The debate about public washrooms at River Mill Park continues.
The park has been serviced by washrooms in a nearby building at 8 West St., but a proposed doubling of the cost of leasing those facilities from Coldwell Banker Thompson had Town staff, at the direction of council, investigating other options including construction of a permanent washroom building in the park.
It’s not the first time council has debated the issue.
The space at 8 West St. is leased at a cost of $8,400 per year ($700.00 + HST monthly), with Town staff providing custodial, maintenance, and supplies. The current lease expires June 30, 2022, and the building owners have indicated the rate would increase to $15,600 ($1,300 per month) including utilities, provided safeguards are put in place to limit vandalism and that a full bladder system draining directly into the sanitary system is installed.
On March 2, a staff report was presented to Huntsville’s general committee which recommended a pilot project for porta-potties in the park.
Staff veered from recommending a permanent structure in the park due to ongoing and costly vandalism at the public washrooms, which have cost the town more than $5,000 in repairs since November 2021.
“If we determine what the right locations are, we could construct a wooden screen around those porta-potties to soften the look but certainly we don’t want to conceal them to the point where a. they are a target for vandals or b. they can’t be seen or recognized by the general public as functioning bathrooms,” said Colleen MacDonald, the Town’s manager of parks and cemeteries, in her presentation to committee.
A porta-potty has been temporarily installed in the park due to winter activities in the area, she noted, and there would be other suitable locations in the summer months.
But the suggestion of porta-potties as a permanent solution was one that didn’t sit well with councillors.
“I am not a fan of portable toilets in our signature park in the middle of our town. I don’t think they are attractive and they’re not fun to use,” said Councillor Tim Withey, and wondered if installation of security cameras would deter vandalism while the Town further investigates construction of permanent washrooms.
Councillor Bob Stone agreed. “Porta-potties are a temporary solution and to do a pilot project that may let them stay there permanently is unacceptable in my opinion… It’s not always about the price. Sometimes we need to say, this is what we need to do and go ahead and do it.” He pointed out that funds from the Municipal Accommodation Tax could be used for washrooms in the Town’s parks. “We can’t let vandals dictate what we do. Let’s deal with the vandals.”
Councillor Jason FitzGerald doesn’t like the idea of porta-potties either. “The thing that troubles me the most is we had the opportunity to put washrooms in there and we didn’t like the price, so I have a feeling this is going to come around full circle and we’re going to procrastinate and procrastinate and heaven forbid we only get one plan taker and bidder on the project.”
Councillor Dione Schumacher reminded her fellow councillors that the recent Waterfront Strategy Design Brief noted that community members really want permanent washrooms in the park. “That sends a strong message to us as a council that maybe that is something that we need to really consider and look to for future.”
Councillor Dan Armour noted that there have been complaints about young children using the bushes adjacent to the park instead of the washrooms across the road, adding that he’s not a fan of portable washrooms either. He suggested staying with the existing lease for now and adding more signage to direct people to the washrooms at 8 West Rd. as well as Town Hall.
Deputy Mayor Nancy Alcock suggested trying porta-potties in different location to determine “where washrooms make sense and at the same time pursue the idea of going down the road of where permanent washrooms ought to go.”
Councillor Jonathan Wiebe said the discussion felt like déjà vu, given how often it has come up in recent years.
He was also looking for concrete ideas on ending the vandalism. “Unless we’re going to be putting up cameras, or making it a pay washroom to limit access, I think we’re going to be back where we started only we’re going to have to foot, obviously, the bill for multiple repairs. I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s clearly…going to be an issue ongoing.”
Mayor Karin Terziano noted that the cost of a new five-year lease for the facilities at 8 West Rd. combined with the capital outlay for infrastructure upgrades are substantial, and that with children not using it and Coldwell Banker asking that it be closed by 4 p.m. to stem vandalism, it’s not an ideal solution either.
“If we put porta-potties as a test in the park for the summer, we find out whether people will use them or not. There’s not as much likelihood to vandalize porta-potties as there is permanent washrooms… The facts are such that we don’t want to enter into this next lease and our option for the summer is to try out porta-potties. It doesn’t mean we…stop working towards a permanent washroom.”
Town CAO Denise Corry noted that Coldwell Banker has been helpful in dealing with the vandalism, and that if the lease is not extended their intent is to remove the washrooms. “I think it’s really important for committee to know that if the lease is not extended, it’s my understanding there’s not an option to go back.”
“It seems to me we’re backed into a corner here,” said FitzGerald. He suggested the Town needs to do an educational and communications blitz “about how vandalism costs us all, and that they’re taking funds that could be for a splash pad or bigger skate park or something for our youth in town by doing such vandalism and using taxpayer money to repairs. It’s crazy.”
Stone wanted staff to determine if the lease could be extended just for the remainder of the summer, and have staff begin investigating permanent washrooms now, which is ultimately what committee decided to do.
Councillor Brian Thompson, who is employed by Coldwell Banker Thompson, was not part of the discussion.
A staff report with proposed washroom locations is expected at the next general committee meeting.
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Ross Pease says
Round and round we go. Where will it stop? As the saying goes s##t or get off the pot. Every day council procrastinates the costs go up. It’s time to bite the bullet and build complete with security cameras. The park is the showcase of our downtown area let’s make it beautiful.
Bill MacPherson says
I spent years putting together festivals on a popular waterfront in Barrie. Permanent public washrooms are just the cost of doing business. Pota-potties were only successfully used when large events arrived and the normal traffic levels were challenged. They are expensive and difficult to maintain, but unavoidably they are the only solution. If you are going to hold events in this downtown gem, if you are going to showcase your downtown park and create events that are beneficial to the town and visitors alike, then you need to provide clean,safe functioning washroom facilities.