Anyone interested in ice skating in our tow n was surely seriously disappointed in the outcome of the Jan. 21 RTM rejection of the Rink User Committee’s proposed plan to replace the Hamill Rink.
I would like to put the current proposal and discussion in perspective. In 2005 a group of skating supporters joined together to attempt to persuade the Town to move forward on the replacement of the Hamill Rink. We all knew first hand of the condition of Hamill and its poor standing in relation to rinks in our area. We sought participation from the eight or so skating organizations in town and raised sufficient funds for a feasibility study and an architectural study. The architect proposed that the rink be demolished and rebuilt in its current location. The plan depended on one very important requirement: that we could find a location which would support a temporary rink for the two skating seasons during construction. We were convinced at the time that we could find such a location. We were wrong. We looked at what seemed to be every marginally feasible site in town. They included Roger Sherman Baldwin park, the Island Beach parking lot, Binney Park, Byram Park, the GHS tennis courts, the Cos Cob power plant, the field behind Town Hall, a site on upper King Street and one in Banksville. In order for the sites to be feasible, they had to satisfy 5 requirements; sufficient power, adequate space for parking, outdoor lighting, adequate sewer service and an accepting neighborhood. All sites failed. Ironically, a priority site, the Cos Cob power plant, was specifically rejected by the RTM. At any rate, the Town decided not to proceed at that time.
Fast forward to 2021 when First Selectman Fred Camillo appointed the Rink User Committee of twelve civic minded individuals to assist the Dept. of Parks & Recreation to formulate a plan. The Committee undertook an updated version of the same exploration to find a Town site which could accommodate a temporary or permanent covered rink. They reported the same results as the prior search in 2005. Now First Selectman Camillo, in response to the unfortunate RTM Jan 21 decision, has proposed yet another committee, the Hamill Rink Task Force, this time composed of nine civic-minded individuals, to “evaluate the possible options”. So here we go again, having the same discussions as 2005 and 2024. At the end of the day, this new committee will be faced with the same three basic dilemmas:
No rink for two seasons. Will the Town be satisfied with a solution which requires basically shutting down all skating activities currently based at Hamill for probably two seasons?
Alternative location. Can we find a location in town which could accommodate the rink on a temporary or permanent basis?
If the answer to #1 and #2 is “No”, proceed with the “Flip”? Will the Town proceed on the project as currently proposed, recognizing the objections raised by the four Byram residents?
The damage done by shutting down the Town’s rink for two or so seasons would be considerable. As outlined by Coach Jack Duffy of GHS, there is very little available ice time in the surrounding rinks, and certainly insufficient time to accommodate the needs of GHS, much less the Town’s instructional and free skate offerings. In his own words: ”This kind of ice time is simply not available in our area… If this rink is taken offline, our programs will be set back for two or three years. They will be at risk for their survival”. He also said that the GHS boys program might take five years to regain its footing and the girls program might not recover at all, and that “the Jr Cardinals will probably cease to exist”. Then is there any realistic chance of the new committee finding an acceptable site for a temporary or replacement rink? It is my view that no amount of additional committee work will change the conclusion of the 2005 and 2024 studies, that the reality is that there is little to no chance, in Greenwich CT, that there is a a site capable of accommodating a satisfactory covered artificial rink for two seasons. The technology certainly exists to construct a temporary rink if you have the appropriate site. The site is the issue. Of course, if the Town is interested in contributing millions in funding to either buy a site or address the short-comings of any particular site, that would better the odds.
But creating yet another committee will not solve the problem. All it will do is kick the can down the road. At the end of the new Committee’s work, after two or more years of committee work, there is an extremely high probability that their conclusion will be that there is no available location. Two more years will have passed and we will be right back where we started. Is this in anyone’s best interests?
So let’s be clear about the consequences of the Jan 21 vote. The primary result will be delay. With the Town decision to proceed with yet another committee, the delay will most likely run to several years, and, in my view, will result in exactly the same conclusion as the current proposal.
Alternatively and preferably, I would urge the RTM to reconsider their decision.
Frederic Putnam
