Council opens park rest rooms, at least until vandals strike

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

DECATUR - Indoor restrooms could soon be available for public use at the east end of Veteran’s Park in Decatur.

On April 8, city council members passed a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Department to open the bathrooms inside the barbecue building to the public.

Council members also approved a bid from Tim Harrington to seal off the inside doors, create outside doors and pour concrete for sidewalks up to the bathrooms.

Currently, a portable toilet is available for people using the walking track, soccer field and bandstand area.

Mayor Charles Linam said he and the Streets and Parks Department employees would clean the bathrooms. The bathrooms would be locked at 10 p.m. by police and opened in the morning by city employees.

Bathrooms in the nearby ballpark, at the west end of Veterans Park, have been abused and vandalized terribly in the past, according to Linam. Now they are only open to use during ball games.

Linam said he plans to hang a sign near the new bathrooms in the barbecue building, stating that if the bathrooms are vandalized, they will be closed.

Four community members and two city council members were appointed to the Decatur Parks and Recreation Committee.

The committee has been inactive for some time, Linam said. They met on April 4 to begin revamping the committee and plan to meet again on April 18.

Community members Ike Owens, Rick Tilly, Eric Aguire and Chris Lemley and council members Bob Tharp and David Sutton were appointed to the committee.

In other business, the council passed the third reading of an ordinance to renew the city’s contract with Empire District Electric to provide electrical service, equipment and lights for streets, parks and public places. The contract is automatically renewed each year and has to be reapproved by the council every 10 years.

News, Pages 5 on 04/17/2013