Council Democrats Continue Push for Immediate Park Bathroom Repairs

Democratic town councilors continued to turn up the heat in pushing for Monday night, pressing for a plan that would allocate money before June 30.

In a heated discussion during Monday’s council meeting, Democrats again pushed for an expedited repair and John Barry called the decision not to restore money into the budget a “politically motivated decision.”

“I feel as though when the issue came up during budget cycle, it was perceived as a Democratic idea and Republicans were thinking ‘they shouldn’t get credit for this’ but it wasn’t our idea,” Barry said. “It was bipartisan commission that made this recommendation and this issue has gotten way out of control.”

Led by Council Chairman Edward Pocock III, Republicans countered Barry’s comments and said it has nothing to do with politics.

All the Republican councilors said they are in full support of the bathroom repairs but are concerned that creating a “band-aid” could lead to spending money without resolving the issues for good.

The heated discussion began Monday after Democrat Dawn Miceli asked Town Manager Garry Brumback for an update on when administrators would be able to present a package on ways to address the problem – a request Brumback committed to during the May 11 Board of Finance meeting.

In looking at the issue, however, Brumback said the options are both threefold and complicated.

“The $15,000 option remains uncertain because renovations needed would trigger ADA compliance requirements in the boys bathroom, which is the most used, and would take the capacity from two residents to one,” Brumback said.

The town could also look at whether a full renovation would prove a better option, Brumback said, but costs are unknown despite a $40,000 figure that has been used. Such a decision should be included in a more comprehensive review of needs in Southington’s parks system, he said.

The town is also looking at whether issues with pooling water could be resolved by replacing the existing residential toilets with industrial ones. The option would need to be looked at in further detail, he said.

“There is a new recreation person coming in who will be directed to gather all circumstances in all parks and bring back greatest needs. Reacting individually while expedient may not be the most cost effective,” Brumback said. “Expeditiously, it will be a couple months to come back with recommended priority.”

Barry and Miceli are pushing for quicker actions, however, saying the bathrooms are in bad condition and the town has ignored the request of the Parks Commission over the past three years now to include repairs in the town’s annual budget.

“This is a top priority presented by parks commissioners and we need to let them do their job,” Barry said.

Pocock and Republican Peter Romano said while they recognize the need, there is a greater importance in evaluating all the parks needs, including facilities at other major parks such as Pathorn Park and Recreation Park, in order to determine the best way to address issues system-wide, both in the short and long term.

“I agree with what Councilwoman Miceli and Councilman Barry are saying. Our parks are great and those bathrooms are not glamorous by any means,” Romano said. “The important thing is look at the big picture though and reality is we don’t know what big picture is right now.”

“We are looking at a project that could be $40,000 and right now, we don’t know if that’s the best use of taxpayer money. It could be and if it is I would support that, but right now we simply don’t know what systematic needs is,” he said.