Fate Of Penfield Pavilion Uncertain, But Will Cost Millions

FAIRFIELD, CT — The future of Penfield Pavilion is uncertain, Fairfield’s first selectwoman said last week. But whatever happens to the waterfront facility, it won’t be cheap.

The pavilion is one of over 50 sites in Fairfield that contains potentially contaminated fill, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick told the Board of Finance at a meeting Oct. 5, when she explained why remediation costs in town are expected to number in the tens of millions.

“This is just completely insane,” board member Jim Walsh said after hearing the numbers. “I’m angry and I’m sure I’ll get angrier about it.”

There are approximately 5 feet of questionable fill under the pavilion building, Kupchick said, with more under the facility’s parking lot. The fill contains polychlorinated biphenyls, which the town is legally obligated to remediate at an estimated cost of $2.5 million to $5 million.

“Even though it’s not dangerous, it’s a law,” Kupchick said. “We have to remove it. So, that’s where we are.”

But there is an even costlier problem with the pavilion. It was built about five years ago in violation of Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations. Consequently, the town lost $4 million in FEMA grant funding and now must address the violations at an estimated cost of $5 million to $8 million, according to Kupchick.

Possible fixes could include demolishing the structure, relocating it and trying to repair it.

“It is beyond belief that we have to go through this again,” board member John Mitola said.

The Penfield Pavilion update came as the board discussed whether to deposit a $6.3 million surplus into the town’s fill pile fund, an idea which received general support last week and will soon go before selectmen, the finance board and the Representative Town Meeting for a vote.

The town also intends to hold public hearings to talk about the future of Penfield Pavilion.

On Wednesday, the Parks and Recreation Department took to social media to dispel a rumor that the pavilion would be torn down in October 2022, clarifying that the venue would no longer accept bookings after that time in order to prevent last-minute cancellations.

The town's recent contamination problems began in 2013, when Fairfield hired Julian Development to operate its fill pile site and reduce it by 40,000 cubic yards. Instead, the pile tripled in size over three years, and days before the agreement with Julian was set to end, contaminants were discovered on the property.

Police opened an investigation into activity at the pile in 2017, and seven people — most of whom are former town employees — have been charged. The defendants are accused of conspiring to run an illegal dump for contaminated material, allowing fraudulent billing, illegally disposing of PCBs, and more.

Testing and remediation of the pile, as well as Penfield Pavilion and seven other town sites, is subject to consent orders from the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The estimated cost to cap and close the pile is $4 million to $8 million, Kupchick said, while the expense to remediate additional sites other than Penfield Pavilion is projected at $3 million to $4 million.

The town has already spent $2.9 million on legal costs and remediation expenses, and it is pursuing litigation to recoup its losses.