RTM Seats Five to Pool, Tennis Panel

Town Meeting · Meeting of September 28, 2026

Greenwich RTM seated most of a new high school pool and tennis building committee after rejecting a District 11 bid to delay it. The Representative Town Meeting voted 169-5 to appoint Jeffrey Aser and went on to confirm Paul Constantin, Diane Chiappetta Fox, Dan Raffe and Jacqueline Nicole Sanderson to the GHS Natatorium, Tennis and Access Driveway Building Committee, postponing two more nominees to October 26. Budget Overview Committee Chairman James Waters warned delay "could add a year" and 10 to 15 percent in costs, calling the postponement push "a slap in the face to the culture of volunteers." Members separately passed, 148-28, an ordinance letting building committees remove problem officers, approved $799,200 for Railroad/Greenwich avenue traffic signals, and voted 71-84 against moving the RTM's own 8 p.m. start time to 7:30 p.m.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,393 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of September 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Opening and Tribute

The meeting opened with Moderator Alexis Voulgaris noting that, for the first time in decades, no Boys & Girls State delegates from local high schools came to lead the pledge of allegiance. A former Boys & Girls State member, Steven Meskers of District 6, filled in. District 5 Chairman Edward T. Broadhurst III then delivered a tribute to the late Paul Olmsted, a longtime District 5 member who served on the Town Services, Parks and Recreation, and Public Works committees. The body observed a moment of silence; a memorial service was set for Oct. 17 at First Church in Old Greenwich. Members then adopted the June 15, 2026, minutes by unanimous consent. Attendance cards showed 195 members present, 34 absent and one vacancy.

Consent Calendar

Nine routine appointments and a grant acceptance were grouped onto the consent calendar: regular and alternate members for the Board of Human Services, Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, Fair Rent Commission, Historic District Commission and Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals, plus acceptance of a $34,487.42 state grant from the Office of the Secretary of the State, earmarked for the registrar of voters' office under Professional and Other Special Services. None drew objection, and the calendar passed 177-0, with two abstentions. This consumed only a few minutes and generated no substantive debate.

Cos Cob Mill Pond Park Historic Designation

Background and stakes: The item returned to the floor as a required "second read" under RTM rules, having first been introduced at the June 15 meeting. It proposes amending Article 7 of the town's Code of Ordinances to designate a 1.21-acre, town-owned parcel on Strickland Road — known as Cos Cob Mill Pond Park — as a local historic property under Connecticut General Statutes Sections 7-147p through 7-147y.

The question before the body: whether to formally designate the parcel, triggering Historic District Commission review of future municipal work there.

Substantive content: Land Use Committee Chairwoman Sandra Harris told members the parcel was meant to be folded into the Strickland Road and Mill Pond Court Historic District when that district was created in 1976 but was omitted for unknown reasons. Historic District Commission Secretary Andrew Melillo, testifying in favor, said the three-parcel grouping — the road, a commercial landing and the burial ground — was laid out by Cos Cob proprietors in 1723-25, and that Benjamin Mead, who died in 1746, is buried there. He said a 1913 newspaper account described tombstones protruding from the ground, and that road-widening work by the Department of Public Works had more recently unearthed bones, suggesting the original burial ground was larger than its present footprint. The designation excludes the pond waters and public rights-of-way, and Melillo said it would not block "the next bench or the next Eagle Scout's good work," only add a historic-district certificate-of-appropriateness layer to municipal improvements. Legislative and Rules Chairman Francis "Kip" Burgweger Jr. said his committee's merits vote was 8-1-1, with District 2 dissenting over concerns about limiting future flexibility for the property, and that the Greenwich Conservation Commission supports the designation.

The deliberation: Land Use voted 9-0-0 to approve. Burgweger reported Legislative and Rules' procedural vote was 10-0 and its merits vote 8-1-1. No member spoke in opposition on the floor; District 1's David Levine had signed up to speak but could not be located to take the podium.

Procedural steps and outcome: The item carried 185-3, with one abstention.

Implications: The designation adds Historic District Commission review for future work on the park but does not restrict current uses; a grant application for ground-penetrating radar to map the burial ground's true extent is being pursued separately.

School Building Committee Officer Removal Ordinance

Background and stakes: This item, also a second read carried over from June, was prompted by what multiple committee chairs described as a breakdown on the Central Middle School Building Committee, where an "uncooperative and antagonistic" chair could not be removed under existing rules.

The question before the body: whether to amend Chapter 2, Article 9, Section 2-43 of the Code of Ordinances to create a removal mechanism for building-committee officers.

Substantive content: The amendment, drafted with Selectwoman Lauren Rabin's input, allows removal of a chairman, vice-chairman or clerk by a two-thirds vote of all voting committee members, following at least five days' prior notice given at a meeting or on the call. The presiding officer recuses on a vote over their own removal, and a replacement is then appointed. The mechanism applies only to officer roles, not general committee membership, and applies retroactively to all School Building Committees, whether formed before or after the amendment's effective date.

The deliberation: Education Committee Chairman Steven Rubin reported his committee split 7-5 in favor, with dissenters arguing that mandatory annual elections and removal provisions would introduce "unnecessary political tension" into volunteer committees better suited to multi-year continuity. Budget Overview Committee Chairman James Waters reported an 11-0-1 vote in favor, noting his committee had considered and declined a competing amendment. Public Works Committee Chairwoman Cheryl Moss reported a 9-0-0 vote, calling the fix "needed" but "very rare." Burgweger said his committee's discussion ran long, with members debating whether a two-thirds threshold was too high for small committees, whether five days' notice was "too short and gameable," and whether annual chair elections reintroduce instability. Legislative and Rules voted 9-1-0 to recommend postponing the item to October, with District 4 preferring the sponsor withdraw and resubmit rather than amend on the floor.

Procedural steps and outcome: The postponement motion failed 86-95, with eight abstentions. The underlying item then passed 148-28, with seven abstentions.

Implications: The removal mechanism takes effect immediately and applies to all existing and future School Building Committees, including the one seated later in the meeting for the GHS Natatorium project.

Fair Rent Commission Alternate — Niels Pennings

Selectwoman Lauren Rabin introduced the nomination of Niels Pennings, an existing alternate, to a new alternate term on the Fair Rent Commission. Appointments Committee Chairman Frederick Lee reported a 12-0-0 committee vote describing Pennings as "a realtor" with a "pure hire pathway." Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Cathryn Fineman Steel explained Pennings had missed her committee's interview due to confusion over which committees he needed to meet, and moved to postpone the item to October 26; the motion carried by unanimous consent without a recorded vote.

GHS Natatorium, Tennis and Access Driveway Building Committee

Background and stakes: The RTM previously approved $4 million in architecture-and-engineering funding for a project rebuilding Greenwich High School's 60-year-old natatorium, its eight tennis courts and a long-discussed second access driveway. Seven candidates, vetted jointly by the Education and Public Works committees and by the Appointments Committee after interviews on September 15, awaited seating on the new building committee.

The question before the body: whether to seat the full seven-member slate, or — as District 11 proposed — to postpone some or all nominations indefinitely and send the slate back to First Selectman Fred Camillo's office for reconsideration.

Substantive content: Each nominee was profiled by committee chairs. Jeffrey Aser, a 2004 Greenwich High School graduate and real-estate development professional who worked on One World Trade Center, brought "civil infrastructure and multi-agency coordination" experience. Paul Constantin, an environmental engineer and former professional water polo player who coaches GHS girls' water polo, was described as bringing financial and risk-management discipline. Diane Chiappetta Fox, principal of Hamilton Avenue School and a former RTM member, offered "municipal administrative foresight." Dan Raffe, a commercial real-estate attorney, brought contract and construction expertise. Jacqueline Nicole Sanderson, an NBC/Peacock production executive who served on the board that built a pool at Bailwick Country Club "on time and in budget" — saving $200,000 on aluminum sourcing by avoiding tariffs — brought pool-specific project experience. Two nominees, Kaan Aslansan and Steven Siler, missed their September 15 Appointments Committee interviews.

The deliberation: District 11 Chairwoman Susan Fahey said her district's internal discussion, which produced a 13-3 vote (six absent) to seek postponement, centered on concerns that six of the seven nominees came from families currently using the aquatics or tennis programs, that none had prior building-committee experience, and that the committee should include non-users, seniors and taxpayers without direct ties to the programs. She stressed the motion "was not a vote against the individuals" but an attempt to get a more balanced slate.

Vice Chairman Richard Neuman first sought unanimous consent to combine Items 8 through 14 for a single vote; Moderator Voulgaris ruled this out of order because the Appointments Committee already intended separate postponement motions on Items 9 and 14. Neuman then moved, with a second, to suspend the rules and combine Items 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 — a motion requiring a two-thirds majority. It failed, 95-88, with nine abstentions.

James Waters, who chaired the Central Middle School feasibility committee for 15 months, argued forcefully against any postponement

"This motion doesn't just delay nominees. It delays the entire project that addresses urgent problems facing us today. ... It's the first time a building committee convenes. It will take ... six months to hire the core team members to get design and planning moving. Altogether, this motion could add a year of delay and costs." [01:15:10] — James Waters, Budget Overview Committee chairman

Stephanie Cowie of District 8 urged approval of the full slate, arguing the committee's composition extends beyond the named members to liaisons from the Board of Education, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, Public Works, Parks and Recreation and the Board of Selectmen. District 1's Edward Dadakis, by contrast, said he found District 11's argument persuasive and backed the postponement, noting no District 1 resident sat on a committee that would also route a new access road toward Post Road and District 1 neighborhoods. District 3's Steven Rubin said his Education Committee had vetted every candidate and "felt very strongly that all of these candidates are as good and as fine as you're going to find." District 6's Stephen Meskers warned that delay would expose the town to rising diesel and steel costs, projecting a possible 10 to 15 percent cost increase if the committee's formation slipped a year.

Procedural steps and outcome: The District 11 motion to postpone Item 8 (Aser) indefinitely failed 27-151, with nine abstentions. Item 8 then carried 169-5, with nine abstentions. Neuman reported District 11 then voted unanimously to withdraw its indefinite-postponement motions on Items 10 through 13. Item 10 (Constantin) carried 171-3, with six abstentions; Item 11 (Fox) carried 169-4, with seven abstentions; Item 12 (Raffe) carried 165-3, with six abstentions; and Item 13 (Sanderson) carried 166-4, with nine abstentions, after Appointments Committee Chairman Frederick Lee noted a disclosed scheduling conflict in Fox's and Sanderson's work hours, with both candidates committing on the record to withdraw if their schedules proved incompatible. Items 9 (Aslansan) and 14 (Siler) were postponed by unanimous consent to the Appointments Committee's October 20 date and the full RTM's October 26 meeting, respectively, because neither candidate had met with the committee.

Implications: Five of seven building-committee seats are now filled; design and construction planning on the pool, tennis courts and driveway can proceed only after the full committee, including the two October appointments, is seated and begins hiring a professional project team.

Aquarion Water Authority Representative Policy Board Appointment

Background and stakes: June Special Session Public Act 24-1 created a new Representative Policy Board to oversee the regional water utility Aquarion Water Authority; Greenwich needed to name its representative.

The question before the body: whether to confirm First Selectman Fred Camillo's appointment of RTM Appointments Committee Chairman Frederick Lee to the seat.

Substantive content: Because Lee is a sitting RTM member, the item was pulled off the consent calendar at the recommendation of the RTM's ethics committee so Lee could recuse on a clean up-or-down vote rather than an unexplained abstention buried in a bundled calendar item. Land Use Committee Chairwoman Sandra Harris reported Lee told her committee he would prioritize scrutinizing the authority's expense structure and capital spending, noting Greenwich will hold the third-highest number of weighted votes on the new board based on Aquarion customers and acreage in town. Finance Committee Chairman Scott Kalb said the policy board has not yet convened for lack of confirmed members.

Procedural steps and outcome: Appointments Committee Vice Chairwoman Janet Stone McGuigan reported an 11-0-0 committee vote (not counting Lee's recusal as an abstention). The full RTM confirmed Lee 176-0, with two abstentions.

Implications: Lee becomes Greenwich's voice on a new regional oversight board governing Aquarion rate changes, land sales, bond issuances and capital projects.

Railroad Avenue/Greenwich Avenue Traffic Signal Appropriation

Background and stakes: A state grant application for traffic-signal improvements at the Railroad Avenue/Greenwich Avenue intersection was initially denied, then approved by the state.

The question before the body: whether to appropriate $799,200 to fund the signal replacement.

Substantive content: Finance Committee Chairman Scott Kalb said the state grant covers $657,653, with the town requesting an additional $141,547 to cover work potentially outside the grant's scope and to build a contingency buffer; the state will front the grant funds rather than reimburse after the fact. Public Works Committee Chairwoman Cheryl Moss said the new signal will meet current ADA accessibility and wind-load standards and will include AI-based video detection cameras that count vehicles and pedestrians by type and movement without recording footage, license plates or individual tracking, plus emergency-vehicle preemption for fire and ambulance crews. Budget Overview Committee Chairman James Waters said repayment is expected in spring 2027, with construction beginning in summer or fall 2027.

The deliberation: Finance Committee members asked whether revenue from speeding tickets could help fund future signal projects; Commissioner of Public Works James Michel said his department and the Law Department are still reviewing that question. Finance voted 10-0-0, Public Works 10-0-0, Budget Overview 12-0-0 and the Transportation Committee 11-0-0 to recommend approval.

Procedural steps and outcome: The appropriation carried 165-11, with one abstention.

Implications: Design work is complete; construction can proceed once the state grant paperwork is finalized, with the town's share providing a cost cushion against work discovered once construction begins.

RTM Meeting Start Time

Background and stakes: The RTM has started its full-body meetings at 8 p.m. for roughly 93 years. Finance Committee Secretary Peter Cruikshank and Chairman Scott Kalb proposed moving the start to 7 p.m., framed as a "sense of the committee" resolution because the RTM cannot bind the moderator, who holds charter authority over meeting start times.

The question before the body: whether to recommend a 7 p.m. (or amended 7:30 p.m.) start beginning with the March 8, 2027, meeting, to allow time to assess logistics in the RTM's new Central Middle School auditorium venue.

Substantive content: Kalb argued an earlier start would benefit commuters, parents of school-age children and members whose late nights interfere with sleep, citing that the RTM's seven standing committees and six district committees already meet at 7 p.m. Every standing committee weighed in with a distinct vote: Budget Overview 7-5 in favor; Public Works 9-0 in favor (with a failed 7:30 amendment, 4-8); Legislative and Rules split on legal order versus merits, ultimately voting down even the amended 7:30 proposal on merits 4-4-2; Land Use rejected it 2-6-2; Parks and Recreation rejected the straight 7 p.m. proposal 4-6-0 but backed a 7:30 start 9-0-0; Town Services backed 7:30, 6-1-1; the Transportation Committee saw five in favor, zero opposed and seven abstentions on the 7 p.m. question; Health and Human Services rejected the item 0-11-0 and a delay amendment 1-10-0; the Education Committee rejected it 0-12-0; and Appointments rejected it as well.

The deliberation: Cruikshank, self-deprecatingly quoting "Hamilton," argued 93 years was long enough to revisit the question and that a direct floor vote beat any survey. District 1's Akash Patel countered that 20 percent of Greenwich workers commute more than an hour, making a 7:30 arrival "extremely slim" for commuters hoping to see family before bedtime. Samuel Rosenfeld of District 1 argued the real complaint was meeting length, not start time, and proposed stricter speaking-time limits instead of changing the clock. District 5's Jessica Basham and District 8's remote member Elspeth Spransy offered competing parent perspectives: Basham said an earlier start would let her relieve a babysitter sooner, while Spransy said the current 8 p.m. start was precisely what let her, a work-from-home parent, join the RTM at all.

"No matter who you are, voting on important legislative matters at 11 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. or midnight, it's just not optimal and potentially poses problems." [02:41:24] — Scott Kalb, Finance Committee chairman

Procedural steps and outcome: Town Services' motion to amend the proposed 7 p.m. start to 7:30 p.m. carried 97-62, with seven abstentions. The amended item then failed on its merits, 71-84, with twelve abstentions.

Implications: The RTM's 8 p.m. start time remains unchanged for now; any future proposal would need to return through committee review, and Legislative and Rules suggested future terms formally set a start time alongside meeting dates at the start of each RTM term rather than debate it mid-term.

Alexis Voulgaris, Moderator, presided. Jacqueline A. Budkins, Town Clerk, swore in District 6 members and attested the minutes. Lauren Rabin, Selectwoman, introduced Board of Selectmen nominations. James Michel, Commissioner of Public Works, presented the traffic-signal appropriation. Frederick Lee, Appointments Committee chairman and RTM member, recused on his own Aquarion Water Authority nomination. Susan Fahey, chairwoman of District 11, led the motions to postpone natatorium-committee nominees. Richard Neuman, vice chairman of District 11, offered the motion to combine voting items. James Waters, Budget Overview Committee chairman, spoke against postponement of the natatorium committee and reported on the School Building Committee ordinance. Sandra Harris, Land Use Committee chairwoman, reported on the historic designation and the Aquarion appointment. Francis "Kip" Burgweger Jr., Legislative and Rules Committee chairman, reported on the historic designation and School Building Committee items. Steven Rubin, Education Committee chairman, reported on the School Building Committee item and natatorium candidates. Cheryl Moss, Public Works Committee chairwoman, reported on multiple items. Cathryn Fineman Steel, Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman, moved to postpone the Pennings nomination and reported on the start-time item. Scott Kalb, Finance Committee chairman, presented the start-time resolution and traffic-signal financing. Peter Cruikshank, Finance Committee secretary, co-proposed the start-time change. Janet Stone McGuigan, Appointments Committee vice chairwoman, reported on the Lee nomination. Myra Klockenbrink, Parks and Recreation Committee chairwoman, reported on the start-time item. Jan Rogers Kniffen, Transportation Committee chairwoman, reported on the start-time and traffic-signal items. Edward T. Broadhurst III, District 5 chairman, delivered the Olmsted tribute. Steven/Stephen Meskers, District 6 member, led the pledge and spoke on cost risk. Edward Dadakis, District 1 member, raised a point of order and spoke on the natatorium committee. Akash (Aakash) Patel, Samuel Rosenfeld, Jessica Basham — District 1/5 members who spoke on the start-time debate. Elspeth Spransy, District 8 member, spoke remotely on the start-time debate. Ellen Murdock, District 12 member, reported her district's vote on postponing natatorium nominees. Andrew Melillo, Secretary of the Historic District Commission, testified in favor of the Cos Cob Mill Pond Park designation; not an RTM member. 195 members present, 34 absent, one vacancy, per attendance cards.

Historic District Commission — reviewed and supports the Cos Cob Mill Pond Park designation; its secretary, Andrew Melillo, testified. Greenwich Conservation Commission — cited as supporting the historic designation. Department of Public Works — cited for unearthing bones during road widening near the historic parcel, and for presenting the traffic-signal project. Aquarion Water Authority / Representative Policy Board — new oversight body created by Public Act 24-1, subject of Frederick Lee's appointment. Office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut — source of the $34,487.42 grant on the consent calendar. Central Middle School Building Committee — cited as the precedent for the officer-removal ordinance. Code of Ordinances, Article 7 (Sections 7-147p–7-147y, Conn. Gen. Stat.) — legal basis for the historic-property designation, Item 3. Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article 9, Section 2-43 — School Building Committee ordinance amended in Item 4. June Special Session Public Act 24-1, Section 37(a) — authorizes Greenwich's appointment to the Aquarion Representative Policy Board, Item 19. RTM Charter, Section 173 — cited by the Moderator as vesting start-time discretion in her office, relevant to Item 22.