To flip or not to flip-that is the question

Newsletter Volume 3 • Number 30

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Skaters have a pitiful facility

Everyone involved agrees on the need for a new, modern rink. The existing one, named for the great Olympic champion and daughter of Greenwich, Dorothy Hamill, has served Greenwich since 1971, and is outdated. It started off as an outdoor rink, is smaller than regulation size, and prone to failure. “On warm days we can’t have the Zamboni clean the ice because the ice will melt,” one Greenwich High School hockey player told town officials in 2023. 

Instead, the debate has centered on where to put a rink without disrupting neighbors, skaters or other users of Eugene Morlot Park in Byram, where it sits now. 

The Municipal Improvement plan approved last month by the Planning and Zoning Commission calls for a new rink to go on the opposite side of the park from the existing one, replacing a baseball diamond. That’s “the flip.” It means users won’t lose ice time—as much as two years if the rink were rebuilt where it is—because the existing rink would stay open during construction. Then it would be demolished, and the ball field relocated there and improved. 

“This project will provide a simple, efficient and high quality skating rink and a beautiful new Strazza ball field of the proper dimensions turned the proper way for safety,“ wrote Rink Committee Chair Bill Drake.


But opponents contend the rink committee didn’t fully explore rebuilding in the existing footprint or elsewhere in town or hold dedicated public hearings as is customary for a project of this size and scope. They did conduct a survey in 2022, which found 84% of 2,600 respondents supported the flip, though critics noted that more than half of them were active rink users and that the question favored a positive response.

Then there are the two rental apartment buildings for elderly and disabled residents that border the park (one soon to begin construction) which will have their park view impeded by the flipped rink. The rink would be open for longer periods, 11 months a year, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and able to accommodate more skaters. This could increase traffic on Sherman Avenue, a residential street, and light the area later into the night.

The plans also put the flipped rink’s entrance next to the Byram Veterans Memorial Tree Grove, which local veterans worry might compromise the memorial’s reflective atmosphere. First Selectman Fred Camillo countered, “We want this memorial grove to get its proper attention through signage and other enhancements.”

An unknown sticker price

Estimates of the cost of building the new rink have varied greatly, from $4.5 million in 2019, to $21 million in 2023, then back to $11 million when the town finance board balked. The rink user committee is now expected to ask for $24 million, with significant additional costs, perhaps double, for demolition and other work in the 13 acre park. Camillo said private donors have pledged “millions of dollars” for the project, though he only offered to release details if it receives final approval.

In recent days, significant majorities on the RTM’s committees have voted against the project, but the final vote lies with the full legislature. Skating families are venting frustration through letters to members. “The town has been waiting for long enough,” wrote one rink supporter. “If we lose Hamill for two years, what will it do to a generation of kids who have come to rely on it for winter athletic pursuits and passions?”

The rink project is Item 18 on the January 21st RTM meeting’s agenda. You can share your views by signing up to speak or submitting written comments.  


Affordable electricity and a two-year budget are the focus in Hartford

Last Wednesday the 2025 CT General Assembly opened and legislators were sworn in. Governor Lamont delivered his State of the State address, calling for controlling runaway electricity prices, especially in the face of the growing number of energy intensive data centers in CT. 

Dismissing “cosmetic changes,” Lamont argued that “what can make a difference is increasing electric supply, especially low-carbon supply,” such as more commercial solar from Maine, hydro from Canada, wind power, and increased nuclear power.  

The legislature will be negotiating a two-year budget this session. One of the big unknowns is how action by the Trump administration may undermine our state’s ability to maintain its fiscal guardrails, which have helped put CT’s finances on sound fiscal footing. If Trump cuts Medicaid to pay for his tax cuts, CT could face a budget crisis. In 2022, CT’s Medicaid program cost $7.9 billion, with the federal government covering 68% of the cost. Cuts to Medicaid could leave CT footing the bill.


Action Calendar

The RTM’s full meeting is next Tuesday. You can share your views by signing up to speak or submitting written comments.

Regular DTC meeting 7:30 p.m. at Greenwich Town Hall (101 Field Point Road) in the Cone Room.

The Coretta Scott King & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Conversation: A Vital Conversation about Women’s Health Equity. Greenwich YWCA (259 East Putnam Ave). 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Find more information and RSVP here.

Proposed town and school budget presentations from the First Selectman and Board of Education. 6:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room (101 Field Point Road) and streamed on Greenwich Community TV (YouTube and cable). Have your say on what’s important to you during the Public Hearing which starts at 7:00 p.m.

The ACLU of Connecticut is hosting a Civil Rights Town Hall at the Greenwich YWCA (259 East Putnam Ave). Learn how to prepare for what’s coming with the Trump administration. Check-in starts at 6:30 p.m. and the program runs from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. with time for informal discussion until 8:30. RSVP here.

Grab your cowboy boots, put on your best dancing hat, and come join us for a fun-filled night of Country Line Dancing! 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., First Congregational Church of Greenwich, (108 Sound Beach Ave, OG). Tickets here.


What we’re reading

Get in on the latest news from Rachel Khanna as she launches her first newsletter as a private citizen. She shares news from around town and the state, as well as events you won’t want to miss. Sign up here.


Volume 3, Number 30 • January 16, 2025
Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.
Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836