Selectmen refer redesigned Hamill Rink plan to Planning and Zoning
Board of Selectmen · Meeting of February 12, 2026
Greenwich selectmen refer redesigned Hamill Rink plan to Planning and Zoning, unanimously. First Selectman Fred Camillo, Selectwoman Lauren Rabin (by phone) and Selectperson Rachel Khanna voted 3-0 to send the rebuilt skating rink and adjoining Sal Strazza Field project forward after an RTM rejection of an earlier design in January 2025. Director of Facilities Luigi Romano said the task force again found Morlot Park the best site, pushing the rink farther from the Byram Veterans Memorial Tree Grove.
The board also backed, 3-0, a charter change raising the RTM petition signature threshold from 20 to 350, urged by RTM Moderator Alexis Voulgaris, who said "beggars cannot be choosers." Selectmen also approved a Safe Streets Greenwich resolution targeting zero traffic deaths by 2040 and closures for the 50th St. Patrick's Parade on March 22.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,157 words
Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — February 12, 2026 — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Thursday to refer a redesigned Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink replacement project to the Planning and Zoning Commission, clearing the way for the long-delayed rebuild to move toward formal approval after a similar plan was rejected by the Representative Town Meeting last year.
The board, meeting in the Cone Room with First Selectman Fred Camillo presiding, also approved a resolution committing Greenwich to eliminating fatal and serious traffic crashes by 2040, backed a charter change that would raise the signature threshold for RTM petitions from 20 to 350, and approved eight appointments to town boards and committees. All motions passed 3-0.
The Full Story
Camillo opened the meeting with a moment of silence for longtime resident Doug Floren, a former Marine known for his charity work, asking those present to keep "our beloved Livvy Floren" and the family in their prayers. Selectwoman Lauren Rabin participated by phone after leaving town on short notice; Selectperson Rachel Khanna attended in person.
The board's biggest action came on the Hamill Rink. Town Director of Facilities Luigi Romano told the board that a task force formed after the RTM rejected an earlier design in January 2025 had again concluded that Eugene Morlot Memorial Park in Byram is the best site for a new rink. The revised plan repositions the rink farther from the Byram Veterans Memorial Tree Grove, relocates the parking lot and creates a larger, more contiguous green space, Romano said. Sal Strazza Field, named for a longtime youth baseball volunteer, would be enlarged to regulation size with dugouts, a scoreboard and a home run fence. Peter Lowe, a member of the Hamill Rink Task Force, praised Romano's work on the project. RTM member Myra Klockenbrink asked Romano to confirm that no permanent structure would be built over the existing parking lot, a restriction imposed when the park was formally named in 2021; Romano said the new baseball field, not a building, would occupy that area. The board waived a second read and voted 3-0 to refer the project to Planning and Zoning for municipal improvement status.
The board also approved, on a second read, a resolution declaring the town's commitment to eliminating serious and fatal traffic crashes by 2040. DPW Civil Engineer Michael Kiselak said the resolution is required to secure federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding the town has already begun using to develop its safety action plan. Vince DeMarco, co-chair of the Alternative Transportation Task Force, and Khanna had raised questions about bicycle and pedestrian provisions before the vote.
RTM Moderator Alexis Voulgaris asked the board to send the RTM a proposed charter change raising the signature threshold for resident petitions from 20 to 350, a figure unchanged since 1933. She said the RTM saw at least seven petition-driven items in 2025, several of which were later found not in legal order or withdrawn after consuming staff and committee time. The board waived both reads and voted 3-0 to advance the request to the RTM, which would set the final number itself. A related proposal to impose one-year term limits on building committee officers was held for a second read at the board's next meeting.
The board also approved, 3-0, temporary road closures on Field Point Road, West Putnam Avenue and Greenwich Avenue for the 50th annual St. Patrick's Parade on March 22, presented by Jude Collins of the Greenwich Hibernian Association. A public hearing on a noise ordinance variance sought by Burning Tree Country Club for a July concert drew no public comment; Town Attorney Barbara Schellenberg is required to issue a written decision within 30 days. The board declined to act on several flag-raising requests from resident David Wold, tabling one tied to Gen. Israel Putnam's ride pending coordination with the America 250 Committee and taking no motion on a request to raise a United Nations Day flag.
"We're going to strive to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities on the roads that we have jurisdiction over." — Michael Kiselak, DPW civil engineer
"The feedback around the town is get it done." — Fred Camillo, First Selectman
"Beggars cannot be choosers." — Alexis Voulgaris, RTM Moderator
Why It Matters
The Hamill Rink referral restarts a process that stalled in January 2025, when the RTM rejected an earlier design; the project now heads to Planning and Zoning for a fresh municipal improvement hearing before returning to the RTM, which will also weigh in on gift acceptances tied to private fundraising for the rink. The charter change, if the RTM ultimately adopts it, would make it substantially harder for small groups of residents to force ordinance and policy questions onto the RTM's call, a change RTM leadership says is needed after a string of 2025 petitions that consumed staff time without reaching a floor vote. Both matters return to the RTM in the coming months.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Approve minutes of the Jan. 22 regular meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve minutes of the Jan. 22 special meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve minutes of the Jan. 22 emergency meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Safe Streets Greenwich Safety Action Plan resolution Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Flag raising for Feb. 26 to mark Gen. Israel Putnam's ride — Tabled, pending coordination with the America 250 Committee - Action: Flag raising for March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day — No vote taken; previously approved - Action: Flag raising for May 22 U.S. Merchant Marines Day — No vote taken; referred to American Legion Post 29 - Action: Flag raising for Oct. 24 United Nations Day — No motion made - Vote: Refer new Hamill Municipal Rink to Planning and Zoning Commission for municipal improvement status Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Temporary road closures for St. Patrick's Parade, March 22 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Charter change on RTM petition signature threshold, 20 to 350 Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Ordinance change on building committee officer term limits — Continued to next meeting for second read - Action: Public hearing on Burning Tree Country Club noise ordinance variance — Held; written decision due within 30 days - Vote: Nominate Allison Berman, Affordable Housing Trust (R2) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Brian Myers, Affordable Housing Trust (R3) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Joui Hessel, Board of Ethics (R5) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Bernard Armstrong, Harbor Management Commission (R6) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Jenny Larkin, Harbor Management Commission (R7) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Robert Pruett, Harbor Management Commission (A2) Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Andy Duus, Riverside School Building Committee Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Nominate Benjamin Chynsky, Riverside School Building Committee Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Board of Selectmen meeting, February 12, 2026