Fulshear staff report ongoing water intrusion at municipal complex; consultant urges major repairs

Fulshear public works director Gary Schatz told the City Council on April 15 that repeated rain events have driven water into the city's municipal complex and that the problem is broader than short-term repairs.

"I do not come with good news tonight, and this is going to be a difficult discussion," Schatz said, describing ongoing intrusion "under the walls, through the walls, and around the windows" during storms.

A consultant from PGAL, Jeff Gerber, told council members a limited visual inspection and a controlled water test found that most sidewalks and exterior grades slope toward the buildings rather than away, creating persistent ponding and routes for water to enter exterior wall assemblies. "We conducted 83 different spot elevations around the buildings, and what we found is 80 of those 83 were flowing back towards the building," Gerber said. He said the site's as-built conditions deviate from the original construction drawings in ways that increase the risk of infiltration.

Gerber said the consultant's water tests, performed with hand-held hoses and an elevated platform, produced infiltration in several locations within a 10-minute test window. He said the exterior wall system and window details rely heavily on sealant, which he characterized as a short-term solution. "The approach of having short term fixes, meaning trying to caulk around windows or caulk around conditions ... is not likely gonna be a successful long term approach," he said.

The consultant flagged three interrelated problems: (1) site grading and sidewalks that allow water to pond at the building perimeter; (2) building details and window systems that do not provide robust flashing or drainage; and (3) wood framing and sheathing inside the exterior walls that have started to decay where water has been chronic. Gerber recommended a program of further study that could include destructive investigation to determine the full extent of decay and to develop costed design options. "The water leaks for this building, unfortunately, are coming from many places and coming for many reasons," he said.

Council members asked staff to bring options, cost ranges and timeframes back for deliberation. Schatz and staff proposed forming a small council committee (three members) to work with PGAL and city staff, review options and return recommendations. Several council members volunteered for the committee and asked staff to include legal counsel in subsequent briefings to review contract and acquisition records related to the complex.

Councilmember John Kanopy and others said they preferred more complete information before pursuing executive-session legal review. Council directed staff to return to the May 6 meeting with a scope of next steps and options for committee work and to schedule executive-session consultation on legal implications at that later meeting.

City Manager Cliff Goodlander and staff warned that short-term repairs will likely need repeated rework and that full remediation could require removing and replacing exterior wall assemblies and regrading around the building's perimeter. Gerber said wall replacements would likely call for metal framing rather than wood framing to avoid repeated rot if water cannot be fully controlled by site work alone.

The council did not approve construction work at the April 15 meeting; members instead asked staff and PGAL to prepare option packages, order-of-magnitude costs and a recommended next-step schedule for council review.

Ending: The city will form a small council working group to examine options and costs; staff and PGAL will return with a recommended work plan and legal review at the next regular meeting.