The Goleta Train Depot is set to be largely self-service and open seven days a week, year-round. 

The Goleta City Council reviewed the station’s operation plan Tuesday ahead of the facility’s completion, estimated to be before the end of the year. 

The $32-million and approximately 9,000-square-foot building has been a historic endeavor for Goleta and has been described as its first “ground-up construction” project at 27 S. La Patera Lane. 

Additionally, it will be Goleta’s first train station the city operates and maintains, open Monday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Matthew Fore, general services director.

The station will only be closed on city-recognized holidays, he added. 

The 12-hour window covers most arrivals and departures, except for two of them, Fore said. 

“It’s an exciting time for us, and we have put a lot of thought and a lot of research into how we are going to operate this facility,” he said. 

The station is expected to include a lobby, electronic ticketing area, waiting room, vending machines, outdoor plaza, community room, restrooms and storage areas. 

A café was also included in the plan, but that amenity is now considered a long-term goal for the facility, Fore said.

Another key factor about the station is that it will be largely self-service, with no direct service by Amtrak personnel and no permanent staff, according to Fore. 

Instead, the station will be monitored through video surveillance and a third-party day porter who will serve as the city’s eyes and ears, he added.

Train passengers will be able to get their Amtrak tickets online and check arrival and departure times on electronic boards at the station.

The depot will also have WIFI and air conditioning available during operating hours, city staff said Tuesday. 

Mayor Paula Perotte proposed that the WIFI not be turned off at a certain time to further enhance safety in the area in the case of delayed trains.

Safety was one of the main reasons the Goleta Train Depot project was created because the former station was isolated and dark at night, she said.

Additionally, Councilmember Jennifer Smith advised city staff to consider longer waiting area hours, based on her own experience with Amtrak and noticing the 10:15 p.m. train arriving from Southern California is relatively busy. 

Along with the excitement surrounding the train depot’s opening, there were some concerns about the train depot’s budget related to staff conducting after-hours services.

“This is going to be a highly activated site, and the after-hours response is a significant budget concern to us,” Fore said. 

Staff is considering ways to limit the number of nonurgent calls to staff after hours, including contracting with an answering service, he said. 

Funding for the new building included $18.6 million from the state Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, which was awarded to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.

Project plans include “ample” parking and electric vehicle charging areas. 

City staff is also considering having the non-EV parking at the station be paid, raising some questions and concerns from council members about what that would look like.

“This is Goleta, not Santa Barbara, and we just kind of have some different expectations here for how parking is supposed to work,” Councilmember James Kyriaco said. 

While he supported free parking, some council members were concerned that free parking would be used by people abandoning cars, or using the nearby Santa Barbara Airport.

Councilmember Stuart Kasdin said he was in favor of the paid parking being an amount that was enough to deter people from that behavior.

He also said he was concerned about vehicular homelessness at the train depot. 

Amtrak is in control of the current 27 parking spaces in front of the train station’s platform, according to Jaime Valdez, assistant city manager.

While a café won’t be available when the depot opens, train passengers can expect to see vending machines and a coffee vendor for the first couple of years. 

Going this route allows city staff and potential vendors time to understand the market and environment before building out the space, Fore said. 

“We will be hard-pressed to put in those start-up costs, spend the tens of thousands of dollars on the tenant improvements and then commit themselves to a long-term lease,” he said.

Kyriaco also suggested having food trucks parked near the depot to bring train riders some food options to that area, which Valdez has referred to as a “food desert.” 

City staff and council members acknowledged that the operation plans could change in the following years.

“We are all very excited, but we also realize that it’s going to be a trial and error,” Perotte said.