Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 8:52 AM
From: Kate Kittredge
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Cc: Brad Kittredge
Subject: Please Keep the Sebastopol Library Downtown
Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
I’m writing to ask you to please prioritize keeping the Sebastopol Library downtown.
For our family, the library is so much more than a building where we check out books. We have three children of different ages, and one of the things we value most about living in Sebastopol is that our downtown still feels like a real community center—somewhere our family can walk, bike, run into neighbors, visit the library, get something to eat, and feel connected to the life of the town.
The library is an essential part of that. Its downtown location means that as our children grow, it can increasingly become a place they can access independently—a safe, welcoming, free place where they can read, study, meet friends, or simply spend time.
That kind of independence and community connection is incredibly valuable to us, and increasingly rare.
Moving the library to Highway 116 would fundamentally change its role. It might still be a library, but it would become somewhere most families have to deliberately drive to rather than a place woven naturally into everyday life. It would also make access much harder for children, teenagers, older residents, and anyone who doesn’t drive.
I understand there may be practical and financial considerations behind the proposed move, but I hope the Council will consider the less measurable value of having a vibrant public institution in the heart of town. Libraries are one of the few truly public, intergenerational spaces we have left. In a small town like Sebastopol, where walkability and community are such an important part of what makes this place special, its location matters enormously.
For our family, keeping the library downtown would be an investment not just in the library, but in the kind of community we want our children to grow up in.
Thank you very much for considering our perspective.
Warmly,
Kate Kittredge