Annual cleaning tab is $99,720 for two; in Portland, six cost less that $90K
A lot has,
and hasn’t, happened in the decades since downtown’s public restroom shortage
came to light. Two grand jury reports and vast sums of money have been aimed at
the problem, the homeless population has swelled, and just two single-stall
toilets were added, one of which may be removed.
Or, as the latest
grand jury report puts it, “very little progress has been made.” Like the last
report directed to the city council, this one calls for more restrooms and a
budget to maintain them. But the upkeep of the two easy-to-clean,
graffiti-proof Portland Loos installed since December costs more than in any
city that has them.
Now, city
staff is proposing to remove the loo at 14th and L streets, a lightning rod of
crime and complaints, with no clear way forward. The loo at Park Boulevard and
Market Street could even be next.
No city has
had a harder time with the loos than San Diego, says Evan Madden of Madden
Fabrications, the Oregon company that markets them. “I’ve sold 21 restrooms to
cities, and I’ve never had one cost so much to install, let alone maintain,
than in San Diego.” Not that other cities don’t have toilet troubles. In fact,
Portland initially hawked its patented Portland Loos to cities everywhere to
pay for their maintenance. After a ratepayer lawsuit, Portland now relies on
its general fund, as San Diego does, to pay maintenance costs.
Portland’s
loos have also faced crime. In 2011, police blamed one of the units for worsening
the drug and prostitution trade. Then there’s Seattle, which Portland used as a
model of what not to do. In 2003, Seattle spent $5 million on five high-tech,
self-cleaning restrooms for tourists, sports fans, and homeless people. They
became havens for drug use and prostitution. In 2008 they were sold on eBay for
$2500 each.
This year
Seattle plans to open a Portland Loo; a better crime deterrent, proponents say,
since it allows less privacy. San Francisco has also struggled with
self-cleaning toilets. San Diego’s grand jury report praises their 25 toilets
compared to San Diego’s 8 (counting the two loos and restrooms being built at
Horton Plaza, with only the loos and a restroom at the Civic Center complex
open 24-7). But San Francisco's automatic toilets have been plagued with
maintenance problems. Still, San Diego stands out for its high maintenance
costs for the loos.
“Every city
is going to be different,” says Bryan Aptekar, who handles the cleaning
contract for Portland’s downtown loos. He notes that they use service providers
who are already working in the area, which keeps costs down. Portland’s annual
cost for twice-daily cleaning and minor repairs of six loos is an average of
$19,833 each, made easy by features like the exterior drain that aids weekly
power-washing. It does not include utility costs (sewer and water), he says.
The total of $119,000 breaks down as $105,000 for the cleaning contract and
$14,000 for routine maintenance and repairs. Seattle will pay about $30,000 a
year per loo, with maintenance handled by a Business Improvement District.
Arcata, the
second California city to buy a Portland Loo, estimates cleaning costs of
$20,000–$25,000 annually, including labor, supplies, and vandalism.
And San
Diego?
On July 29,
an update on the loos was given at the city council’s Public Safety and Livable
Neighborhoods Committee meeting that included a cleaning estimate. (The annual
janitorial maintenance contract ended in July, but Park and Recreation staff
has since secured a new one). The cleaning tab for the two loos is $99,720
(compared to less than $90,000 for six loos in Portland).
The expenses
cover three daily scrubs of the more controversial loo for $53,472 and
twice-daily service of the other loo for $46,248. There are also four
porta-potties costing $9807, for an annual total of $109,527. That doesn’t
include vandalism, which adds another $30,000 (Arcata includes such repairs in its
estimate).
And the
downtown loos have faced vandalism despite daily cleaning. The crime and
complaints “could be eliminated,” the grand jury report said, by hiring
security guards, along with frequent cleaning and upkeep. But the maintenance
tab doesn’t include security guards, either. In a proposed response to the
report, the city estimates that security would require additional annual
funding of $168,000 to $400,000.
So, removal
or relocation of the 14th Street loo is proposed as a better use of funds. Its
maintenance dollars could be used to stretch the hours of ten public restrooms
at the St. Vincent de Paul homeless shelter nearby.
Estimates
for Father Joe’s Villages to clean, service, and provide 24-hour security at
their restrooms is $80,000 to $105,000.
“The
facilities at St. Vincent de Paul could provide more stalls in a safe and
monitored environment for a similar amount of money being spent on one loo,”
says Katie Keach, deputy chief of staff for city councilmember Todd Gloria,
whose district includes downtown.
But that may
not address the shortage of commodes for all segments of the public
noted in the report. Will tourists or Petco Park–goers use the public homeless
shelter restrooms? Gloria doesn’t consider the option a solution to the lack of
restrooms downtown, Keach says. The proposal is only “meant to address the
challenges of one loo.”
The Girl's
Think Tank, a homeless advocacy group that brought the idea of the Portland Loo
to the city in 2010, is urging the city to give the loos more time. The mayor
and city council have until October to respond to the grand jury report.
The city has
no plan for adding others.
In their
proposed response on the slow progress, they cite one reason as the high cost
to maintain street toilets in the public right of way. Loo-maker Evan Madden
stresses the importance of visibility in siting the toilets, which some say the
14th Street loo is lacking.
“Everyone
feels like your neighbor,” he says of the community approach that aims to shape
behavior through design, reducing security problems, and ultimately,
maintenance costs. “I would love to know what went wrong in San Diego.”
August 15, 2015
San
Diego Reader
By Sheila
Pell
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