Greenwich capital projects public hearing mostly about schools

A public meeting of the finance board (BET) chaired by Harry Fisher and First Selectman Camillo was held last week to obtain input from residents on capital projects. Many comments were made about improving the process for tracking the estimated $1.6 billion backlog of capital projects including making multi-year projections, prioritizing projects, and tracking cost estimates.

Here is the recording of the meeting.

There were numerous school related requests, including a second egress road to enter and exit GHS; support for the Riverside School renovation; renovation of the GHS pool; proving a dedicated parking lot for buses; lighting the Western Middle School fields; and ADA compliance.

GHS boys swim coach Terry Lowe who came to Greenwich in the 1960s knowing a new pool was being planned, joked, "I never thought I would outlast the current facility."

As for town capital projects, requests included prioritizing the Hamill Rink and sidewalks along Shore Road near Tomac and along Indian Field Road. Notably absent were proponents of the unpopular multi-use 10-foot-wide trail through the village of Old Greenwich connecting Binney Park to Stamford's Boccuzzi Park. Also, nobody brought up the needed repurposing of the Havemeyer Building.

Between the Lines: There were so many school-related requests, it makes you wonder why school board officials, who are also tasked with prioritizing such items, were not sitting on the dais.

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