Politicians Too Posh to Piss in Public Port-a-Potties - No Desire to Mix With the Great Unwashed
Outside City Hall Sept 2022, Together Again Festival
Submitted by Kelly Allard
Background
Executive Summary Briefing Note Presented at the June 26 Public Services Committee (PSC) Meeting said
“Minimal public washroom services are available in the downtown core, particularly outside of daytime business hours. Options are considered to address the washroom needs of vulnerable populations, as well as washroom needs for downtown events hosted at Town Square and other downtown facilities.”
The lack of public toilets downtown has long been an issue in Medicine Hat. It’s an embarrassment that a city our size has NO public toilets Downtown that are accessible 24/7, not even a sign telling you where you can go. We have a sizeable Unhoused population Downtown that does not have access to washrooms when the public buildings such as City Hall, the Library, the Esplanade, and the transit terminal close for the night.
Residents of Medicine Hat have been complaining about needles and other drug paraphernalia laying all over Riverside Veterans Memorial Park (RVMP), they say that’s why they don’t go there.
The Unhoused of RVMP clean up that park on a regular basis; I see no more garbage than I would at any other public park. The Unhoused pick up any needles which they place in the garbage cans which gets picked up by city staff. That in itself creates a health hazard for City staff. Public washrooms such as the library and the transit terminal DO have sharps containers.
Residents of Medicine Hat are concerned about some people succumbing to drug poisoning in public washrooms.
(At least where there are multiple stalls you can see if someone is is need of help.)
Residents of Medicine Hat have been complaining about people pooping in the park and the smell of urine downtown (I think some of that can be ascribed to patrons of drinking establishments; some guys like to pee in the breeze when they get a snootful.)
Public toilets were in the original plans for Tin Can Alley (TCA). See $3,000,000 and Not a Pot To Piss In
The toilets were cut when the project started going over budget by $1 million which was 50% of the $2 million that had been allotted. Tin Can Alley cost $3 million in total. (Yes it was all government grant money but ALL money comes from the public purse.) Other communities used their stimulus funding to put in public toilets.
The utilities are all there, all they have to do is hook them up.
June 26 Public Services Committee (PSC) Meeting
June 26 Agenda packet
We heard at the June 26 PSC meeting that even though permanent toilets at TCA were added to the 2023 budget, that they have now changed their minds. The concerns were:
the expense of the washroom building
the unaesthetic location in the middle of TCA
the expense of moving the hookups to a more aesthetically pleasing location
the threat of vandalism, having to hire additional security for the toilets
police concerns of the possibility it will create a hub for undesirable activity (isn’t it already a hub?)
So
They’re not going to install permanent toilets
They’re not going to put in port-a-potties.
Event organizers can bring in port-a-potties at their own expense. Outside of large events, pod lessors and food truck operators will have to walk the 3 blocks to the transit terminal and hope the only two public toilets are unoccupied.
2 individual rooms
with a grand total of
2 toilets
There’s no way to see if an occupant is alive or dead. Monitoring was mentioned but no description of what that meant.
The two port-a-potty options in the Briefing Note were estimated to cost between $3,000 to $200,000 per year. I did ask PSC Chair Ramona Robins how they came up with that number, she didn’t know. She said she never asked because it was not an option she was going to consider anyway. She had already said she did not use them at all last year.
(I’d be asking about those numbers whether I thought it was a viable option or not.)
Instead, what they are going to do is add more security to the washrooms at the transit terminal. It will cost an extra $48,000 this year and $100,000 for next year for the extra security until they figure out a permanent solution; they want to send it to the Strong Towns Community Action Lab to figure out the solution to the public washroom dilemma.
We also heard councilors Robins and Hider say they would not use the port-a-potties that were put in place at TCA last summer.
Robins said as a parent that she would not let her children use them for fear of stepping on needles or other things.
(As a parent if I was concerned about my children or grandchildren stepping on needles I would be going in first to check it out. They usually wanted me to go in and check for spiders anyways. If my children were older I would expect them to come back and tell me about any problems.)
She said that bathrooms at businesses were available to patrons of those establishments.
(The vulnerable population of the city does not have that luxury.)
As a parent she did not use the port-a-potties, preferring an actual washroom.
(Don’t we all? When I was toilet training my four children it was a struggle to find a bathroom in time inside a building we were already in, walking 3 blocks to find two toilets that may or may not be already occupied would be impossible. Needs Must.)
Hider said neither she nor her 26 year old daughter would use the port a potties at TCA either.
Knodel didn’t say if she used them or not. She did advocate for signage directing people to the nearest public toilet, saying,
“I'm not sure if we want to necessarily direct the people to come to say City Hall regularly to use the washroom or something like that.”
(My jaw nearly dropped when I heard that. To me it sounded like she didn’t want the Glass Palace to be inundated with the Great Unwashed. Not a pretty position for a politician.)
Knodel “Even if we had a sign that says the closest public washrooms in the transit terminal Just so people know if there isn't an outhouse in the area.”
(Yes, she used the word outhouse. I’ve used outhouses, I’ve used port a potties, I’ve used the “rest areas” along Canada’s highways in 40 below weather, those seats were COLD!)
Excludes seniors
This excludes many seniors and we have a very high percentage of seniors in Medicine Hat. Seniors tend to have more discretionary income – the kids are grown, the house is paid off, no work expenses any more.
Rich or poor, bladder urgency becomes more and more prominent as we age. Like the parents of small children, seniors often plan their activities around the availability of public toilets and how likely it is to encounter a lineup. Many seniors have mobility issues. I can guarantee you that if they must go three blocks to access a public toilet which may or may not have a lineup, they’ll go home early and take their money with them.
Vandalism Downtown
Vandalism downtown is an issue. There's been vandalism going on in Riverside Veterans Memorial Park which would be a lot easier to monitor if we had security down at Tin Can Alley for some washrooms there.
There’s a meme that says
If you find yourself on a committee discussing the needs of a particular group but you look around and don’t see anyone from that group, you should be HIGHLY sceptical of any “conclusions” reached.
When I see all these nice respectable middle-class people on the PSC talking about the vulnerable population and their needs and I don't see any of the vulnerable population around the table it makes me wonder
Whose Needs Are They Actually Considering?
The entitlement runs strong in this group.
When a council member says I wouldn't use the Port a potties because I can go into any business downtown and use the washroom there
that reeks of entitlement
When a council member says We can put up signs to direct people to public bathrooms but not necessarily City Hall
that reeks of entitlement
You don't want the Great Unwashed anywhere near the Glass Palace.
Got it, message received.
City Council will be discussing this tomorrow
Tuesday, July 4 at 6:30 PM
Council Chambers
Community TV will be there covering it.
Let's hope Council is a little bit more sympathetic and a little bit wiser.
#kasosumh #comtv #CommunityTV #YXH #MedicineHat #PublicToilet #YXHPublicToilets #GlassPalace #RiversideVeteransMemorialPark #TinCanAlley #TooPoshToPiss #PortaPotties
