Is budget belt-tightening among your public sector customers taking a toll on the number of restrooms you’re placing at city parks this summer? That appears to be the case in Corvallis, Ore., where the Parks and Recreation Department is pulling portable restrooms from many parks.
According to a story in the Corvallis Gazette-Times, the city reduced its contract for park restrooms by $7,000 with regional restroom provider Honey Bucket. The cut was part of about $109,000 in cuts made by the department.
Park operations supervisor David Phillips told the newspaper that park users notice restrooms are missing from a half-dozen parks and a natural area. “I think in many cases we have citizens who go to the same parks to kind of do the same things,” he said. “They get used to (the restrooms); they come to depend on them.”
The city used a variety of factors to determine which restrooms to keep in place or pull to save money, according to the report. They tried to keep restrooms in park areas where there were picnic shelters and popular sports complexes. They removed restrooms from areas where permanent public bathrooms could be found nearby; at the public library, for instance.
Vandalism was also a factor. Since the city is responsible for damage to portable restrooms, they pulled units that were frequently being damaged. In April, one park unit was destroyed by a pipe bomb.
How have your municipal service contracts changed this summer? Drop me a line at editor@promonthly.com and I’ll share your stories in an upcoming blog.
