Goleta Railroad Museum, Community Center Vulnerable If El Niño Delivers Torrential Rains

California’s State of Emergency announcement on September 21 came as a result of requests from state municipalities, including the City of Goleta, for the state to take action to protect vulnerable communities ahead of this winter’s El Niño. State agencies are directed to prepare and bodies like the Coastal Commission to take action within 24 hours of being asked for a permit. But, as Goleta’s emergency services manager Jason Levy said during Tuesday’s meeting, “El Niño isn’t a storm but a rise in ocean temperature,” adding that the National Weather Service is concerned about “warning fatigue.”

Adopting the county’s slogan “prepare, don’t panic,” the city is indeed making preparations, the City Council was informed by staff. Should this year’s El Niño deliver torrential rains, both the railroad museum and the community center are vulnerable, said Matt Fore, who leads the city’s General Services Department. The South Coast Railroad Museum sits in a low spot, and its roof gutters are only decorative. The location is so low that the city hired engineers last year to inspect its structural integrity after moderate rains caused pooling under the building. That assessment should be completed before the rain falls, though no funding currently exists for repairs. The plan for the winter is 1,000 sandbags and tarps.

Roof issues also exist at the Goleta Community Center, which reopened in 2024 after extensive earthquake retrofits and accessibility rails and ramps were completed. First opened in 1927 as Goleta Union School, the building’s roof leaks. Ahead of the storms, General Services staffers are wrapping the skylight over the dining room and hiring a roofing contractor to inspect, caulk, seal, and install flashing as needed. As well, two sump pumps have been purchased to drain the cellar of Stow House and the roofs at the Community Center portables. Holding the Rainbow School, the 70-year-old portables are slated to be replaced in the next few years, said Fore, thanks to $2 million in the state’s trailer bill. “That should help get rid of Lake Community Center,” Fore quipped.

In a separate agenda item on Tuesday, the city also examined upcoming improvements, set to cost about $3.3 million, to renovate the campus, replace portable trailers, improve the gazebo area, and resurface the popular pickleball courts. The Community Center is well-used by programs for seniors — both city and nonprofit — gamers, performers, and the city library, with fees supplemented by General Fund monies for the roughly $600,000-$900,000 in annual expenses. The skylight repair bids were rejected recently, Fore noted, but will be going out to bid again this winter.

As the city carries out its examination of drainages and culverts during its winter preparations, Public Works’ Autumn Glaeser emphasized that the time to prepare was now. For residents, sandbag stations were open at Fire Stations 11 (6901 Frey Wy.) and 14 (320 N. Los Carneros Rd.). Downed trees touching power lines or blocking roads should be reported to 9-1-1. At Goleta’s City Assist website, a photo and address of a problem is always helpful, Glaeser said, allowing the city team to triage what’s most important and what could wait.

She also noted that some flooding occurs during big storms because the aging storm drains will reach capacity — engineered for 10-year and 25-year storms — not because they’re clogged. As well, now that the city owned crack-seal and grind-and-pave machines, the work to protect pavement can continue year-round, with the first round taking place at Cambridge and Calle Real.

City Parks and Rec is making a photo inventory of playgrounds and picnic tables for a status baseline. The parks are also used by the city’s library. It has made arrangements with the Community Center so literacy programs can continue sheltered from the rain, and also with indoor locations in Isla Vista so the book van can bring dry books and other materials to the community, outlined JoAnne Plummer, director of Neighborhood Services.

As for the ongoing construction, the work at San Jose Creek should protect Old Town from 100-year storms and reduce the annual flooding that the Kellogg area has endured. Over on western Cathedral Oaks, the city approved $1.8 million in September toward paving lower Winchester Canyon Road and Calle Real between Winchester and Cathedral Oaks. The paving is Phase I of a two-phase repair of the crib wall, including preventing water intrusion behind the wall. Phase II is the actual repair of the crib wall, which was undermined during winter storms in January 2017. Several closures of the far end of Cathedral Oaks Road occurred, but after inspections, the road was reopened and the bike lane was closed. The repair project is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $12 million and goes out to bid in the fall.