Police were called after residents protested the installation of a public toilet at \u014cmokoroa’s Precious Family Reserve. Photo \/ Haley Doig<\/p>\n
The history leading up to that moment included concept planning for the reserve, community consultation, and a later change of planned location in the reserve for the toilet facility.<\/p>\n
Some 376 residents signed a petition opposing the toilet after a public meeting.<\/p>\n
Most of them wanted no toilet in the reserve. The rest were split between putting it elsewhere in the reserve, or elsewhere in \u014cmokoroa. One person supported the location.<\/p>\n
At Tuesday\u2019s Projects and Monitoring Committee meeting, \u014cmokoroa community members appealed for the toilet to be removed. <\/p>\n
\u014cmokoroa resident and Beca business director John Duffy. Photo \/ Bijou Johnson<\/p>\n
Beca business director John Duffy, \u014cmokoroa Environmental Managers Incorporated chairman Roger Goodman and fellow residents Judy Sampson, Bruce McCabe and Graham McKinstry addressed the meeting.<\/p>\n
Sampson, who became locked in the toilet on February 1, said she was \u201cneutral\u201d on the toilet\u2019s positioning, but wanted to voice her safety concerns.<\/p>\n
She said after using the toilet, which had no paper and would not flush, she discovered the button to open the door was not working.<\/p>\n
She said it felt like 32C inside the toilet. A high of 26C was recorded at a Tauranga Airport weather station that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis must be what it was like during the war, when the Japanese locked people in tin sheds,\u201d Sampson told councillors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got hotter and hotter … it wouldn\u2019t have been a nice way to go\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Her husband recruited neighbours to help force the toilet door open.<\/p>\n
The incident was reported to the council.<\/p>\n
A report by reserves and facilities manager Peter Watson said it was investigated and issues with the electronic locking mechanism were resolved and the toilet system updated.<\/p>\n
Councillor Allan Sole apologised to Sampson for any part the council played in the incident.<\/p>\n
The other \u014cmokoroa residents who spoke at the meeting advocated for the toilet\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n
Goodman said it was an \u201ceyesore\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in the wrong position, stuck right in the middle of the reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the toilet\u2019s original location, beside a tree boundary, should have been upheld.<\/p>\n
McCabe and Duffy criticised the council\u2019s communication and said it \u201ccompletely ignored the feelings of locals who used the reserve\u201d.<\/p>\n
Duffy said the communication was \u201cless than good practice at every stage\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u014cmokoroa residents Judy Sampson (from left), John Duffy, Roger Goodman and Bruce McCabe. Photo \/ Bijou Johnson<\/p>\n
He said the community was not informed of the facility\u2019s relocation before the engineering surveys began.<\/p>\n
Watson\u2019s report said staff accepted there could have been better communication, especially as seven years passed between consultation and installation, and given the site change due to underground infrastructure issues.<\/p>\n
He told the meeting the council\u2019s original concept plans did not involve engineering or geotechnical analysis.<\/p>\n
The 2023 Precious Family Reserve concept plan, including an unconfirmed toilet location. Image \/ Western Bay of Plenty District Council<\/p>\n
Watson said, however, a footnote on a decision report following a review of the concept plan stated the location may be subject to underground services or stormwater issues.<\/p>\n
In response to residents\u2019 concerns about communication, he said the council \u201cwent above\u201d the required level of service by carrying out a consultation.<\/p>\n
He said it followed due process with the petition.<\/p>\n
The council discussed options for the toilet facility remaining in place, being relocated, or being removed from the reserve.<\/p>\n
A new motion, however, was put forward by councillor Rodney Joyce to carry out a new round of consultation in \u014cmokoroa about options for the toilet.<\/p>\n