$80K More To Renovate Train Depot WILLITS, CA -- Renovation of the historic Willits Depot is expected to be about $80,000 more thorough than originally planned. The budget of Sierra Railroad, which owns the Skunk Train, had earmarked about $275,000 for depot restoration: $187,000 for Willits and $88,000 for Fort Bragg. After a walk-through with architects Bob Schlosser and Tod Newberger and structural engineer David Duncan, however, it became clear that the depot in our town needed more TLC. The company is now allocating at least to $267,000 to renovation of the Willits Depot. If a $232,000 STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) grant recently applied for with the help of the City of Willits comes through, that amount would increase to almost half a million dollars. According to Schlosser, the Willits Depot, which is listed on the national registry of historic places, was once "The Jewel of Northern California." - Claudia Reed, The Willits News
