Hope for Fairfied to Own Penfield Lighthouse Dwindles

The for the town is losing steam, but it appears Fairfield will continue to play a role in the lighthouse’s restoration and future.

The Board of Selectmen decided Wednesday not to approve a recommendation by the Penfield Reef Lighthouse Preservation Committee to potentially bid on the lighthouse if the other bidders withdraw.

But the board did give the committee the go-ahead to pursue leasing  -- and eventually owning -- the . Initially Sandye Mann, chair of the preservation committee, and other committee members believed that in securing the lease of the bottomlands (a minimal cost) the lighthouse would, by default, be awarded to the town.

Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Kennelly, who was asked to assist in reviewing the process for leasing the bottomlands, found some fine print the committee missed. She reported to the board that the owner of the bottomlands is not necessarily the rightful owner of the lighthouse, but in leasing those lands, the town could become the “landlord” to whomever gets the lighthouse.

First Selectman Michael Tetreau said he didn’t see the benefit for the town to continue trying to acquire the lighthouse. The committee raised $20,000 since July to secure their place in the bidding process, and have a long way to go to make acquisition an option. The bid currently stands at $40,000, and the auction is set for a soft close on Dec. 12.

“I would hate to think that someone we don’t know from outside of this area would get away with purchasing this lighthouse for $40,000,” Mann said.

Mann presented a presented a five-year financial plan for the Selectmen to review, should they have decided to pursue acquisition. The bottom line was an estimate of $388,000 for restoration and maintenance over five years, with a $150,000 estimated cost for the first year. And that total does nota account for whatever maintenance will be needed each year after the 2016.

“If it is difficult to raise $20,000 in six months, it’s going to be considerably harder to raise another $150,000,” Tetreau said.

The benefits of acquiring the bottomlands include basically translates to being a watchdog for the lighthouse: greater authority in monitoring how the winning bidder maintains the structure and acting as a go-between for the new owner and the state and the General Services Administration (GSA), according to Kennelly.

A potential -- and unlikely -- liability if the town agrees to lease the bottomlands is that, should someone get hurt in the vicinity of the lighthouse property, the town could face a lawsuit.

Kennelly reiterated that such an incident was unlikely, since the lighthouse will not be open to the public.