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Home My WebLink About2017-071 Public Restrooms Downtown SquareDate: September 29, 2017 INFORMAL STAFF REPORT TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT: Overview of Downtown Square Public Restrooms Report No. 2017-071 BACKGROUND: At the August 3, 2017 Council meeting, Council Member Hudspeth requested information about public restrooms for the Downtown Square, the ability to use a non-police security force on the Square, and working with Denton County on the possibility for extended restroom hours. DISCUSSION: Staff has identified that access to public restrooms are available around the Square for the hours listed below: Da s Hours Monday- Thursday 8 am — 9 pm Friday 8 am — 9:30 pm Saturda 10 am — 9:30 m Sunday 12 pm — 7 pm The restrooms are available from three public facilities within one block of the square: the Discover Denton Welcome Center, the Denton County Courthouse, and the City of Denton Development Services Center. Attachment 1 lists the hours of operation for each facility. Restrooms are most utilized at the Welcome Center with an estimated average of 1,054 visits per month equating to an estimated cost of $356/month for restroom and cleaning supplies. The Welcome Center differentiates and counts the number of visits by guests (people that come in to use restrooms and amenities) separately from visitors (people that come in to shop or find out information about Denton). Denton County estimates there are 400 visits per month for individuals using the restrooms in the Courthouse and Development Services has only a couple visitors per month for restrooms. The Welcome Center and Denton County shared similar issues relating to individuals coming to use the restrooms, such as grooming in the facilities, the excessive use of toiletries, and increased cleaning and maintenance. The Welcome Center has contracted with a janitorial company to clean their facilities three times per week and their staff cleans multiple times per day. Staff has attempted to identify four options to address the availability of restrooms on the Square. Please note that some of these options would need to be thoroughly vetted, but the intent is to provide some context on the range of options that could be further explored. Option 1 could be to increase education about the available public restrooms by adding signage to the kiosks on the corners of the square identifying which facilities have public restrooms as well as including these facilities on the downtown parking map. Because Date: September 29, 2017 Report No. 2017-071 this option is a modification to services that are already being provided, there are no additional costs. • Option 2 could be to extend the hours of the Welcome Center to allow increased restroom availability. The Welcome Center previously had operating hours that extended beyond current hours, but chose to reduce operating hours based on security issues in October 2016. The Welcome Center is open to the idea of extending hours, but consideration should be given to the safety of staff and additional funding required. The Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that their cost would be $30 per hour far every additional hour of operation. Depending on the time of the change in operating hours, there may be additional costs, such as a security guard or additional personnel. The Welcome Center has been staffing two employees at all times and has used a security guard in the past during high traffic events like the tree lighting. • Option 3 could be the addition of mobile restrooms to the downtown square. This is being done as a pilot program in a few other cities, such as Denver, Sacramento, and Austin, to assess the need and location of permanent facilities. Restroom trailers are parked in various locations throughout the cities and serve as public restrooms for those areas. The restrooms are ADA compliant and self-contained, meaning they carry water onboard and use a generator for power. Denver has a webpage devoted to the project and can be viewed here. Austin is just beginning their pilot program and have identified three locations near the downtown where they will begin implementation. These cities have chosen to staff an attendant fulltime at the locations to provide security, maintain the restrooms, and survey users. Denver is currently leasing these trailers at a cost of $2,700 per month and Austin has chosen to purchase trailers so they can be used other city needs once permanent restrooms are installed. The estimated cost for staffing an attendant would be $4,000 per month and based on Denver's experience, operation and maintenance costs would be approximately $5,500 per month due to cleaning, offloading waste daily, and use of a generator for electricity and running water. The total cost of the project would be approximately $12,200 per month. Things to consider with this option would be the safety of users and attendants, the need to transport the trailer to replenish water and remove waste, the location on the Square, and the effect to local businesses and residents. • Option 4 could be to install a public restroom on the square. Attachment 1 depicts a "Portland Lod' single stall restroom that some municipalities have chosen to install, such as Portland and San Antonio. This restroom has a design to allow high visibility to decrease crime, outside handwashing station to prevent loitering, and is ADA compliant. The approximate cost with installation for a restroom like this would be between $120,000 and $150,000. The approximate maintenance cost would be $10,500 annually based on the costs of other City restrooms. Things to consider with this option would be the location and possible coordination with the County, the impact to surrounding businesses and residents, and the security issues that installation of a 24 hour public restroom would present. The City of San Diego removed the restroom they installed 13 Date: September 29, 2017 Report No. 2017-071 months prior because of a 130% increase in police calls to the area around the restroom (Sandie�ouniontribune.com). The City of Denton Police Department currently staffs officers for the downtown district with between two and six officers on duty at any given time. The downtown patrol radius is from Bell Ave. to Fry St. and Congress St. to Eagle Dr. with a specific emphasis on the Downtown Square. The crime in the area is not significantly higher than other areas of the city. There have been complaints from merchants and residents on the Square about individuals relieving themselves in breezeways. In the past two years, the Police Department has received seven calls for public urination downtown and issued 11 citations. Staff also received a question regarding medical needs and EMS volume in the downtown area related to homeless individuals. The Fire Department recently began tracking EMS calls related to homeless individuals in September 2017. The tracking system is monitoring location, gender, and a description of the incident with EMS tracking number for those calls. This will provide more data to address the type and volume of EMS calls related to homeless individuals across the city and in specific areas, such as the downtown area. Please also note that Denton County has extended hours in which the basement entrance (that allows access to the downstairs restroom on the north side of the building) remains open, but this is only done for special events like the Twilight Tunes. There is a stairwell in the basement that connects to the main building (which is roped off for these events) and would not be feasible to remain open on a regular basis outside of business hours. ATTACHMENT(S): 1. Public Restroom Research and Options STAFF CONTACT: Charlie Rosendahl Management Analyst Charles.Rosendahl(a�cityofdentol�.com 940-349-8433 � Sarah Kuechler Assistant to the City Manager Sarah.Kuchler cr,cityofdenton.com 940-349-8356 c 9/29/2017 Downtown Pu bl ic Restrooms September 29, 2017 Available Public Restrooms Hours of Operation _, Welcome Center �urthouse - � Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.- Fri. 8AM—SPM � B Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sat. 11AM-3PM Sun. 12 p.m.J p.m. Sun. �losed � Development Services � Mon. — Fri. 8AM-SPM Sat.-Sun. Qosed Hours Unavailable � Su n. 7 p. m. - 8 a. m. Mon.-Thu. 9 p.m. — 8 a.m. Fri. 9:30 p.m. — 10 a.m. Sat. 9:30 p. m. — 12 p. m. 0 Q - � � Q R R fl� 1 9/29/2017 Current Restroom Usage Welcome Center • 1054 visits per month Courthouse • 400 visits per month Development Services • 2-3 visits per month Possible Options to Increase Restroom Availability 1. Increased Education 2. Extend Current Hours 3. Mobile Public Restroom 4. Install Public Restroom 2 9/29/2017 DENTON MAIN STREET ASSOCIAiION MEMBER 6USINESSES Increase Education Option - �+�� • Add public restrooms to the downtown kiosks. • Add public restrooms to the downtown parking map on the website. • There would be no cost to implement this change. • Leave the current public restroom situation unchanged. The unavailable hours would remain: Sun. 7p.m. - 8 a.m. Mon.-Thu. 9 p.m. — 8 a.m. Fri. 9:30 p.m. —10 a.m. Sat. 9:30 p.m. —12 p.m. 4� It0 �� 4� ��f � �g �yy � � M1� �� 4�! r� � � � v� Welcome Center Extended Hours Options • Extend the hours of the Welcome Center to allow for more public restroom availability C HART Cnmpa ri n¢ �a ilY AvR Yis ito rs rs G uest • $30 per additional hour open Considerations • Safety • 2 staff inembers present • Funding options z�q� 33� 00 3C9 � 250 G70 2CO 00 150 04 ] CO 00 :�� OW Hickory Slreet � ii�e a�he•, iini I[]I W Mi[:knr]• r.i��. F�� r,��z s::,,�»a: ina w N��k�n r.��iiic L'�iiJy I[].'i W Ni[:kn�� In'nrPssinns I[]^O W Hir.Anr: 7i�e Llies[nN Tree Tuu Havw & BisFru I�7 W Nickury f]Fn-rrn Crx�nry Cnurhnuse-On-Tlw-Spinre Afusei�m I IR Y7 Hi xra}• i n�.cnvcr iMnrnn uvnimmc �:nn�n �vueiie rxnsvoemsl 111 W. 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Sle I�i I I I�;;•iiWic Ih n!s 2:f5 W I lickury i s,nie Yy7a 321 W i licM.urq S�y i� �.l F'��u Sno6 321 W ilick.ui': ti�._ I�:!; �.LJ'.vuy AWr[ SOB W i lick.ui': L�.i,�• S4n I�vs 8[;uPs ^..(15 W' 1 Lck.ui': .��-ei,�.. r: f h:�illi icx.i. i It=� lli• :�ii i. ii� � �� I� I� I� . . � 'Ao•itleY' +ueSEaY We0�1P57dy T�ufSEdy FfiEay Sd[u��sy Su�'tley ■'r ..,•�.=.i'rA�.arage lGue: []al-r+.=raEx 3 9/29/2017 Mobile Public Restroom Option Leased Restrooms • Trailer ($2,700/mo) • Attendant ($4,000/mo) • 0&M ($5,500/mo) Why an attendant? • Provide security • Maintains the restroom • Surveys users to gather feedback Who's doing it? • Denver, Austin, Sacramento Why? • Allows them to assess need and location prior to making larger capital investment. Considerations • Safety • Self-contained- need to replenish water and empty waste • Located in parking space • Impact to residents and businesses ��,= �� a: :�._. �}� �� Ef �i rs ��ti �:': f•� i AI F I � � � I , iT , - � �� '� � �� "�_�� Install Public Restroom Option cost • Equipment and Installation • Est. S1zo,000- S1so,000 • Maintenance • Est. $10,500 annually • 50 Year Lifecycle Recommended Features • Hand washing externally • Visible design to decrease crime • ADA compliant Considerations • Safety • Impact to residents and businesses • Location- City vs. County Owned � -�,. ,� �- �� ,�..� � s -�,� � -�-- '"�_ ' � { I',��T �I l:�:q �� '� I � - ,w. ,., ` �.. . .. .. _ � � - �� y T �� r,,,�_. : � '��i �� ;�-�-.-�.--�-,� 9/29/2017 Options 1. Increased Education 2. Extend Current Hours 3. Mobile Public Restroom 4. Install Public Restroom N ext Ste ps 1. Receive Direction 2. Identify Stakeholders 3. Implement Direction/Develop Recommendation 4. Council Report 5