Meridian City Council votes to place keypad locks and security cameras by Chisholm Trail Plaza public restrooms due to vandalism
For decades, Meridian’s businesses requested public restrooms in downtown to prevent people coming into their stores to use their own restroom facilities. So, when the Meridian Parks and Recreation planned the Chisholm Trail Plaza in 2020, including public restrooms was a prerequisite. Providing that facility, help facilitate funds received from the Meridian Economic Development Corporation.
At the May 19 Meridian City Council meeting, this necessary and much appreciated amenity came up for discussion. In the past couple of months, the facility’s cleaner Sonia Monrreal reported incidents of vandalism and hazardous, unsanitary conditions to city officials. Monrreal has found evidence of habitation, excrement in the sink, drug paraphernalia, razor blades and blood.
Upon finding the blood and razors, Meridian city administrator Kris Garza ordered the restrooms remain locked for safety reasons. Garza said she shuddered to think of the impact on a young child walking in on unsanitary and dangerous conditions.
Normally the restrooms are opened by Meridian Public Works around 7 a.m. and then locked around 8 p.m. by the Meridian Police Department at the end of shift. Prior to the city council meeting, the toilets were only to be open during occurring events.
The locked bathrooms in turn triggered complaints from the owners of B’s Baskets restaurant, which saw an increase in people, including food truck operators, coming in to use their restroom facilities.
MEDC director Jerry Mobley stressed to the city council that the restrooms played a big part in making MEDC funding possible, and that they needed to be accessible to the public.
A discussion ensued regarding measures to reopen the restrooms, with several monitoring measures:
- The city will place keypad locks and a number to call for the code. The code would be changed on a regular basis.
- A digital security camera – with a sign alerting people to the fact that they are on camera – will be placed by the stall entrance doors to enable identification of possible perpetrators.
- The restrooms will only be open during the day, and will be locked up by 8 p.m., unless there is an event at the Plaza.
Meridian’s city engineer and president of the planning-and-zoning committee Mark McMahon reported that key pads on the bathroom facilities at the RV park in Bosque Bottoms function well. A porta potty at Lions Park remains an alternative to the public restrooms at Chisholm Trail Plaza.
During the reconstruction of Highway 6 in the past two years, much heavy, 18-wheeler traffic chose an alternate route, taking them through town. On several occasions, they hit the awning of the historic Lumpkin building which houses the Bosque Collection – the county’s official archives – as they maneuvered around the tight corner between Morgan Street and Main Street.
These hits dislodged the anchors from the building’s old limestone walls, potentially compromising the structural integrity of the wall. In the May city council meeting, council agreed to an awning with steel supports to avoid stressing the wall beyond its limitations with construction starting May 27.
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