Pier vs. Park: A Tale of Two Toilets
On the left is the Town’s toilet at the fishing pier, built in 2000 by Boy Scout Jeb Brady in fulfillment of his Eagle rank. All materials and labor were donated, resulting in zero cost to the Town. On the right is the sewer pumping station prototype for the park toilet under construction now at a total cost of $37,000. (Wave photos)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
December 13, 2012
Just about 13 years ago, Boy Scout Jeb Brady was looking for a project to complete the requirements for the rank of Eagle. “I probably bit off more than I could chew,” Brady told the Wave, but after a year of hard work his project was complete: public toilets for the beach and fishing pier.
Previously, “there was no bathroom — not even a place to wash the sand off your feet,” Brady said. “There weren’t as many people using the beach back then, but a bathroom was still a huge need.”
That need was universally recognized, and the whole town supported Brady’s project, donating materials and labor.
Local architect Leon Parham drew up the plans. One firm donated the concrete and block. Another supplied the cedar shake shingles. Electricians did the wiring and plumbers installed the water and sewer pipes.
Fortunately for Brady and the Town, both his father and uncle are tradesmen.
The finished project totals 104 square feet comprising two unisex bathrooms, each with one toilet, and was dedicated September 28, 2000. Total cost to the Town: Zero.
Fast forward a decade or so: Central Park had just undergone a magnificent renovation with the assistance of federal stimulus money. But the only public toilet was a plastic porta-potty.
Citizens for Central Park, under the direction of President Bob Panek, applied for a $45,000 grant from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation. They got the grant, but the amount was reduced to $20,000.
Town Council voted to contribute $15,000 toward the toilets, and the CCP is contributing $2,000 to pay the architect, for a total cost of $37,000 to build the park toilets.
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QS Construction in Cheriton is handling the construction, and Leon Parham — the same architect who designed the Brady bathroom — drew the plans.
According to Town Planner Tom Bonadeo, “The building is designed to be compatible with the existing pump house also along the Plum Street side of the park. The building is brick to match the pump house and the shingles will be colored to match the pump house also.”
Because the park toilet is scaled to match the sewer pump house, it will be over 2 1/2 times larger than the pier toilet, with a footprint of 264 square feet versus the pier toilet’s 104 square feet.
As reported earlier in the Wave, local resident Don Riley is appealing the decision of the Historic District Review Board to approve the park toilet’s design. Riley contends that the Board erred in allowing the toilet to match a 1980s pump house rather than the historic buildings surrounding the park.
Ironically, when the pier toilet was built in 2000 there was no historic requirement. Yet the pier toilet has a period cupola and shake shingle roof, while the park toilet will have asphalt shingles with no building ornamentation other than a notice board.
When construction of the park toilet is complete, it must pass inspection by the Town’s code enforcement officer.
The code enforcement officer is none other than Eagle Scout Jeb Brady.
Why wasn’t the pier facility considered as a model? A picture is worth a thousand words. Need I say more?
Andy,
The pier facility was built privately without government ‘assistance’. Ergo, it can never be considered a good enough template for bureaucrats to follow.
What a great idea! Why don’t the local businesses donate the materials to build a new facility? Citizens of the town could donate their time and before long this would be done. Being it was built with donated time and materials, it could be built in the style the town citizens would like, and could save some money to put to another use.
Thanks to the Wave for reporting on previous successful models of growth and development showing how the needs of Cape Charles can be met through community involvement and the prudent use of resources. Such examples are very helpful relative to the challenges currently facing the town.
The grant received was specifically for park restrooms and must conform to handicapped and other specs. The money cannot be used for another purpose, just returned to the source if not used.
It is my understanding that the restrooms were in the plans for the park from the beginning of the clean up effort, suddenly everybody is surprised.
You can always JOIN Citizens for Central Park and work at park fund raisers and help the park effort, VOLUNTEERs welcome!