Eureka to retrofit Old Town’s public restrooms

EUREKA – City of Eureka looks to improve Old Town’s public restroom.
Staff say the public restroom in snug alley near the gazebo is in a state of disrepair.
After some talk of purchasing a $150,000 Portland Loo like the city of Arcata’s, Community Services staff proposed an alternative.
The department is moving forward with a retrofit of the current facility to improve lighting and signage. Doors and portions of the outer walls would be removed, so it could be open 24 hours a day.
Staff estimate this will cost about $30,000 one-fifth the cost of the Portland Loo. That could change depending on how the department coats the floors and walls to limit vandalism, though Director Miles Slattery said he doesn’t expect that to change much.
Slattery said, “We have a lot of vandalism there. We’re hoping that the way we retrofit it can handle some of that vandalism. We don’t expect that vandalism to go away. It’s probably going to continue, but we definitely want to make it so that it’s nicer inside and more usable inside and also at the same time resistant to vandalism and graffiti.”
Slattery added the department aims to have the retrofit complete in the next few months.