Fairfield finance board approves $100K more for Penfield Pavilion
FAIRFIELD — With the clock ticking on federal regulators downgrading Fairfield’s rating in the National Flood Insurance Program, the Board of Finance has approved funding to repair Penfield Pavilion while keeping the existing building.
The plan approved by the Board of Selectmen last week was only amended by the BOF to add another $100,000 for a study about coastal resiliency in the area. This brings the total to $11.6 million and includes $1 million in money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The town had already set $10.6 million aside to address the pavilion and fill pile issues so the finance board is recommending to use all of that and include the new study.
BOF members questioned town officials on the cost and timeline for the work, the events leading up to the threat of a insurance downgrade and the impact of bringing the building into line with federal regulations on flood control.
“This project takes one area and makes it worse,” Lori Charlton said about how lowering the foundation beams would impact potential flooding in the area. “It’s an unknown cost. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. It’s about understanding that that’s part of it, and there’s a cost associated with it.”
The project will address the Federal Emergency Management Agency violation concerning the foundation beams, which is threatening the insurance rating and associated discount. The pavilion, a space used to host events and provide amenities to beachgoers, was built in violation of federal regulations.
The downgrade would result in about 1,800 residents losing the 10 percent discount available now for flood insurance, and is the federal agency’s way of penalizing Fairfield for not resolving the issue sooner.
Repairing the existing building was one of three options the town was considering, which sparked debate among officials and beach residents who wanted more of a say in which one was chosen.
The plan also addresses the toxic fill placed under it and its surrounding parking lot, which is connected to the fill pile scandal and separate from the FEMA concerns.
The resolution funding the project passed in a 7-2 vote, with Chair Lori Charlton and member Craig Curley voting against it. It will go before the Representative Town
Meeting on March 27, which has to approve a plan by the end of the month if officials want to avoid FEMA downgrading its National Flood Insurance Program rating.
First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick had laid out three options for how to issues at the venue: keeping the building and fixing the issue, knocking the building down and constructing a new one in line with federal regulations or tearing it down and not replacing it. The town will have to clean up the contaminated fill no matter what choice is made. It was put there and in other locations across town as part of a larger ordeal that has resulted in the arrests of former town officials and private business owners.
Board member James Walsh said he supported the project from the beginning, as he did not think whether or not the town has a pavilion there needs to be re-litigated. He noted the toxic fill has to be cleaned up no matter what, and it would be a sin not to keep the building after how much time and funding the town has put into it.
“I could personally neveri magine this town not having the Penfield Pavilion,” he said. “This is the jewel of the beaches that we have.”
Curley said he was open-minded coming into the meeting, but called it a no-win situation. He said residents can potentially miss out on insurance discounts if the town does not move forward with the plan, but the plan also has a lot of financial risks.