Op-Ed: Getting Back To Work On A New Dorothy Hamill Ice Rink

Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo submitted the following Op-Ed to Patch

The recent RTM vote on the Hamill Rink has been described as a setback in the quest for a new ice rink in Town. While it will cost us a little more time, it is also an opportunity to get right back to work with a new set of eyes in the form of a new task force that can build upon the information researched over the past several years and marry that with any new ideas, thoughts, and additional research.

The Dorothy Hamill Rink, first erected with just a slab of ice and boards in 1972, is long past its time. The recently debated rink proposal had one thing everyone agreed on: We need a new rink.
For the past 53 years, even as the Town built the rink up, piece by piece, into what we have today, there was no consensus on how to provide a high functioning rink that would offer our residents the same type of facility that most other towns and cities have.

Now, we have arrived at a point where we are not only fighting the clock in regard to the useful life of Hamill Rink, but also need to settle on an exact site so that the process can begin.

In January the Representative Town Meeting rejected awarding Municipal Improvement for the proposed rink design due to a wide variety of reasons. In the wake of the RTM’s decision, I have decided to assemble a new nine-person Task Force to address the concerns and questions raised at the RTM meeting, and above all, show that I listened and am determined to work together to bring our community the new skating rink that it deserves. The proposed Task Force represents a broad coalition of stakeholders, who will now have the opportunity to be active participants and establish the path forward for the construction of a beautiful and modern new municipal skating rink.

The composition of the nine-member task force would be as follows:

Two RTM members to be chosen by the Moderator;
One member with construction experience;
One member affiliated with the skating community;
One member from the Selectmen’s ADA Advocacy Committee;
One member representing the Energy Management Advisory Committee (EMAC);
One member from the Byram Neighborhood Association;
One member representing the Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET); and
One member representing the Veterans groups in Town.

The representative for each entity shall be chosen by the chairperson of that organization. The chairperson of the Hamill Task Force shall be selected by its voting members.

To aid the task force in its work, I intend to have three liaisons from the Department of Public Works (DPW), Parks & Recreation, and P&Z, who will serve in an advisory capacity and assist the task force with understanding the history of the rink and the appropriate rules and regulations associated with a major capital project.

The task force is being asked to evaluate and consider all options for the location of a new skating rink and I would encourage them to review the resources compiled over the last 53 years, including but not limited to, the recent committee’s work as well as any information generated by the Parks & Recreation and Public Works Departments.