Petaluma to assess 15 public buildings for earthquake safety, including the Historic Library

The earthquake and aftershocks that rocked much of North Bay last week were a reminder to prepare for the next big earthquake – and the area’s municipalities are taking note.

Earthquakes with the epicenter within Petaluma city limits happen more frequently, according to Robert Michael de Groot of the US Geological Survey in Pasadena, but there are no earthquakes large enough to cause damage or even notice. That’s not to say Petaluma is in the clear, especially given the danger lurking from local fault lines, including the Rodgers Creek Fault that runs partly along Mount Sonoma east of the city.

In the days following the 4.4-magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter located about two miles northeast of central Santa Rosa, and the subsequent 4.3-magnitude aftershock on September 12, municipalities across Sonoma County checked the area’s infrastructure for damage . The only major damage was said to have occurred to some homes in the Larkfield neighborhood about 5 miles from the epicenter.

The earthquake also prompted many to consider the possibility of larger seismic events in the future.

The City of Petaluma hopes to move forward with a study to assess the feasibility and cost of adding retrofits to many public buildings for better safety in the event of a major earthquake. The study will be funded by a $499,000 grant the city received this summer from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

“Obviously we want to make sure that all of our buildings are safe to be in,” said Patrick Carter, assistant city manager for Petaluma.

The city assessment list consists of 15 buildings, not in any specific order:

Community Center – 20 N. McDowell Blvd. Police station – 969 Petaluma Blvd. N. Fire Station No. 1 – 198 E. D St. Fire Station No. 2 – 1001 N. McDowell Blvd. Fire Station No. 3 – 831 S. McDowell Blvd. Senior Center – 211 Novak Drive Teen Center – 150 Fairgrounds Drive Cavanaugh Center – 426 Eighth St. City Hall – 11 English St. Water Field Office – 202 N. McDowell Blvd. Corporation Yard – 840 Hopper St. Municipal Airport – 601 Sky Ranch Drive Transit Center – 555 N. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma Historical Library and Museum – 20 Fourth Street Petaluma Water Distribution and Reservoirs

“There is no imminent threat that we are aware of,” Carter said of the listed buildings.

The city will contract with a third party to conduct assessments of each structure, but that does not mean that every building will need improvements.

For example, the Field Water Office, built in 2005, has a better chance of meeting seismic safety standards than the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, which is more than 115 years old.

The museum contains several seismic vulnerabilities that were assessed in 2017 and marked as needing modernization adjustment. Of particular concern is the structure’s roof, which includes a free-standing stained-glass dome, and other ancient infrastructure that has been on the museum’s radar for years.

Previous assessments estimated the museum building’s modernization cost at $3.6 million.

Petaluma Public Works and the city are currently outsourcing the assessment task. The organizations haven’t submitted requests for proposals yet, but the selection process will take about a month once applications are received, according to Carter.

The application period usually lasts three to four weeks, with the hope of getting three strong proposals.

Carter said the city has three years to use the grant money, but the timeline for starting the process is currently unknown. While it is hoped that the process will begin soon, the city may not currently have the resources to allocate them to the project.

“A lot of this depends on the availability of staff,” Carter said. “We have a lot of iron in the fire.”

Once the seismic retrofit studies for each building are collected, the city will need to seek additional funding to implement the retrofit plans. This funding, Carter said, would ideally come from another government grant.

Contact reporter Rebecca Wolf at [email protected].

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