Ten Firms Interested in Penfield Pavilion Rebuild

It's not advertised like other town projects - in fact it's barely advertised at all - but construction companies are interested in rebuilding the rest of Penfield Pavilion, an estimated $3.6 million job.

"Basically, what's happening is we're seeing decent activity based on the folks we saw at the pre-bid. We've had quite a few contractors get plans," Town Purchasing Director Twig Holland said today.

Holland said 10 companies attended the non-mandatory pre-bid conference in Sullivan-Independence Hall June 23. Bids on the project are due at 1 p.m. July 14 in Sullivan-Independence Hall.

Unlike other projects for which the town seeks bids, the Penfield Pavilion project contains no information about what's involved with the project on the town's Web site. Potential bidders have to pay Connecticut Photo Blue, 2086 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield, $185 ($196.10 including tax) for drawings and specifications of the job.

Holland said potential bidders could briefly look through the plans at Connecticut Photo Blue before deciding if they wanted to buy a set, but a representative at Connecticut Photo Blue said today that wasn't the case. She said the plans had to be ordered and paid for ahead of time and that Connecticut Photo Blue would then print up a set, which she said would take a day. She said the company didn't have a spare set available for potential bidders to look at.

Holland said the volume of material involved with the reconstruction of Penfield Pavilion prohibited the Purchasing Department from posting it on the town's Web site. She said limited information about Penfield's reconstruction couldn't be posted, as is the case with other projects, including much larger ones like the Fairfield Metro Center. "It's not a matter of wanting to post it, it's a matter of being able to sort through," she said.

In the case of the Metro Center, potential bidders could also review specifications and drawings for free at Fairfield Public Library.

The reconstruction of Penfield Pavilion comes at a time when residents are growing increasingly vocal about the town spending money. The town demolished and rebuilt the easterly side of Penfield Pavilion for $1.5 million in 2008, but the center and westerly sides of the 109-year-old pavilion weren't done. The town had a $400,000 grant for the easterly wing, which brought the cost to taxpayers down to $1.1 million, but has only a $200,000 grant for the rest of the project.

The town is seeking bids to finish rebuilding the pavilion before town boards have approved money for the job. Normally, the town seeks bids after a funding request has been approved by the town's Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.

"The building committee decided to go out to bid on this project just so we could get more definitive numbers," James Gallagher, chairman of the Penfield Pavilion Building Committee, told the RTM Monday night, adding that he expected to be before the 50-member RTM in September to ask for about $3.7 million.

Gallagher said the project already has been scaled back as much as possible. He said the new pavilion would be slightly smaller than the existing pavilion, adding that the new building would have existing, rather than new, furniture; wouldn't have soundproof walls; and wouldn't have a second story. "It will be a single-story building," he said.

Gallagher told the Board of Selectmen on June 16 that the deck would be smaller than the existing deck, but, on Monday night, told the RTM the deck could actually be larger because it would be cheaper to enlarge the deck than enlarge the building.

Gallagher said the construction estimate from Malkin Construction Corp. in Stamford was $3.4 million, but that didn't include the cost of bringing a three-phase electrical service to the building from Reef Road. If the committee went with the existing single-phase electrical service, it would have to purchase a large and unsightly transformer for $80,000, Gallagher said.

"This is a great big project that benefits everyone in the town of Fairfield," Gallagher said to the RTM. "We are facing some very significant time constraints. We hope to demolish after Labor Day, which gives us time to have the new pavilion up for next season."

Today, the Purchasing Department posted an addendum to a legal ad on the town's Web site that said contractors could start the job Nov. 16 after the existing center and westerly sections were demolished and foundation footings were installed by the town's Department of Public Works. DPW employees are doing excavation, trenching and foundation work, according to the addendum.

The town is now offering an unspecified lump sum bonus if construction is completed and a certificate of temporary occupancy is obtained by June 10, according to today's addendum.