Palmer City Council to revisit high-dollar toilets

PALMER — To build permanent public restrooms downtown, Palmer is going to have to throw more money in the pot.

The city has been exploring the idea as part of its downtown revitalization efforts. City council made restrooms a priority and put the project on the fast track in September. On the capital improvement project list for this year, the council voted unanimously in April to fund the toilets by appropriating the necessary money from the city’s general fund.

“The council is embarrassed about what the city has to offer,” City Manager Bill Allen said at the time. “The temporary toilets are ugly and they stink.”

The restrooms would serve not only the visitors information center, but crowds from Friday Flings, Colony Days, Colony Christmas and tour buses, Allen said. The ordinance cites a study that found more than 36,000 visitors came through Palmer in 2007, a number that quickly overwhelms the bathrooms inside the visitors information center.

The plans call for a building next to, but not connected to, the visitors information center. The separate facilities for men and women would be heated and open year-round, connected to city sewer and water, and built for energy efficiency and low maintenance.

When the council voted to approve funding, the price tag for the project was $168,000, $100,000 of which was coming from a grant from the state. However, the plans for how the finished facility would look were not finalized.

The options for the exterior included wood paneling or a log cabin-style veneer to match the visitor’s information center. The plans call for the roof to extend over the front doors and be supported by square, craftsman-style beams or solid logs to match the neighboring center.

Based on public input, the council has settled on making the restrooms match the visitors information center, choosing to go with the log cabin look and a rock wainscoting. This added an additional $25,000.

The cost of landscaping the final product is also included in the bill of construction presented to the council. That added an additional $12,000.

The council has also insisted upon a site survey for clarification as to where the building will sit and how it will connect into the water and sewer mains. This added an additional $5,000.

Tonight, the city council will vote on whether to approve the additional $42,000 in funding for the project. This would bring the total contribution by the city to $110,000.

“Conceptually, I support the bathrooms and the city putting money into it,” Councilman Michael Chmielewski said. “It sounds like a reasonable idea. But when we hear from people or the additional information presented by people, I still might say no. We don’t just rubber stamp stuff.”

Asked why the plan now goes over the initial budget, Councilman Richard Best said that’s one of the things the council is going to try to find out tonight. However, he does think the additional money is necessary if it will bring more clarity to the plan.

“Right now, with the city spending money the way it is, a lot of the council members are looking for more clarification,” Best said. “We want more firm construction documents. This is another one of the fast moving things that are making us nervous.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.