October 4, 2022
The public toilets in Murgon’s QEII Park in Lamb Street have the dubious distinction of being the most vandalised in the South Burnett.
At a recent standing committee meeting, South Burnett Regional Council officers detailed the damage vandals have inflicted on the Murgon block over the past three years.
This included:
- About 60 soap dispensers replaced
- About 20 toilet roll dispensers replaced
- Numerous toilet seats replaced
- Numerous light bulbs replaced
- Stainless steel benches replaced due to damage
- Power box damaged and replaced
- Tapware replaced in men’s and disability toilets on several occasions
- Skylight damaged within 24 hours of installation
- Six doors replaced
- Main entry gates to the Men’s and Ladies toilets remade twice
- Paper towel and toilet paper rolls burnt several times
- Numerous deliberate drain blockages
- Broken pedestals
As well, the block had to be repainted three times after graffiti attacks, and outdoor staff have had to remove other graffiti on a regular basis.
The block was briefly closed after the most recent attack.
The Council will now install vandal-resistant fixtures and fittings in an effort to bring problems at the site under control.
The meeting was told the next most-vandalised public toilets were at Pioneer Park in Nanango.
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SBRC currently manages 42 public toilets in the region, and staff said many of them did not comply with accessibility requirements for people with disabilities.
As well, some of the older facilities may have had asbestos materials used in their construction.
Staff noted that while there was no obligation to ensure retrospective compliance with current standards, there is an obligation – and a community expectation – that Council complies with accessibility and safety requirements whenever renovations are undertaken to ensure the region’s public facilities are safe and accessible to everyone.
Council staff will now undertake an audit of all Council-managed toilet facilities.
The inspection program, which will produce a report and a prioritised maintenance program, is expected to take about three months to complete.
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Durong will not get a dump point but it will get improved toilet facilities to service passing motorists.
Councillors were told that Durong’s public toilet septic system recently reached the end of its life and required urgent replacement.
More importantly, the toilet’s associated trenches had also failed.
This was allowing primary level treated water to gather on the surface, which posed health risks.
To counter this, officers recommended Council install an aerated wastewater treatment system and new trenches.
This would provide a more reliable solution with a greater capacity to manage increasing loads at the facility, and would also be less expensive than installing a new septic system.
The toilets are located on the eastern side of Durong’s disused tennis courts.
Councillors voted to allocate $48,500 to fund the upgrade.
Some of the funds will be used to move the tennis court’s boundary fence as part of the toilet improvements.
Initially, the funds were going to be taken from the budget for a planned upgrade of facilities at the Murgon free-stay caravan park, but councillors overruled this.
Councillors also rejected the idea of creating a dump point at Durong because of high servicing costs, which officers believed could be as much as $48,000 a year due to the location.
Instead, Council will install a sign to direct caravanners to the South Burnett’s other 10 free public dump points.
The motions were carried unanimously.
Ridiculous wanton vandalism is nothing but a blot on the landscape. When caught, if they ever are, these senseless, mindless individuals should be placed on public display in the stocks so decent citizens can see who they are and be allowed to bombard them with rotten eggs, tomatoes, mud, etc then tarred and feathered before being sent to gaol.
Do-gooders, please don’t tell me to be lenient as they maybe did not have a teddy bear to love when they were little kids.