PO’IPU – The problems of vandalism and aging public restrooms at Kaua’i County parks are hard to solve, said Mayor Maryanne Kusaka. Toilets and sinks in the restrooms are designed for residential, not mass use, Kusaka said when the subject
PO’IPU – The problems of vandalism and aging public restrooms at Kaua’i County parks are hard to solve, said Mayor Maryanne Kusaka.
Toilets and sinks in the restrooms are designed for residential, not mass use, Kusaka said when the subject came up during her talk Nov. 22 to the Rotary Club of Po’ipu Beach.
She said it’s cheaper to replace porcelain restroom fixtures every three years than to install stainless steel equipment, which can run $1,000 per piece.
Mel Nishihara, director of the county’s Division of Parks and Recreation in the Department of Public Works, confirmed that stainless-steel fixtures do cost over $1,000, and porcelain fixtures go for less than half that amount.
He said he’s not sure if money for fixture replacement would be included in the parks budget on an ongoing basis, or in the department’s building maintenance budget. It depends, he said, on who will do the work.
Kusaka challenged the Rotarians and guests to come up with a better plan if they can. And don’t suggest community groups volunteering to take care of the restrooms, because “I don’t think anybody wants to adopt a toilet,” Kusaka said to laughter from the crowd of 70 people at the club meeting at Hyatt Regency Kaua’i Resort & Spa.
On vandalism, the mayor said folks who use drugs or have no respect for their environment have used rocks to break toilets and sinks at restrooms in some public parks just for fun.
“They certainly would not do that at home,” she said. “It’s very discouraging to our janitors.” Setting limited park hours could discourage loitering, use of drugs and alcohol, and vandalism and graffiti after dark, said Nishihara.
All county parks are open 24 hours a day. That means the restrooms are also open all the time. Nishihara said community policing or awareness could help deter vandalism, and having specific park hours could give police and the community a way to enforce day-use-only park restrictions, he said.
“We have to give them a tool. We’re going to have to put some kind of restriction so that there is some teeth when the people call” to report those loitering or using parks after hours without proper county permits, Nishihara said.
It would take an ordinance from the County Council to change park hours, he said.
The county is mulling ordinances for just such changes.
Neither the county, nor any governmental entity in the state, has considered using surveillance cameras to deter vandalism in public parks, he said.
“In some areas,” vandalism is a big problem on Kaua’i, Nishihara said. The recently erected lifeguard stand at Kekaha has been vandalized already, and somebody set fire to the restroom at Wailua Houselots Park. Sometimes, vandals and graffiti artists damage community-built bus stops.
In fiscal year 1998-99, the county spent more than $1.1 million for park maintenance. That was for the period from July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999.
The county Department of Public Works’ annual report in 1997-98 cited vandalism as a troubling problem.
“Vandalism of county-owned facilities, especially to the park facilities, have overburdened our maintenance crews,” the report states. “Attending to these vandalized facilities places a great demand on our maintenance personnel’s time, thereby taking away from the time that could be spent on preventive maintenance work or construction work,” the division report continues. Vandalism is a growing and costly problem for the county.” Staff writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) and pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
