GILROY
– Some parents of children enrolled in a City of Gilroy
preschool program are unsettled by a roofing project that is
exposing their young sons and daughters to asphalt fumes.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Some parents of children enrolled in a City of Gilroy preschool program are unsettled by a roofing project that is exposing their young sons and daughters to asphalt fumes.
City officials said the project poses no health risk and work on the roof will continue while classes are in session.
The re-roofing of Wheeler Community Center, located at 250 W. Sixth St., disrupted Gilroy preschool classes, which are held in the building’s multi-purpose and crafts rooms. Fumes from a tar pot, in which asphalt is heated to temperatures above 400 degrees to be spread over the roof, have permeated the classrooms, concerning parents and teachers.
“The smell when I went there on Monday was horrible,” said Tiffany Doyle, whose 3-year-old son Gavin attends preschool at Wheeler three times a week. “The smell was pretty bad on the outside (of the building), and then on the inside I was concerned about the smell, but it wasn’t too bad, so I left Gavin.”
The tar pot was positioned near the preschool classrooms at the southwest corner of the building.
Concerned, Doyle contacted Judy Janisch, the preschool program director, who, according to Doyle, told her she was unaware of the roofing project.
Erin Cross, who teaches three preschool classes for the city, was also unaware that the project would be under way but became uneasy as the smell of asphalt pervaded the classroom Monday.
“I was concerned about the children breathing in this really strong smell and what the parents would think about the program,” Cross said.
Windows in the Wheeler classrooms do not open, limiting air circulation. Also, when the air conditioning is turned on, the smell worsens, Cross said.
Debris from the roofing process posed a safety concern this week, as well, as various pieces of roofing materials fell into the pathway leading to the preschool playground, Cross said.
City officials said the fumes are not harmful.
“The fumes are not a health hazard, they can be objectionable or a nuisance,” said Cheryl Bolin, superintendent of recreation. “As part of our routine maintenance, roofing is a standard procedure that you do to any building.”
The preschool was not notified of the roofing project because it is viewed as standard procedure.
“We fully intended on doing construction with the building occupied, and (that) is done on occupied buildings all the time,” said Rick Brandini, facilities supervisor for community services.
Jean Burton, safety engineer with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Fresno, said that, while bothersome, the smell of hot asphalt should not pose a health risk indoors.
“The smell is not going to be harmful, it’s a nuisance more than anything else,” Burton said. “It doesn’t smell good.”
Still, parents do not necessarily want their children exposed to that nuisance.
“I’m not concerned about long-term health effects, but I know that I don’t like to smell that stuff,” Doyle said.
What upsets Doyle as much as the annoying fumes is what she says is a lack of communication from the city regarding the project.
“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed with the process,” she said. “As a parent, I entrust the city if they’re putting a program together, to make it safe for my child. If it’s not safe, at least let me know.”
When Doyle brought her son to class on Wednesday, a sign on the door notified participants in Gilroy’s gymnastics program, also located in Wheeler, that classes would be canceled due to the fumes. Doyle was then told by teachers that preschool classes would also be canceled through the end of the week due to concern over the children’s safety.
Preschool parents received a letter from Community Services Director Bob Connelly Thursday notifying them that classes were canceled Wednesday, Thursday and today “due to confusion on the status of Wheeler Community Center operations” caused by the re-roofing.
Doyle said parents should have been notified in advance that there could be objectionable odors, or the classes could have been moved.
“They could have put the kids anyplace, and there could have been a phone call placed to the parents,” she said.
Bolin said that other city facilities were looked at following parents’ complaints, but all are occupied.
Due to parent complaints, the tar pot will be moved away from the classroom, Brandini said. The tar pot needed to be positioned near the classroom in order to reach a top portion of Wheeler’s roof, which has multiple levels.
Workers also taped off the areas where debris was falling. Some debris is unavoidable, Brandini said, because workers must strip materials off a 3-feet-high parapet that borders the roof.
“The workers tend to keep everything they can from falling down,” Brandini said.
Work on the roof began on Monday and will continue for another one or two weeks. Parents will now decide whether their children will attend classes until the roof is finished.
Bolin said that parents may pull their child out of classes until the work is completed and receive a refund for classes missed.
Doyle will bring Gavin to Wheeler next Monday but might not leave him if the air is still tainted. While the Preschool has a “great program,” she said, she does not want her son to be exposed to the smell of asphalt.
“I don’t think it’s OK for the kids to be in there, I know I wouldn’t want to smell it,” Doyle said.
