From: Skye Blaine
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 9:23 AM
To: Mary Gourley <[email protected]>; City Council <[email protected]>; Jill McLewis < [email protected]>
Subject: Letter for tonight's city council meeting
9-15-2026
Dear Mayor McLewis and Members of the City Council,
My husband Owen Boom and I recently toured the O'Reilly Complex at 1003-1005 Gravenstein Highway North, one of the two sites under consideration for the Sebastopol Commons-which would bring together our Senior Center, the library, City Hall, and other nonprofit spaces under one roof.
We came away convinced this is the right choice. The building is ADA compliant, ready to go now, offers many possible configurations, and has plenty of parking-a major consideration for a project of this scale.
We go to the Senior Center often, and I'm a regular library patron. I haven't been able to use our library at all due to serious mold issues. Even before that, our library was pitifully small, with minimal parking that competes with Senior Center members for the same few spaces.
The other option-redeveloping the existing downtown city-owned site-feels like a very small and expensive vision for our town. We need space. We need parking. We need a site ready now. The O'Reilly Complex offers all three.
Thank you for considering our perspective as you weigh this decision.
Sincerely,
Skye Blaine