Crest Lake Park Bathrooms Likely to Be Destroyed

Mayor George N. Cretekos wants Crest Lake Park to be more inviting.

Maybe remove the berms from the south of the park near Gulf to Bay Boulevard. Add some interactive activities, possibly a fountain, and an expanded playground, bronze statues and a veterans memorial, Cretekos said Monday during the city council work session.

Already the city has socked away about $1.5 million and officials hope to use Penny for Pinellas tax funding to help with other costs to revamp the park sometime in 2017-18.

Until then, the bathrooms, which are currently welded shut, would most likely be torn down.

“What we are saying is work with us so that we can redesign this park. One of the things neighbors complained about initially, was homeless and prostitutes in the park. They didn’t like other activities going on, and pleaded with staff to close those restrooms. So it cuts both ways and I think a better alternative for us, is those restrooms are going to be a part of the overall redesign of that park, and until then, they will remain closed,” Cretekos said. “We either have to do one thing. Either decide to demolish them or open them. As long as those restrooms are there, it is going to be a subject that is brought up time after time after time.”

The council will talk more about pursuing a program to finance future upgrades for Crest Lake Park and destroying the bathrooms at its April 4 meeting.

“We’re in 2013. That’s an awful lot of patience to go forward that long and just do safety upgrades," said council member Jay Polglaze, who supports redeveloping the park and reopening the bathrooms. "And that’s a long time in that park to take away a key component. When we initially approached from a homeless initiative the whole understanding was to get it to a manageable level. We’re to the point now, we’re at a manageable level.”

Neighborhood leaders hoped to convince the council to reopen the restrooms by March 7. They have been closed since June 11, 2012.

The Clearwater Neighborhood Coalition, which represents a network of other homeowner groups throughout the city, unanimously passed a resolution supporting reopening the bathrooms in February. Skycrest Neighbors Association unanimously supporting its own in January.

The bathroom's closure is part of the city’s efforts to usher homeless into social services and to deter crime at the park, officials have said.

Bill Horne, city manager, said the restroom closure was always seen as temporary until a permanent solution could be developed, which would take at least a year to happen.

“I think there are expectations from the neighborhood, but no one was prepared to answer that question definitely,” Horne said. “We are getting to that point where we can make those decisions.”

Maintenance is another factor for closing the restrooms, Kevin Dunbar, director of parks and recreation said. The cost to keep them clean at the park is about $35,000 a year.

“Public restrooms is a nasty business,” Dunbar said.

Council member Bill Jonson said he did not like the message the welded doors convey. Dunbar said time-locks at those bathrooms can be overridden so they decided for the more visible solution.

“Welding sounds pretty draconian but no one has broken into those restrooms,” Dunbar said.

Cretekos said there are many other parks throughout the city without restrooms and other parks where restrooms already have been closed or destroyed.

“I think the longer those restrooms stay shut with visible welds it just creates more anxiety and questions,” Cretekos said. He added that if the bathrooms are destroyed the process to upgrade the park should be expedited.

Cretekos asked if Horne has the power to demolish the bathrooms without city council action. Horne said he does.

Council member Paul Gibson asked if the bathrooms would be reused in a potentially revamped park. Officials said most likely not.

“There’s no purpose of them sitting there existing,” Gibson said. “They don’t serve any useful purpose and they never will.”

Related Coverage:

• Crest Lake Park Plans to be Unveiled in March
• Skycrest Neighbors: Open the Bathrooms, Have More Events at Crest Lake Park
• How Can Crest Lake Park Be Improved?
• What Are Your Ideas for Fun at Crest Lake Park?
• Stabbing Sparks Question of Safety at Crest Lake Park
• What Clearwater's Saying: Safety at Crest Lake Park

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