Selectmen Approve 2023 Greenwich Parks & Recreation Fees

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Selectmen on Tuesday unanimously approved the Parks and Recreation Department's fee schedule for 2023, coming to a compromise with the department on an issue that was brought up earlier this month.

Parks & Rec. Director Joe Siciliano originally went before the board on Dec. 8 to present the proposed fees, which are analyzed every year around this time.

Siciliano said Greenwich takes into account what neighboring towns are doing when trying to come up with fee changes each year.

In that Dec. 8 meeting, Selectperson Lauren Rabin took issue with the proposed increase from $10 to $15 for the child beach pass (age 5-15), saying it was too burdensome on families, especially those with multiple children.

On Tuesday, Siciliano and Assistant Parks and Rec. Director Dan Carlsen told the board they reviewed the increase and Rabin's comments and came up with a compromise.

"We did increase the beach passes in 2021 for children from $7 to $10. After that review, it does kind of make sense that the $10 to $15 could be a little bit too aggressive for the year," Carlsen said. "So from our perspective, it would be amenable to maybe reduce that increase to about $12 to $13 to meet halfway, to meet with inflation and the cost of the programming, while still trying to reduce the impact for families."

Rabin motioned to have the fee set at $12, which was approved by the board before the entire fee schedule was adopted.

"I think that's a really nice compromise," First Selectman Fred Camillo said, noting that he hadn't heard any other complaints or feedback on the fees over the last two weeks. "I think everything is in line, and it matches most towns and is probably favorable than most towns."

Rabin thanked Siciliano and Carlsen for doing a deeper dive into the specific line item.

"I think especially families that have more than one child will appreciate it," she said.

Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan agreed.

"My late mother used to say, if you can't remember a year after you bought something what you paid for it, you didn't pay too much," McGuigan said.

Carlsen said the proposed fee schedule was the second most viewed document on the town website from Dec. 5 through Dec. 11. The town received just two public comments since Dec. 8.

One resident asked if the proposed golf cart fee at the Griffith E. Harris Golf Club could be raised from $39 to $40, just to make splitting a cart easier with someone. Carlsen said that while the idea was solid, the department decided to leave the fee at $39.

The second comment came from a resident who wanted to make sure that ferry rides for seniors were still covered under the senior beach pass, which is free.

Carlsen said ferry rides are free for residents. For non-residents, the fee is $8.

Elsewhere, according to the fee schedule, the cost of an annual park pass, which includes access to Greenwich's beaches, will be $40 before April 15, and $45 on or after April 15, an increase of $5 each over the 2022 fee.

The single entry park pass for non-card holders ages 5 to 64 will increase from $9 to $10 in 2023.

Fees for membership cards for tennis will increase by $5, to $40 before April 15, and $45 after that date.

Prices for adult pickleball, a sport that has grown in popularity in recent years, will also go up.
Currently, the cost for pickleball for two days per week costs $66, or $49 with a senior card. In 2023, the fees move to $80, or $60 with a senior card. The fee for three days per week will be $124/$104 with a senior card.

The price for drop -in three courts remains at $5 per day, but there will also be an option for non-residents at $8 per day.

Field users in-season will see a $1 increase to $22 for non-profit use, and $24 for profit use.
Synthetic turf field rentals will increase from $65 per hour to $70 for profit use, and from $50 per hour to $55 for nonprofits.

The approved fee schedule should be posted on the town website in the coming weeks. To view the proposed fee document which does not reflect the child beach pass amendment, click here.