Comments to Penfield Pavilion Building Committee August 28, 2014
Prepared by Ken Camarro
Recommendations:
 The pavilion property was acquired and decisions were made to retain the
existing functionality which was well established.
 A new pavilion was designed and built.
 The goal of the new pavilion was to retain established footprint and
function as a town legacy.
 The Park Department has validated exceptional acceptance and use of the
pavilion’s features and its beach.
 Two storms have proven that the foundation system is vulnerable to
flood streams which have damaged or washed out approximately 25-30%
of the foundation system components. The vulnerability stems from the
sand and gravel base on an inclined slope which is a natural spillway.
 In spite of this, the redundancy of the structure made up from the
supporting system of beams, girders, joists and the concrete footings and
pads have left the building relatively unharmed other than the settling
itself. All of this can be repaired.
 Accordingly, the committee should consider repairing and protecting the
existing foundation system using helical and or resistance piers to counter
future settling due to the underlying peat layers, and then protect each
footing and pad from erosion by laying a protective blanket of reinforced
concrete under the entire building and around the footings and pads
thereby boxing in each footing and pad.
 The piers will support what is a relatively light load structure and the
concrete blanket will form a concrete spillway to allow any future
flooding to flow over without eroding the sand and gravel base.
 The building should be elevated to meet new FEMA requirements
because Fairfield should be a lead-the-force influence for all beach district
properties and property owners.
 The existing foundation system should not be demolished.
 The building should be elevated using conventional lift techniques to
enable construction of a new foundation system to support the elevated
structure.
1
 Concrete foundation walls should be built on top of the exiting pads and
footings to the needed height once they are underpinned by a helical or
resistance pier system to achieve the new FEMA elevation.
 The building beams and girders should be tied into the vertical columns or
walls so that the footings and building are interconnected into a large
self-reinforcing structure that is able to resist both vertical and lateral
forces.
 The bulkhead should not be removed.
 The bulkhead vulnerable gate areas should be rebuilt with sturdy
emergency gates that can be raised when storms approach. The gates can
lay in a horizontal position and be raised when needed and maintained
for winter operation.
 A riff-raff system should be built in front of the bulkhead to further
protect the bulkhead from erosion from wave action and flooding.
 The concrete blanket under the building should be firmly sealed at the
bulkhead
 The beachfront area and the deck system should be redesigned following
option 7 plans to improve the functionality of the pavilion for public use
and access and special event activities.
 The building should be rebuilt using the option 7 architecture concepts
involving the ramps, stairs, railings, deck areas and sidewalls.
 The utility and fire suppression systems should be rebuilt.
 The parking lot system should be retained.
 The banquet kitchen should be enlarged.
 An acoustic dampening system should be built in the great hall.
 Fairfield should develop a long-term beach re-nourishment program to
protect all of its Long Island Sound beaches
Committee Must Make Recommendations From the Gut
I have been disappointed by the lack of political leadership from the Board of
Selectman and some members of the RTM, and with some members of the
committee who do not seem to have a visceral feeling for the value and
importance of the Penfield Pavilion. It is not a frivolous novelty and is a fine
Fairfield centerpiece. Thousands of residents of every age use the pavilion and
its easy-access parking 12 months of the year. It is an inseparable component of
Fairfield’s recreation basket and a legacy asset.
2
I ask you to repair and protect it and do whatever it takes. One or two $million
one way or the other should not be a factor which compromises the overall
best-building practice, best-functionality solution.
Someone needs to forthrightly communicate this to Fairfield’s citizens in a nice
way. This takes making informed decisions and leadership guts.
Ken Camarro
345 Carroll RD
Fairfield, CT 06824
203-258-7782
kencamarro@optonline.net
3