Vote to Increase Griffith Harris Golf Course Fees Put on Hold [Updated]

Updated, 3:29 p.m.

The following proposed increased did not pass at Thursday morning's Board of Selectmen meeting:

• $50 increase for Camp Summer Fun
• $25 increase for Greenwich Green & Clean
• $10 increase per hour for Western Greenwich Civic Center non-profit community room rental

Voting on all Griffith Harris Golf Course proposals has been put on hold until a special session is held before the end of the year.

Original Story

The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to vote Thursday morning on the proposed increases to Greenwich Parks & Recreation fees for 2013.

After much discussion at its Dec. 6 meeting, Democrat Drew Marzullo was the lone member of the three-member board opposed to the fees. 

The daily admission to the town's beaches—which continue to be repaired of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy—will rise a $1 to $6. The annual resident's beach pass fee also will rise a dollar to $31 for adults; $6 for children age 5 to 15 years, and will remain free for seniors age 65 and older.

Parks & Recreation Director Joseph Siciliano said he and his staff review the fees annually and that not all fees are increased each year. The last time the annual beach card fee was raised was in 2009, according to Siciliano. Parks & Recreation fees generated about $4,215,000 in 2012, and the proposed 2013 fees will generate $4,413,000, Siciliano said.

Marzullo questioned whether the fee schedules are tied to the level of service residents receive. He asked whether services would decrease if the proposed fees were not approved.

Sicliano said the town's proposed fees are comparable to fees charged by other towns and cities in the area. First Selectman Peter Tesei said that the discretionary user of the town's recreation facilities should contribute to the costs to provide the town's recreational services.

The fees to use the town's ferries to Island Beach and Great Captain's Island will remain unchanged: $4 for resident adult; $3 for children; $10 for nonresidents. The special cruise fees —such as the popular Cruise to Nowhere— will increase from $10 to $15 per trip.

Seasonal tennis passes also will increase by a dollar, to $31.

Daily parking fees for nonresidents remains at $20 while a seasonal parking pass for residents with non-Greenwich registered cars will increase 25 percent or from $100 to $125.

Golfers at the Griffith Harris Golf Club on King Street will see greens fees increase by $2 for adults; $1 for seniors. Membership fees will remain unchanged—$165 for adults; $110 for seniors; $100 for juniors and $165 for town employees.

Fees for the town's summer day camps will rise $10—or to $250 for Camp Kairfree and the Music & Art Camp.

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Other increases include a $25 for seasonal paddle tennis pass to $325; a $25 increase for the Summer Fun I and II Camps to $500; hourly and daily rentals of nearly all indoor and outdoor town facilities by $10.

The Selectmen will meet at 10 a.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room.