Submitted by Joe Rothenberg
Recent public letters opposing the Hamill Rink replacement project have attacked the work done by the Hamill Rink Task Force and again advanced the claim that Byram residents do not support the plan. The evidence does not support either narrative.
One author asked why builder contingency percentages are lower for the plan recommended by the Task Force (“the flip”) than for the other sites considered by the Task Force, but that’s simply false. Contingencies are 5% for each option, the author just didn’t read the numbers correctly. He seems to have taken the total contingency amount for each option and then compared those numbers only against the professionally-estimated cost of the flip. The correct way to determine the contingency percentage of a project is to compare the contingency amount for that project against the budget amount for that project. When you do that, the contingency percentage is 5% across the board.
That author also asked why cost escalations are lower for “the flip”, implying that the Task Force engineered the analysis to favor one option over others. The higher escalations for the Exit 3 parking lots reflect longer timelines, regulatory uncertainty, flood and coastal compliance risk and environmental unknowns that do not exist at Morlot Park. Nobody cooked the books here, the numbers simply reflect the fact that the flip was found by the Task Force to be the least expensive option and the easiest to achieve. That may be an uncomfortable reality for the small and isolated group of opponents of the project, but that doesn’t change the facts.
That author, and one other, have also publicly asserted that Byram residents are not in favor of the project, but the evidence does not support that narrative. A few vocal people – the same cast of characters who have always opposed the rink project – may still oppose the project, but they do not reflect nor speak for the entire neighborhood. The Hamill Rink Task Force received far more written comments from Byram residents in favor of the flip than against it — by several orders of magnitude.
A grassroots group, Byram Families for Hamill Rink (https://www.instagram.com/byramfamiliesforhamillrink), formed specifically to support keeping the rink in Byram and advancing the flip. In addition, leadership of the New Lebanon School PTA, Hamilton Avenue School PTA, and the Byram Archibald Neighborhood Center submitted a joint statement supporting the flip. As noted in my prior letter, 13 residents (including 5 Byram residents) spoke at the recent BET hearing in support of the project, and only 2 residents (1 Byram resident) spoke in opposition to the project. The BET was also flooded with written comments from residents supporting the project, as the Task Force had been before it.
The author’s claim that the replacement rink would become a “regional go-to destination” that would “destroy the character of Byram” is a rather fanciful fiction. The project replaces one aging, failing rink with one modern, code-compliant rink. Suggesting otherwise is fear-mongering, not analysis. Removing the rink from Byram, where it’s been for 55 years, is what would “destroy the character of Byram”, hurting its families and children in the process.
Last year, when the Town chose to start fresh, the First Selectman convened a Hamill Rink Task Force composed of RTM members, a BET member, BNA and Byram Veterans’ Association representatives, and town professionals from Planning & Zoning, Parks & Recreation, and Public Works, among others. The Task Force met weekly for months. Every single meeting was public. Materials, recordings, and minutes were posted online. Public hearings were held and written comments solicited. The process was exhaustive, comprehensive, inclusive, and transparent.
The Task Force approved its final recommendation by a decisive and overwhelming 8–1 vote. The First Selectman has now included the project in his proposed budget.
People are obviously free to oppose the outcome, but Greenwich deserves a debate grounded in facts and respect for a process that worked exactly as intended. A small, isolated and immovable minority should not be allowed to derail a project the community clearly needs – or deny our kids and high school teams the opportunity to skate and play hockey.
Readers are encouraged to review the Hamill Rink Task Force’s final report and judge the facts for themselves:
https://www.greenwichct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/53522/Hamill-Rink-Task-Force-FINAL