Bathroom Options for Memorial Park Under Consideration

There are a lot of things for participants in the town’s Northern Little League to be proud about these days. The restrooms at Veterans Memorial Park are not one of them.

Small, out-of-code and filled with health concerns, the bathrooms are only open these days when teams play – and that’s only after volunteers with the league and staff with the Southington Highway Department spend each day clearing out puddles and freshening it for hundreds of visitors just before the first ballgame of the day.

For the past several years, bathroom repairs have been removed from the town’s annual budget and while both Republicans and democrats agree that repairs or even a replacement option is needed, when those repairs will take place remains in question.

League volunteers say it’s a problem that should be addressed as quickly as possible.

“These are some of the most widely used bathrooms in the community. This is what visitors see when they come to town,” said Bill O’Hara, assistant coach of the Orioles minor league team. “If it’s as expensive as $40,000, I understand they may need to look elsewhere, but it’s a repair I hope they can make for the children and the community as a whole.”

Parents have voiced concerns over the bathrooms for several years now and members of the Park Commission have included repair costs in their annual budget three years in a row but have not received funding.

Both are not handicapped accessible, have only one stall and frequent use causes pipes to leak.

Health Director Charles Motes wrote that while maintained well, the facilities will continue to deteriorate and problems will only get worse.

“The deficiencies include deteriorating walls at the floor juncture, no mechanical ventilation, no hot water, spring loaded self-shutting faucets, large gaps at the bottom of the doors and residential style toilets,” Motes wrote following a recent health inspection. “The restrooms need to be monitored and cleaned regularly during each use for an event, as they will not remain minimally sanitary for very long during frequent use.”

The problems were brought into the spotlight by Town councilor Dawn Miceli on May 9 as she pleaded for council members to restore $15,000 to the budget for repairs. The efforts were voted down along party lines, 5-4. Six votes were needed to restore funding under town charter.

Two days later, Board of Finance members took up the issue but discussions were tabled after they requested further information. Repairs could be made, members said, but would act as a stopgap and further repairs would be needed in the future. A full renovation would likely cost upwards of $40,000, town officials said.

Miceli said the issue has become a sore spot for residents on that side of town, especially given the fields are used nearly year-round for baseball, football and other sports.

“What’s been lost in translation, these bathrooms aren’t just for the leagues. Memorial Park is one of the major parks in town and these bathrooms should be available for residents at the park, not just during games,” Miceli said.

Miceli’s request won the support of other Democrats, but Republicans have taken a stance that while the restrooms should be addressed, it should be done through renovations at a one-time cost.

John Leary, chairman of the Board of Finance, said there is a need to look at the parks system as a whole because there are needs at several other places as well that have been pushed under the rug for years. He said he would like to see the town assess all parks and put together a plan to address needs as quickly as possible in a fiscally responsible manner.

The Board of Finance, however, has not ruled out whether to appropriate remaining funds from the town’s budget this year to make some repairs. The issue will be addressed at the upcoming Board of Finance meeting on May 25.