Residents who are upset that a pavilion and an ice rink have been eliminated from the plans for a downtown civic building in Silver Spring are lobbying public officials to find a way to retain them.

"It's actually about more than square footage and more than just money," said Silver Spring resident Richard Jaeggi at a Monday night Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board meeting. "It's about what is the role of public space in the redevelopment project?"

When downtown Silver Spring began to undergo redevelopment in 1998, "the very first thing that went down was a public building," Jaeggi said, referring to the demolition of the Silver Spring Armory to make room for a future hotel. "The very last thing to get built is the public space."

Parking garages, stores and restaurants got built right away, Jaeggi pointed out. Silver Spring has good leaders, Jaeggi said, "but I think they've lost sight of the importance of public space in this whole development."

"Silver Spring is growing," he said. "Silver Spring is not shrinking, and here we are talking about shrinking our public space."

Plans for the civic building -- which is to function as a town center -- still include a great hall, atrium and several community rooms, as well as space for the Silver Spring Regional Services Center offices and rooms for the Round House Theatre. However, spaces are slightly smaller. A revised design has cut about 4,000 square feet from the building, originally slated to be 45,000 square feet.

"We took all the functions and kind of nipped and tucked here and there," said Gary Stith, director of the Silver Spring Regional Services Center, which serves as a link to county government.

Officials had to look at making cuts to the project because it was about $4 million over budget, Stith said. Reducing the building size saves $2.5 million. Eliminating the rink/pavilion saves about $1.5 million. The revisions will be taken to county officials in July after cost estimates are finalized.

The design firm did a good job in "sort of massaging the building," said advisory board member and architect Jon Lourie, who has also worked extensively on plans for the civic building as a community representative. However, he said, the greatest loss is the ice rink and pavilion.

Where the pavilion and space for an ice rink would have taken up about 120 feet by 60 feet, now designers have included an area with trees.

"The idea is that it could be possible someday to go back and add the ice rink and pavilion," Stith said.

The plaza outside will remain, and could still be used for a variety of events, including festivals and concerts, Stith said.

But residents want what they say was promised in 1998 when officials tore down the armory. It had served as a public meeting space at Fenton Street and Wayne Avenue for years before it was demolished for redevelopment. At that time, the county promised to build a modern facility.

"[County Executive] Doug Duncan promised a replacement," said Silver Spring resident Marcie Stickle, who also worked on the civic building project as a community representative.

That replacement should include everything originally planned, including the amount of space in the building, she said.

"We worked really, really hard for months on end and came up with a really fantastic program of requirements for the great hall," Stickle said.

The county has accommodated cost overruns in other Silver Spring projects, said Andrew Kleine, a Silver Spring resident who spoke Monday night representing Prezco, an umbrella group for 12 civic associations located inside the Beltway. "Here, all of a sudden, they don't want to budge on the cost of the project."

The civic building is one of the last portions of the redevelopment project to be built, said Silver Spring resident Dale Tibbitts, who has been involved with Silver Spring redevelopment for many years. In the past, he said, community members predicted there wouldn't be enough money for the building.

"And lo and behold, it is not enough money," Tibbitts said.

The plans will have to go before the County Council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee, said Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park, who also attended Monday night's meeting. She urged residents to keep that in mind and identify their key priorities for the civic building.

"Just about every project we see these days comes in over budget, and it's nobody's fault," Floreen said.

The advisory board is sending a letter to the county executive, detailing the importance of the civic building and what it will offer the community.

The civic building, and its planned amenities, "would really be focal points in downtown Silver Spring," Kleine said.

The ice rink would also benefit children who may not get much use or appreciate other structures in the downtown, said Silver Spring resident Alan Stewart, who teaches chess to children at several local elementary schools.

"If I ask a single one of them if they would prefer a great hall or an ice rink, I know what the answer would be," he said.

"The thing I think has to be said is that Silver Spring has come a long way, but it's still a work in progress," said advisory board member Mark Woodard. "The County Council and county executive need to realize that's the case."