Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society | PO Box 221925, Newhall CA 91322-1925 | scvhs.org Mr. Ken Striplin
City of Santa Clarita
23920 W. Valencia Blvd.
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
June 30, 2026
Re: Historic Train Station Reroofing Project
Dear Mr. Striplin,
The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society respectfully requests funding in the amount of $150,000 to reroof the historic Saugus Train Station in William S. Hart Park. Specifically, we are requesting that the $150,000 earmarked for the Historical Society’s Santa Clarita History Center in Master Case No. 21-205 be allocated to this Historic Train Station Reroofing project.
As you are aware, with City support, in 2018-2019, we reroofed all of the other historic structures in the Santa Clarita History Center with fireproof, 100-year steel-shingle roofing that mimics the appearance of the buildings’ original roofs. The roofing has been problem-free. We intend to use the same type of material and the same installer for the train station.
The train station currently has three roofs. The outer layer consists of composite shingles that blow off in high winds. We installed the third, 25/30-year composite roof in 1984 to cover two older roofs that leaked. At the time, the County code allowed three roofs. (It no longer does.) To our knowledge, the current City code allows only one roof.
The 1888 train station reopened to the public as a museum in July 2025 when the City took possession of Hart Park. It also serves as the headquarters of our archiving operations. During its period of closure, we restored the interior of the building to its historical appearance, insulated the building above and below, installed climate control systems for the first time, and added UV filtration on the windows to protect artifacts and improve the visitor experience. The installation of the new roofing will mark the completion of the first phase of the museum in the train station.
The relevant condition of approval in Master Case No. 21-205 required the permittee to pay $150,000 for the completion of the museum at the History Center in the Pardee House located at Hart Park, or similar improvement. At one time, the Pardee House Museum and the Saugus Train Station Museum were equal-priority projects. Funds being limited, and coming from a more advanced starting point, we opted to focus on the Saugus Train Station Museum first.
The Pardee House Museum project is a multi-year project with a preliminary budget far exceeding $150,000. Over the past 2-3 years, we have applied for state and federal grant funding to cover the majority of the project budget (as recently as in this week’s state budget package), only to learn that the grant opportunities were subsequently withdrawn. We will continue to pursue state and federal funding if and when such opportunities arise in the future. In the meantime, as soon as the final structural repairs to the Pardee House have been completed (anticipated during the current calendar year), we will use existing resources to create temporary exhibits inside the building and open it to the public for the first time.
In contrast, reroofing the historic train station is a one-and-done project – once every 100 years. The requested funds would cover 94.3% of the estimated project cost; we will cover the remainder with existing funds. The estimate from our incumbent roofing installer is available to the City on request.
It reflects the entirety of the project including materials and installation, removal and disposal of the existing roofing, a new plywood underlayment, and related structural improvements.
If approved, we will immediately schedule the installation. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Al
an Pollack
President, Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society