Councilman Gary Singh believes Manteca needs more public restrooms, specifically in neighborhood parks.

Singh said a number of neighborhood parks are seeing heavy use for sports practices and other activities. He had been approached from some residents concerned that neighborhood parks lacked restrooms.

Singh brought up the issue at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. City Manager Tim Ogden said staff will look at the request when they are building the municipal budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The councilman indicated he wasn’t advocating restrooms necessarily at all neighborhood parks. Going forward when new neighborhood parks are built he said the city should require developers put them in place especially if non-neighborhood attractions are part of a park such as a second city  dog park as one developer has suggested or a larger grass area that may ultimately attract youth sports teams to conduct practices due to their size.

“Developers can build restrooms for less than the city can,” Singh said.

The cost of putting neighborhood parks in place complete with city required improvements is borne by the developer who then have neighborhood park fees paid per house reduced accordingly on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

If restrooms were added to future neighborhood parks they wouldn’t be a maintenance and cost burden to the city as all such costs are now being collapsed into landscape maintenance districts fees assessed annually on homes in new subdivisions. That means the cost of cleaning restrooms, making repairs, and even using the security service the city contracts to lock restrooms nightly at community parks would be borne by homeowners. The more muscular fee districts requires homeowners to pay  for general park upkeep, to maintain landscaping along sound walls and medians that are part of a new subdivision, and street lighting.

Manteca Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Fant noted it is “extremely rare” for neighborhood parks to have restrooms due to cost and the fact the city is successfully making sure almost every new home built is within a quarter mile walking distance of a neighborhood park.

Singh said a concern has been brought up by elderly park users who may not be able to make it back to their home in time to go to the bathroom.

The city has permanent restrooms at Lincoln, Woodward, and Northgate community parks. A prefabbed restroom was put in place for $125,900 at Library Park in 2004. The city in 2016 spent $211,155 to put a prefabbed restroom in place at the Civic Center on the north side of the council chambers building for those attending public meetings that need to use a bathroom. More traditional portable bathrooms are in place at the Spreckels Park BMX track and the Morezone Park on Center Street west of Union Road.

All of the restrooms are locked at night with the exception of the portable bathrooms that are used by the homeless throughout the day and night.

Singh emphasized he is not advocating adding restrooms to every park, just where it makes sense due to public use.

Should the city opt to put restrooms in some neighborhood parks it is likely to cost near $250,000 even if they opted for a modular or prefabbed structure. That’s because there are no sewer line stubs in neighborhood parks.

Park restrooms have been problematic in the past especially the one at Library Park that the city ended up keeping locked for nearly three years except during special events.

That’s because on almost a daily basis city crews cleaning the bathroom would have to pick drug needles, used condoms and even human feces off the floor. Often times the homeless would sleep in the restrooms over night. 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com