Tuesday, June 07, 2022

City Council Heard about Vandalism/Restroom Policy that Does Not Exist


San Angelo City Council entertained a memorandum of understanding for the construction of public restrooms as well as parameters for operating and maintaining the restrooms in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.  

Citizens providing public comment shared their concerns about language requiring "the community" to fund fixture repairs/replacement from vandalism damage.  A number of citizens found this delineation discriminatory.  One gentleman called it insulting.  

City Manager Daniel Valenzuela assured those in attendance it had to do with additional costs.  The City Attorney said during public comment:

"I don't see that it is any different than how we handle vandalism in the parks" and

"... vandalism which appears again to be how we address vandalism just generally with our public restrooms."
I submitted a public information request after watching the City Council YouTube Livestream.

“Please provide the city's existing policy on vandalism in city park restrooms. Also. provide any recent changes to the vandalism/restroom policy. Thank you.”

The City quickly responded:

The City of San Angelo has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request. There is no existing policy on vandalism regarding City park restrooms and therefore there have also been no changes.

What is different?  City leadership wanted to put it in writing for new restrooms at MLK Jr. Memorial Park when is not in writing for other city park restrooms. 

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