Vandals held a couple of destructive parties in the Hackett Park bathrooms in Sechelt recently, causing damage and rendering the facilities unusable.
The washrooms, a Rotary Club of Sechelt project completed in the spring of 2008, started suffering abuse early on.
"We had a series of issues even as the building was being constructed," said club president Tom Pinfold.
Area resident Doug Hockley happened upon some of the vandalism while out walking his dog. He said there was a pizza box and two kinds of beer cans lying on the ground and the inside walls were covered in graffiti and toilet paper had been strewn about and used to plug the toilets.
"It's really sad. The Rotary go and build it for the very community that trashes it," Hockley said. "Nobody in their right mind would use it. It was a health hazard."
Pinfold said other damage included soap dispensers ripped from the walls, debris burned on the ground and one stall was slammed so hard it came off its mooring.
Parks foreman Perry Schmitt said he phoned the RCMP to come and take photos of the damage.
Sgt. Stuart Falebrinza of the Sunshine Coast RCMP said when his members returned, "they said it was pretty bad."
In a separate incident, Schmitt said a picnic table, one of very few not bolted to concrete in the park, was dragged across the grounds and then wedged into the girls' bathroom.
The District of Sechelt is responsible for the maintenance of the facilities. Mayor Darren Inkster said it is a concern if vandalism continues because it ruins things for everyone and repairs are costly and time consuming.
"Every time there's damage done it usually is minor but it keeps adding up," Inkster said.
Schmitt said one of his staff spent an entire day fixing the damage.
"It's so counterproductive. It just makes us scratch our heads," Schmitt said, adding there a lot of cool and interesting projects his team would rather be concentrating on.
The bathrooms are on an automated locking system at night and Schmitt said he and District staff are looking at the possibility of putting in motion-censored lights. He said they cut low hanging tree branches around the building so loiterers cannot hide.
Falebrinza said police and the volunteer Citizens on Patrol are stepping up patrols in the area. The facilities are beside a playground, sport fields and residences so all are hopeful that anyone who sees odd behaviour or vandalism will contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
