Two new county restroom facilities in Kealia were vandalized this week, according to county officials. A toilet at the public parking lot in Kealia Kai was stuffed with a pig’s head on Tuesday night and was cleaned out Wednesday morning,
Two new county restroom facilities in Kealia were vandalized this week, according to county officials.
A toilet at the public parking lot in Kealia Kai was stuffed with a pig’s head on Tuesday night and was cleaned out Wednesday morning, county spokeswoman Mary Daubert said yesterday.
On Sunday, toilet seats at Kealia Beach were removed from two handicapped designated stalls, one in the men’s room and the other in the ladies’ room, according to a county press release.
There have also been previous reports at these facilities of graffiti, rocks thrown in stalls, trash cans removed from the restrooms and flung onto roadways, as well as broken beer bottles left in the restrooms, the release states.
“We’re very disappointed that people have committed these senseless acts,” said Mayor Bill “Kaipo” Asing in the release. “When this type of thing happens, we’re all affected. There are replacement costs and manpower requirements, all of which are borne by the taxpayer.”
In addition, the time spent repairing these toilets means time taken away from another parks project, said Asing in the release.
“We need the public’s help with preventing vandalism from occurring at our parks,” said Parks and Recreation Director Bernard Carvalho in the release. “We urge everyone to please call the police department if they see someone behaving suspiciously.”
Carvalho noted in the release that the day after the new restroom facility at Lihi Park opened in February, the showerhead was vandalized.
Construction costs for that facility were $250,000, which included site preparation work.
Since the start of the year, there have been 35 vandalism cases at county facilities, ranging from physical damage to graffiti, according to the release. The areas with the highest frequency are Hanapepe, Kapa‘a and Kekaha.
To curb vandalism in their jurisdiction, the City and County of Honolulu and Hawai‘i County have ordinances in place relating to the closure of designated parks at night, the release said.
“Our park facilities were built for the community’s enjoyment,” said Mayor Asing in the release. “I don’t want to start closing our parks at night because of senseless acts, but we really need everyone’s cooperation in keeping our facilities safe from harm.”
Anyone with information regarding vandalism on Kaua‘i is urged to call Police Dispatch at 241-1711, or Crime Stoppers at 241-1887.
Crime Stoppers is a non-profit organization that offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 to anyone furnishing anonymous information that leads to an arrest.
