VCTC is also working closely with city staff on code compliance issues including sub-floor structural needs and the need for steel beams to brace the building.The VCTC has entered into an agreement with the Ventura County Museum of History & Art to lease the building as the future home of an agricultural museum and “we are also working with them.”Gherardi said that the interior layout of the building would benefit the museum while at the same time ensuring that the integrity of the building remains intact.The design should be completed by September and “hopefully that includes approvals by the state,” she noted and once all approvals are in place construction should take about a year.The Mill, located on Railroad Avenue at Mill Street, presents challenges ranging from keeping the structure graffiti free to the alarm that “tends to go off at 3 a.m.” Gherardi, a Santa Paula resident often called upon to respond to such building needs, noted with a laugh.The grant will also provide funding to restore the second story station keeper’s apartment of the Depot and Gherardi said that more grant funding is being sought.For now, she added, a priority is keeping The Mill from further deterioration she added.
The Mill: VCTC chief tells of restoration plans and efforts for new museum
May 23, 2007
Santa Paula News
There’s much going on when it comes to city landmarks, specifically The Mill and the Depot, those attending the May Good Morning Santa Paula! learned from the head of the county transportation agency.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThere’s much going on when it comes to city landmarks, specifically The Mill and the Depot, those attending the May Good Morning Santa Paula! learned from the head of the county transportation agency. PW Environmental and Bob Orlando hosted the Chamber of Commerce sponsored event held at The Grove at Glen Tavern.“There’s a lot going on with The Mill and the Depot as well,” Ventura County Transportation Commission Executive Director Ginger Gherardi noted.Built in 1887, The Mill originally a clearing house for lima bean shipments and evolved over the decades to a agriculture and livestock supply warehouse and ultimately a collectibles mall.In 2005 the VCTC, which owns the railroad corridor property throughout the river valley, gained control of The Mill building which will be the focus of a $2.5 million restoration effort that will also benefit the historic Depot.Portions of The Mill are “in very good condition” while other sections, such as the roof, “are in very bad condition,” said Gherardi.Restoring The Mill requires a “very complicated process” that includes working with state historical and Caltrans among other agencies, a process that “seems to take a lot longer than any of us are happy about...”
