By Bob Shullman
At the August 3 meeting of the Retired Men’s Association, Peter Berg introduced the speaker, Fred Camillo, First Selectman of the Town of Greenwich, to whom he had previously sent a list of 20 questions suggested by the membership. He said he planned to ask Fred, time permitting, to respond to questions on the following topics: Traffic & Parking, Parks & Recreation, Housing, The Capital Plan, The Environment, Partisan Politics and Nathaniel Witherell. Following are brief summaries of some of Fred’s responses (recounting his detailed responses to all the questions asked would take many pages, but they can be viewed on the video of the talk on the RMA website).
• TRAFFIC & PARKING ISSUES: This is a persistent problem. Back in 1969, there were about 14,000 cars registered in Greenwich. Today, about 50 years later, with roughly the same population, there are many times that in town plus many cars registered out of state. We are working on many safety-related initiatives, including sidewalks, crosswalks, intersection public safety enhancements, smart traffic lights, and bike paths and bike sharing.
• PARKS & RECREATION: Regarding the question of adding more dog parks for Greenwich residents to use, we are currently working with the City of Stamford’s mayor to add a dog park to its Rosa Hartman Park, which is located on our border with Stamford, to also be open to our residents. Additionally, we are looking at a few locations in Western Greenwich to add a dog park in that area. Regarding the question about adding more pickleball courts, we are currently considering creating more pickleball courts by providing portable nets that can be used by pickleball players at our current tennis court locations.
• HOUSING: Regarding adding more affordable housing in Greenwich, while not easy, we are continuing to make strides. We are looking to do so by having Greenwich Communities (the former Greenwich Housing Authority) finance “scattered sites,” affordable housing integrated into the community rather than concentrated in large multi-unit structures. Additionally, we are continuing to enhance our currently Town-owned housing by upgrading their amenities and landscaping.
• CAPITAL PLAN: Regarding the questions about the Town’s long-range plans, we currently have a “vision” in place that looks out 15 years. We have discovered that when we try to plan expenditures for 15 years too much changes, and that is now leading us to concentrate more on a five-year capital plan.
• ENVIRONMENT: Regarding the use of leaf-blowers, we are looking for some compromising on the part of those who want to be able to use them, those who complain about the noise they make, and those who want to ban them altogether due to noise and health reasons. The RTM may be addressing this topic. The idea we are considering is to allow them for small-size properties during the spring and the fall, but not during the summer.
• PARTISAN POLITICS: “It’s gotten toxic” and social media in my opinion is adding to the challenge.
Numerous other questions were addressed.
For those interested in viewing the full presentation, go to the RMA website and click on the video at https://vimeo.com/736593565.
