The new skating rink will be called the Belmont Sports Complex, home of the Skip Viglirolo skating rink, a compromise solution approved by the Select Board Monday night.
The 3-0 vote came after more than an hour of discussion, which followed months of debate and a special Town Meeting at which members voted to retain the James P. “Skip” Viglirolo name on the new rink building. The former building, demolished last year, bore Viglirolo’s name beginning in 1998.
The Town Meeting vote was 128-56, with 44 abstentions. In the wake of that meeting, debate began on whether the vote is binding or advisory. The Select Board, with support from Town Counsel, contends it is advisory. Residents argue Town Meeting’s vote is gospel and any discussion about a name for the building is moot in its aftermath.
Discussion Monday night began with Select Board Chair Matt Taylor floating a proposal to put a large sign in the lobby of the facility, naming the actual ice sheet for Viglirolo. The overall building, now considered more than just a hockey arena by the town, would bear a name acknowledging the broader Belmont community.
“This recognizes more broadly that the complex serves more than just hockey,” Taylor said.
According to Taylor, Belmont residents agreed to raise their taxes to build the facility, and that should be considered when naming the building.
“It exists because people voted against their own wallet to make it exist,” he said.
The plan appeared destined to fail when Viglirolo’s daughter, Gail Harrington, said the board should follow the lead of Town Meeting members and retain her father’s name.
“If you don’t want to abide or listen to Town Meeting, that’s up to you,” she said. “But it’s in the best interest of all of us to come to an agreement and put the tension behind the town.”
Upon hearing her objection, Taylor withdrew his proposal, but it would be resurrected as the board and family members worked to find a way to put the conversation to bed once and for all.
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“It would be nice to start celebrating the rink,” Taylor said.
Supporters of retaining the name attended the meeting, and their public comment focused on Viglirolo’s contributions to the town and the Town Meeting vote supporting the name.
“If that rink doesn’t have Skip’s name on the front, it’s going to be a black cloud over our heads for years to come,” said Dante Muzzioli. “This has been handled very, very poorly.”
Tommasina Olson argued that the meeting on Monday night was just a waste of time, because the Town Meeting vote should be binding.
“You have no right to overturn Town Meeting,” she said.
At times, the back-and-forth between the board and members of the audience became emotional, to the point where Taylor called a five-minute recess to reset.
Eventually, the board was able to reach the naming compromise, as Harrington said the family would accept a sign with Skip’s name outside the building.
“We’ve got a compromise on the table that gets us mostly what we want as a Select Board,” Vice Chair Taylor Yates pointed out.
In an email sent on Tuesday morning, Harrington wrote that the family is happy and feels the board has addressed the concerns of the family, petitioners, Town Meeting, and the wider community.
“We’d like to thank all the supporters; Skip’s legacy is saved and he can RIP,” she wrote.
