The toilet tug-o-war between vandals and the City of Ripon has reached a tipping point for one city official.Public Works Director Ted Johnston doesn’t want to say the city is flushing resources when it comes to maintaining the restrooms at a few of its parks, but ...“We’re constantly battling, constantly getting abused by graffiti and vandalism,” Johnston lamented. “We’re constantly on it. It’s difficult because you clean them up and the next day they’ve been trashed again.”Graffiti and vandalism have long been an issue at Ripon’s Acacia Park and Curt Pernice Skate Park, widely regarded as one of the premier venues for ’boarders in Northern California.Johnston’s staff has had to replace the toilet seat at the skate park twice in the last nine months because it has been set on fire, he said.Acacia Park, a half-acre plot near Veterans Park and the Community Center, has been a hot spot for graffiti artists because of its out-of-the-way location, Johnston added.
Park restroom vandals create big headache