THE TEAM
Phil Myers owns Garner Sanitation Services Inc. He’s supported by full-time office manager Debbie Balsom and full-time, year-round driver, Helmut Wuersig. In the summer, an extra full-time and part-time driver are added.
Company history
Garner Sanitation was founded by two brothers who installed and serviced septic tanks. In the late 1960s, they added portable restrooms to their services. The portable sanitation side of the business was sold in 1982, and Myers bought it in 1999.
In addition to the Boy Scout Camporee, Garner also services several other seasonal accounts and events on an island chain in Lake Erie. Three groups of college students — one each in June, July and August — take a two-week ecology class at the Ohio State University Extension office on Put-In-Bay Island. There, they study Lake Erie’s water quality and use 6-7 portable restrooms provided by Garner.
There’s usually also a residential home construction project that requires 2-3 units, and eight other units are provided for the annual Lake View Beach volleyball tournament. This takes place on 20 courts and is attended by 2,000-3,000 people. Garner has several year-round accounts, including four flush units supplied to a country club, one unit for Ohio Edison’s maintenance yard, and one for the island’s water treatment plant operators.
Making connections
As with the University Extension business, Garner got the Camporee gig through a referral from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources office at Lake Erie Islands State Park at Put-In-Bay. In 2004, Garner supplied this popular camping destination with about 20 units spread throughout 100 campsites when the DNR remodeled permanent facilities.
By the numbers
Put-in-Bay is a metro Toledo resort community on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. In warm weather, the island is reached by ferry from Port Clinton. During the winter, year-round islanders are served by airplane until the ice goes out in spring. There are about 200 of these hardy year-round residents, and about 775 people in the township.
The village of Put-in-Bay played a significant role in the War of 1812 as the base for U.S. Naval Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s squadron. At Perry’s monument there, for the last decade on the weekend after Labor Day, Boy Scout Troop 360 of Port Clinton, Ohio, has played host to hundreds of Scouts and adult leaders from several states and Canada. The event is the troop’s Fall Invitational Camporee.
About 1,400 campers use 26 restroom units, including an ADA restroom, for the weekend. Two weeks before staging, Garner places eight units at the Ohio Edison maintenance yard because his trailer can only haul 18 units. This saves the Boy Scouts from having to pay additional ferry fees, since Garner can then deliver to the campsite with just one instead of two trucks.
The standing order is for 22 regular restrooms, a combination of Satellite Industries Inc. Tufway and Aspen units from Five Peaks Technology. These are joined by one Satellite World Care ADA unit. Garner delivers using a tubular square steel, dual-axle trailer with 5-foot outside rails, fabricated by Jim Dennis in Fremont, Ohio. It carries 18 regular units, two T.S.F. Company Inc. Tuff Jon double-sided, 40-gallon sinks and the ADA unit. He places all restrooms and one sink at the back of the property. The other sink is dropped off in front of the field, where the food canteen will be set up.
The Perry Monument visitor center receives four units. All units are placed along the edge of the yard using a Deal Associates Inc. Mongo Mover so technicians don’t leave tracks in the yard or have to drag them.
Let’s Roll
“Servicing the islands takes a lot of organization and coordination,” Myers says. “You have to make ferry reservations a minimum of a week in advance. We’ve dropped off calendars and business cards at the local hardware store, the community gathering site. I also leave them with the island’s building contractor. Most people on the island understand how the ferry works, so they know to call ahead.”
The Camporee isn’t really affected, since it’s a standing date and everyone plans ahead. But even for that event, just getting around on the islands can be a challenge. “People there rent golf carts like there’s no tomorrow,” Myers explains. “There are probably 600-700 of those, plus lots of people on bikes and walking around who must be avoided.”
Keeping it clean
Garner delivers and services restrooms with either of two trucks: a 2005 GMC 5500 diesel with an Amthor International 1,000-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater aluminum tank and Burk’s DC-10 Pressure Wash Down System; or a 2006 Chevy 5500 diesel with the same tank. Both run a Conde (Westmoor Ltd.) SDS-12 pump. Waste is discharged into a 7,000-gallon stainless steel tanker and trucked to a municipal treatment plant in Sandusky, Ohio, for disposal. The Ohio Edison plant allows Garner to store its 40-foot trailer on its lot until the following week to save ferry fees, which run about $70 for a truck and $60 for the trailer.
Each restroom is set up with J & J Chemical Co. tablets and fragrance spray. All have shelves and Purell hand sanitizers. Technicians charge the tanks with only a few gallons of water to allow for more capacity, since there is no mid-event service. “We don’t come over on the ferry on weekends because it’s too crowded with tourists, Myers explains. “They’ve never been overflowing, but they’re usually a couple inches from the top by the time we get there. They get their money’s worth.”
Because it’s a weekend event, Garner stocks the units — each with three-roll holders — with high-density toilet paper. Crews ferry over the following Tuesday to pick them up. They drop the trailer as close as possible to the units, then pump dry enough for one trailer load and pack them up. They lock up the rest and take those back the next week.
Who needs a vacation?
Myers says that for all the logistic requirements, he enjoys servicing the islands. “You get to take a 40-minute ride on the ferry, which is relaxing. We’re a tourist area with a lot of special events. The variety of jobs and the scenery are great. Between fairs, festivals and boat shows, there’s a whole vacation feeling around here. We don’t have to go anywhere.”
