Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 7:41 AM
From: Gale Brownell
To: Mary Gourley <[email protected]>
Cc: Jill McLewis <[email protected]>; Sandra Maurer <[email protected]>; Neysa Hinton <[email protected]>; Phill Carter <[email protected]>; Stephen Zollman <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Library repairs
An architect friend and neighbor who has worked for a number of cities took a look at the library and has some observations and suggestions which might be helpful to consider before tonight’s meeting.
Please delay interior repairs until the source of the moisture intrusion is discovered and corrected. With the coming rains, if we do, we will be likely to have to redo them after the moisture intrusion problem is finally corrected.
Gale Brownell
Begin forwarded message:
Subject: Re: Library repairs
Date: September 14, 2026 at 5:47:55 PM PDT
From: Geoff Yulis
To: Gale Brownell
Hi Gale,
I stopped by the library today and took a look around the exterior. One thing I noticed was that the east side of the building is heavily shaded, and there appears to be some black staining/biological growth on portions of the brick wall. Given Sebastopol’s cool, damp evenings and fog, that side of the building may stay wet for quite a while without much opportunity to dry out. I’m not saying that is necessarily the source of the interior moisture, but I thought it was interesting.
I also wondered about the solar installation, particularly any roof penetrations, flashing, conduit, or roof-to-wall transitions that may have been affected during that work.
Before considering a complete reroof, I would probably suggest bringing in an independent building-envelope or waterproofing consultant who specializes in forensic water-intrusion investigations. They could look at the roof, parapets, solar penetrations, masonry, windows, flashing, and wall assemblies together and perform controlled water testing to determine where the moisture is actually entering.
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Since the roof is relatively new, it would seem worthwhile to identify the source first before replacing it again.
Just sharing a few observations from my architectural perspective.
Yulis
On Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 2:39 PM Gale Brownell wrote:
Then we need an entire reroof, don’t we?
Gale
On Sep 14, 2026, at 2:22 PM, Sandra Maurer <[email protected]> wrote:
Thank you Gale. The PW director said they could not find where the moisture was coming from.
Sandra Maurer
Vice Mayor of Sebastopol
On Sep 14, 2026, at 9:05 AM, Gale Brownell wrote:
City Manager Gourley and Council members[
I think it is foolhardy to invest in library repairs without fixing the leaky roof first. Multiple prediction are that there will be intense rainy weather this fall which is likely to cause the leaks to impact the library.
Please do not enter a contract for repairs before the roof leaks are investigated thoroughly and fixed.
Sincerely
Gale Brownell