The washroom facility at Meadowood Community Park is consistently being vandalized. But not for much longer.
The Regional District of Nanaimo parks operations staff have repeatedly had to clean the outdoor walls of mud spray from dirt bike rooster‐tailing and repair a caved‐in roof, the RDN reported this week. The washroom is located at the playground site in the park.
Parks planner Renee Lussier wrote in a report to the RDN board of directors that its supplier and maintenance company, DBL, has found head-sized boulders thrown into the toilet tank and they had to be retrieved manually as they would have gravely damaged the pumper truck.
As well, recent damage includes cuts to the inside walls and the paper dispenser and it appears a hatchet was used.
Parks operations staff have repaired the damage to the washroom. The replacement of the washroom will be at the RDN’s expense.
Lussier said the playground is currently infrequently used but he expects that to change with upcoming plans for a new community centre.
“The question is, do we pay to maintain and/or replace a washroom that is consistently vandalized or do we remove the unit now and wait for a washroom facility within a new community centre?” Lussier asked.
The board has voted to temporarily remove the washroom at the park.