The Langley City Council has authorized the use of the city’s funds for a temporary portable restroom project in Seawall Park.
The proposal for the summertime port-a-potty pilot program was first brought to the council in 2019. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the council opted not to try the experiment in 2020.
But in the midst of summer 2021, the majority of the council decided to give the project another go, although the discussion at Monday night’s council meeting was not without disagreement.
At the end of a conversation on the city’s budget, Councilmember Craig Cyr recalled the funding request for the port-a-potty, which had been brought to the council’s attention by Gail Fleming — the chairperson for the Parks and Open Space Commission — at the June 7 council meeting.
The restroom would cost $434 per month for twice-a-week cleaning, plus an $85 installation fee. For a three-month period, the total cost of the project would be $1,388.
Cyr referred to the balance as a “trivial amount of money” and said the council should approve the funding before another summer comes and goes.
His fellow council member, Peter Morton, agreed on approving the funding. He said Fleming and the city’s previous mayor, Tim Callison, went down to Seawall Park and found a new location for the port-a-potty at the end of Anthes Avenue, which is on city property and will not require servicing trucks to go over anyone else’s property.
Councilmember Thomas Gill proposed funding the project by using excess wages from the public works department.
“In the end, if this doesn’t work out or if we find that it’s a negative, then we make a change,” Gill said. “But I think we’re basically at the point where we either need to do it now, or there’s no point in doing it this year.”
Councilmember Christy Korrow, however, expressed concerns about the frequency of the cleaning of the restroom. She indicated that twice a week would not be enough and said the port-a-potty would need to be checked every day.
In the interest of time, the council agreed to bypass a second reading of the resolution for the temporary restroom.
The council voted 3-2 for the authorization of $2,000 to go towards the project, with Councilmembers Korrow and Dominique Emerson voting against it.
