by Richard J. Silvio
The brick-and-mortar restrooms at Veteran’s Park are closed until further notice, according to Town Manager Ann Vandal.
Hooligans have repeatedly vandalized the site this season, Vandal’s office reports, forcing the town to continually replace fixtures in both the men’s and women’s facilities.
“We plan to open them when there are special events and continue to keep the portable ones,” said the Manager.
When asked about security cameras, Vandal adds “we do have cameras, but we don’t have the resources to monitor them and they are essentially used for review when there are issues. We have been able to charge some kids because of the cameras so that’s good, we are waiting on restitution. The town tried restroom monitors in the past, with elderly volunteers facing sharp criticism and disrespect from young people.”
On youth sporting events and restroom accessibility, Mrs. Vandal said, “If we have someone from each sport commit to opening and closing them that would be ideal but can’t seem to get any volunteers.”
Vandal pointed to the fact that Monahan park has consistent restroom maintenance due to the Softball Association’s participation. She alluded to the fact that although many sporting organizations utilize Veteran’s Park, none of them wish to take responsibility of maintaining the restrooms.
Vandal concluded by stating the portable restrooms will be maintained by the town, and that the town may look to contract the restroom maintenance out to a third party, which is currently the case with the concession stand.
