Council purchases replacements for 5 park bathrooms | #citycouncil

Brand new bathrooms are coming soon to a Lubbock park near you.

During a recent regular meeting, the Lubbock City Council moved forward with an ongoing plan to improve parks infrastructure by approving five purchase orders with Dallas-based CXT, Inc. to “manufacture, transport, deliver, and install five concrete restroom buildings at five City of Lubbock parks.”

The purchases will replace single-user restrooms at Clapp, Higginbotham and Mackenzie parks and multi-user restrooms at Atzlan and Maxey parks for a total cost of $517,395, according to the documents approved Tuesday. The three two-stall, single-user restrooms come in at $85,495 each, and the two four-stall, multi-user restrooms at $130,455 each.

The new bathrooms will feature stainless steel fixtures, electric hand dryers, skylights and, in the multi-user facilities, stall doors, which have been previously absent at several Lubbock park bathrooms. City Manager Jarrett Atkinson said during the meeting the news restrooms are similar to those at McAlister Dog Park.

In May, the City Council appropriated $900,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the five replacements and an additional seven restroom renovations in parks across Lubbock. The planned renovations, which are expected to see similar City Council action in January, include facilities at Buddy Holly Recreation Area, Clapp Park, Hodges Park, Mackenzie Park, Mae Simmons Park, McAlister Park and McCullough Park.

While restroom improvements were already included in a long-term park plan, movement on the upgrades seemed to accelerate after KAMC-TV reported in April about the facilities’ “foul condition.” The Avalanche-Journal confirmed the station’s reports of dirty toilets, chipped paint, unusable mirrors and lack of stall doors.