursday, Selectman Camillo expressed strong disappointment about going back to the drawing board on the new rink. He said that 84% of 3,000 residents who weighed in were in favor.
Between the lines: He says the delay could add two years to the project. Sigh.