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Dear Editor –
On October 12th at 6pm the City Council is looking to mortgage the police station and city hall to take on more than they can handle with nothing more than a Zoom call. In closed sessions, the city has developed a plan to mortgage key city properties to raise enough money to outbid the Skunk Train’s efforts to purchase and develop Mill Site South. Something the city has had no interest in doing until now.
Facing a crisis with nearly $10M in unfunded CalPers debt (retirement benefits for city employees) which is accruing interest at 7%, the city seeks to pile on an extra $3,500,000 for the purpose of purchasing the Mill Site South and then indemnifying Georgia Pacific from their own environmental remediation! The mayor’s plan buys Mill Site South with massive environmental issues and unlimited liability for the city to clean-up simply to interfere with Mendocino Railway’s plan to redevelop the property… Recall that the railroad and the mill site have historically been owned and operated by a single company since its creation. Mendocino simply looks to restore that historic relationship.
When Mendocino Railway purchased the historic Skunk Train out of bankruptcy in 2004 it immediately engaged in discussions with Georgia Pacific about the closed mill site property. In 2019, after many years of city “process” Mendocino Railway was able to close escrow on Mill Site North, 77-acres spanning from the northern edge of Redwood Avenue out to the Coastal Trail, and all the way north to the Glass Beach Parking Lot. Once this transaction was completed, Mendocino Railway provided plans that met with strong support from the city council.
In February 2021 Mendocino acquired a 15-acre purchase from Harvest Market at the corner of Cypress and Main Streets on the former mill site. Mendocino only proceeded with this purchase because the city had encouraged Mendocino Railway to use this for its expansion plans.
Mendocino then worked with GP for a purchase of balance of the mill site, known as Mill Site South. Mendocino Railway recognized the need for a master plan to develop the whole site to ensure consistent planning; (the city abandoned the process in 2020) utilities, water supply and infrastructure planning. Mendocino kept the city manager and mayor informed of the progress of their purchase.
The city then decided to take the purchase from the railroad. With no director of planning, discussion of the city manager going part-time, massive debts, countless other priorities, and failing infrastructure, the city still feels that mortgaging its future and to provide Georgia Pacific with unlimited protection against its own clean-up costs is the right path.
Since 1885, the railroad and city have long had an amicable relationship. The Skunk has been the largest source of tourist revenue for the city and a significant employer. Annually, 75% of the Skunk Train’s 65,000 plus passengers travel from Fort Bragg, 80% stay an average of 2.53 nights and have most recently spent $803 per party during their trip. In the previous 5 years, passengers on the Skunk Train have generated 150,000 room night stays and over $50,000,000 in spending.
We urge the citizens of Fort Bragg to stand up and say no to the officials who look to mortgage our towns future simply to fuel a war against the Skunk Train.
Robert Jason Pinoli
President – Mendocino Railway
The Skunk Train presence in Fort Bragg is ominous at best. They have sued the county for 240 acres of property using an eminent domain clause in their public utility standing with CPUC to gain local property for their own commercial gain. They serve no public good. They are a bogus public utility. They only serve themselves by catering to the tourist trade. They are not who they pretend to be.
can’t get past the tunnel but want mill property. rich people problems…
With out the train all those mom an pop establishments would starve to death, hotels motels an the rest of the tourist gougers.
You bite the hand that feeds you, even a dog dont poop where it sleeps! Time for common sense, not political promises.
The Skunk Train feeds itself at the expense of the community. With or without the train, the tourists will come. It is more of a detriment than an asset. It doesn’t even have proper authority from the state to run more than twice a day over our streets. It has no authority whatsoever to run the quad cycles and block traffic four to six times a day. It’s listed as a public utility but serves no public good. I could go on and on.
Keep goin on, the skunk train was here long before you blessed us with your presence. and i hope it stays here. just for historical value alone. it never fails people that come here want to change our way of life. stiffle it bruce
God bruce thought you were over skunk train business and onto other endeavors. Have to agree most who want changes are those who relocated here after visiting. Once here they try to change it. Funny how that is. If we were to be what they want we would be a ghost town where only retired rich could live. No stores no attractions. Windfarms that are environmentally unfriendly and a eyesore littering the ocean here. Bruce will say he’s been here forever but his whole stay has been one protest after another here in Fort bragg. Usually started but rarely finished or continued. Concentration and ” stick and stay” are real things in Bruce’s protest history. Why do people want to spend the last few years of their lives in bitter arguments and disagreements that amount to nothing being changed? Enjoy the scenery Bruce….invest your time money energy in the local animal shelter. If you believe in God or afterlife that would .look much better on a resume. Both city and train corrupt. The city will bankrupt itself to fight this and they seriously don’t have funds to fight anything. Rather see money go to kids programs and other programs to help city residents.
I wish that the Skunk Train would justify the use of Eminent Domain to obtain the mill site in accordance with the original intent in giving railroads the right to that tool. In other words, what public function do you perform as a railroad other than transporting tourists 5 miles out of town and then back. Also how about getting permits to run the rail cars.
The area’s revenue is not just based on Skunk Train as an attraction. FOR EXAMPLE SEE: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g32400-Activities-Fort_Bragg_Mendocino_County_California.html
The facts are: The City’s total revenues for Governmental and Business‐type Activities were $25.6 million for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 2020, representing a 15 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. Governmental
Activities increased by $1.4 million, and Business‐type Activities increased $1.9 million. Significant revenues
for the City for the FY 2019/20 were derived from charges for services (33%), grants and contributions (29%),
sales and use Tax (14%), transient occupancy tax (8%), and property tax (6%) source:https://city.fortbragg.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1203
If Johnny Cash came to Ft Bragg
I hear that train a coming the one they call the Skunk
But they won’t let me ride it because I am too drunk
I’m stuck here at the headlands trying to sober up
With a double of espresso steaming in my cup
I wandered down to Denny’s because it wasn’t far
I couldn’t drink the coffee though it was thick as tar
Ant the waitress took an hour to bring my menu down
I got tired of waiting and staggered into town
I’ll bet there are some tourists riding on that fancy train
The same ones who drove past me glaring in disdain
As I stood outside the Boatyard with my cardboard sign
Now I’m singing down in Caspar and you can hear me whine
If I ever get a chance to ride that steaming railroad train
I’ll ride it clear to Willits then ride it back again
To my campsite on the Noyo that’s where I long to be
As I watch that ball of sunshine sink into the sea
D.W.C. —Your best one in my opinion..
Seems to me that the Skunk is sunk. Let it go away. Or better yet just shut it down, it’s usefulness has gone and it should be too. As for the property in question , why is the city buying property? Are they going into the real estate speculation business? The residents of Ft. Bragg should be concerned. BTW how are they going to serve tourists without an adequate water supply to serve themselves?
Robert Jason Pinoli, president of Mendocino Railway
This gentleman knows not anything about the skunk of the loonies are rich kid is moved into the neighborhood and cut his own choo-choo train there is hardly an old-growth tree left on that right away, and here’s another newcomer it came to Mendocino County with his own environmental agenda, just like Rep. McGuire another individual that state in the environmental newcomer world that has his own agenda to climb up the ladder could care less, about local jobs that the cold train would bring, they all need to go back to the city where they belong this is the same individual that owns his choo-choo train chased out the sawmill, in favor buying land that actually belongs to the Indians and did no homework to try and make it right it’s all about his agenda that preserving the history of the timber industry or seeing good commerce in a vibrant red Road going all the way to Eureka creating jobs in favor of supporting the timber industry and good commerce, the owner of the skunk stinks is bad as the name that it was after, and the agenda, of. Robert Jason Pinoli, president of Mendocino Railway is for his own self gratification to support the environmentalists and not the working people.