Politics & Government

Recent Lighthouse Top Bids: $90K, $190K

Fairfield explores possibility of bidding on Penfield Reef Lighthouse

So what's a lighthouse go for these days?

According to recent closed bids on the federal General Services Administration's website, from $90,000 to $190,000.

In the case of Penfield Reef Lighthouse, which is about a mile off Fairfield Beach, the former lighthouse keeper who reportedly haunts the navigational landmark doesn't cost extra.

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On Thursday, the Penfield Reef Lighthouse Committee decided to go to the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday and ask to be restructured with new members and to be allowed to investigate the potential purchase of the boxy landmark that dates to 1874 and which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

But committee members had to grapple with the potential cost of acquiring the lighthouse, how to raise money and who would own it. The ownership question is key because whoever owns the lighthouse would be responsible for maintenance and repairs of the lighthouse.

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The GSA plans to advertise around July 4 that Penfield Reef Lighthouse is for sale and then hold an online auction from mid August to late September. Ownership will go to the highest bidder, unlike the disposal process in 2008 in which ownership was transferred for one dollar to the party deemed best suited to own it.

Beacon Preservation, Inc. in Ansonia, a non-profit, won ownership of Penfield Reef Lighthouse in 2008 but then relinquished ownership after it didn't want to enter into a lease agreement with the state for "bottomlands" on which the lighthouse stands. The process now calls for a public auction.

According to the GSA's website, Cleveland Ledge Light in Bourne, Mass. had a high bid of $190,000, with a registration deposit of $10,000, a minimum bid increment of $5,000 and a closing date to submit a bid of Dec. 15.

Great Beds Light in New Jersey had a high bid of $90,000, a registration deposit of $10,000, a minimum bid increment of $5,000 and closing date to submit a bid of June 28, according to the GSA's website.

Romer Shoal Light, also in New Jersey, had a high bid of $90,000, a registration deposit of $10,000, a minimum bid increment of $5,000 and a closing date to bid of June 24, according to the GSA's website.

Michael Jehle, director of the Fairfield Museum and History Center, said he believed the town would have to submit a bid and initially own the lighthouse given how little time exists before the online auction would start. "Given the timing, the town is going to have to be willing to step up and own it, with the caveat the town could transfer ownership of it," he said.

Jehle said the museum would be happy to maintain the lighthouse as it does other town-owned historic properties, which consists of guilding but not financing repairs, but, "I don't think it's going to fly that the museum will own the [lighthouse] property."

The cost of stabilizing the lighthouse and making the lighthouse "watertight" isn't known, though committee members said estimates from about three years ago were at least $200,000. The U.S. Coast Guard would be in charge of ensuring that the beacon and fog horn worked, but the cost of any other maintenance work would fall on the new owner.

Committee members talked about how to raise money for the purchase and maintenance of the lighthouse, saying boat trips to Penfield Reef Lighthouse, along with a narrative history, are an idea, as well as giving residents the chance to spend the night at the lighthouse.

But lead paint at the lighthouse would have to be removed before anyone could spend the night there, said Paige Herman, president of the Fairfield Beach Residents Association, a neighborhood group.

In 2008, residents stepped forward to pledge financial support to maintain Penfield Reef Lighthouse, said Jennifer Carpenter, deputy chief of staff for First Selectman Michael Tetreau. "There were no deep pockets, but we definitely have supporters out there," she said.

An earlier idea to generate revenue by placing an enclosed cell phone tower on the lighthouse didn't appear possible due to interference, the lack of a power source and the lighthouse not being tall enough, according to committee members.

Ellen W. Thees, an account manager at People's United Insurance Agency, said liability insurance wouldn't cost much if the lighthouse were not opened to the public. She said the cost to insure the lighthouse couldn't be determined until an appraisal was done. "It would not be inexpensive to rebuild; you have to get equipment out there," she said. "Also, what is the town legally required to do? They may only require you to rebuild it functionally."

Jehle said the lighthouse being listed on the National Register of Historic Places didn't come with requirements.

The town, if it won the online auction, would need a lease with the state for the bottomlands at the lighthouse before the town took ownership of it, Carpenter said. Eileen Kennelly, an assistant town attorney, said the closing date could be delayed while the town worked out a lease with the state.

Selectman Sherri Steeneck said town boards likely would take a dim view of approving any money for the lighthouse given the deficit on the Fairfield Metro Center project that came to light Monday night.

That made fundraising for the lighthouse all the more important to committee members, which could prove that the town would be reimbursed for the bid price and maintenance costs. "Going in there with a plan is really important; show efforts in raising money and how we're going to do that," Steeneck said.

Jehle said the museum, as a non-profit, could receive donations for the lighthouse, though the account would end up in control of the museum's board of directors and not the Penfield Reef Lighthouse Committee. "Auditors and the federal government require the museum's board [of directors] to decide how money is spent. You would be abdicating a certain amount of control," he said.

Jehle added that he would need an Ok from the museum's board of directors to receive donations for the lighthouse.

Committee member William Sapone didn't seem to have a problem with the museum being the recipient of donations for the lighthouse. "We also get your expertise and your credibility," he said.

"We need to start raising funds almost immediately," Sapone said. "If we don't get money, at least get pledges."

Jehle thought the committee "could try for some sort of super fundraiser in August through the museum."

Town Historian Marcia Miner seemed optimistic that the committee could raise money. "There's such an emotional feeling for the lighthouse. People really love that place," she said.

Committee members said Wednesday's Board of Selectmen's meeting would only involve requests to restructure the committee with new members and allow the committee to investigate the acquisition and preservation of the lighthouse.


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