July 11, 2023
Public Works
DATE: July 11, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Daniel Chavarria, Public Works Director
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager – Community
Services
Ranjana Maharaj, Deputy Director for Community
Services – Recreation
Greg Hardesty, Parks and Landscaping Superintendent
Tetteh Kisseh, Recreation Supervisor
Stephanie Ny, Associate Administrative Analyst
Guadalupe Morales, Assistant Administrative Analyst
SUBJECT:
City Park Restroom Accessibility
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact to the General Fund to receive this report. Implementing actions may result in General Fund expenditures.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City staff researched options to keep restrooms at City- owned parks accessible to the public throughout the
week.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECEIVE a report on opening restrooms at City-owned
parks; AUTHORIZE the City Manager to negotiate and
approve a contract amendment with Enviro Clean
Maintenance, LLC to clean additional park restrooms, for an amount not to exceed $70,000; and AUTHORIZE the
City Manager to negotiate and approve a contract with a security firm to allow for the opening, closing, and
monitoring of park restrooms, for an amount not to
exceed $180,000 – Public Works Department (Daniel
Chavarria 510-620-5478/LaShonda White 510-620-
6828).
AGENDA
REPORT
July 11, 2023
DISCUSSION:
Background
The City of Richmond maintains 14 public restroom facilities at parks and trails.
Unfortunately, due to illicit activities such as drug use, vandalism, and sex work, most restrooms are not regularly open to the public. Only restrooms in the Marina Bay area are regularly open to the public as they experience minimal illicit activities.
Currently, only individuals and organizations that hold a permit for a park may request a key to open the restroom facilities for the duration of the rental. Although most restrooms are locked, they still experience frequent break-ins and break-in attempts which have resulted in permanent closures of some facilities and costs to the General Fund for repair.
The table below lists all restroom facilities and their status:
Restroom Location Status Cleaning
Schedule
6th Street at Richmond
Greenway
Permanently closed – welded shut due
to frequent illicit activities
N/A
Barbara and Jay Vincent
Park
Open 24/7 7 days per week
Booker T. Anderson Park Park reservation and key required 3 days per week John F. Kennedy Park Park reservation and key required N/A Lucas Park Park reservation and key required 1 day per week Lucretia Edwards Park Open 24/7 7 days per week
Marina Bay Park Open 24/7 7 days per week
Martin Luther King Jr. Park Park reservation and key required 7 days per week Nevin Park Permanently closed – locked
permanently due to frequent illicit
activities
N/A
Nicholl Park Park reservation and key required 7 days per week North Richmond Ball Field
(Lucky A’s)
Park reservation and key required 1 day per week
Shimada Friendship Park Open 24/7 7 days per week
Southside Community Park Park reservation and key required N/A Unity Park Park reservation and key required 3 days per week
Two new restrooms may be constructed within the next several years at Boorman Park and Shields-Reid Park as a result of major park renovations.
Although a decision was made to limit the use of most restrooms to the public, City staff fully understands that parks are critical to the health and wellbeing of residents and community members, providing a space for exercise, relaxation, and social activities.
Regularly accessible restrooms allow park users to have a convenient experience and
July 11, 2023
encourage longer visits to the parks. Per City Council and community feedback, City staff are exploring ways to provide increased access to park restrooms to improve park user satisfaction.
Research
City staff members reached out to local park agencies to survey their park restroom practices. The table below lists responses received.
City Open Close
Alameda Part-Time Parks Staff Part-Time Parks Staff
Antioch Landscaping Contractor Landscaping Contractor
Berkeley Groundkeepers Groundkeepers
Brentwood Timed Electronic Locks Timed Electronic Locks Dublin Parks Staff Parks Staff
*Half of restrooms have timed
electronic locks
El Cerrito Deposit and key required
*Currently looking into electronic
timed locks
Deposit and key required
*Currently looking into electronic
timed locks
Hayward Parks Staff Rangers Staff
Hercules Public Works Staff Recreation And Parks Staff Lafayette Left Open Left Open
Oakland Public Works Custodial Staff Recreation And Parks Staff Oakley Timed Electronic Locks Timed Electronic Locks
Orinda Recreation And Parks Staff Custodial Contractor
*Three facilities have timed
electronic locks
Pleasanton Timed Electronic Locks Timed Electronic Locks San Leandro Public Works Staff Public Works Staff
San Pablo Public Works Staff (Weekdays) Public Works Staff (Weekdays) Private Contractor (Weekends) Private Contractor (Weekends) San Ramon Dawn to Dusk – Timed Electronic
Locks
Sports Fields Locked by
Unnamed Persons/Department
Dawn to Dusk – Timed Electronic
Locks
Sports Fields Locked by
Unnamed Persons/Department
Union City Public Works Staff (Weekdays) Contracted Janitorial Service (Daily) Recreation Staff (Weekends and
Holidays)
July 11, 2023
City staff also reviewed past efforts to keep the restrooms open such as the Park Stewards Program, timed electronic locks, and Adopt-a-Spot for restrooms. The table below lists the results.
Past Effort Feasibility Description
Park Stewards Program Feasible This option includes paid part-time Park Stewards and has been included in the
proposals.
Adopt-a-Spot for
Restrooms
Less
Feasible
Adopters lose interest in the program very
quickly. This may also lead to inconsistent
bathroom hours as it is a volunteer-based
program.
Timed Electronic Locks Not Feasible Timed electronic locks were previously placed on the restrooms at 6th Street at
Richmond Greenway, Booker T. Anderson
Park, John F. Kennedy Park, Lucas Park,
Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Nevin Park,
Nicholl Park, and Southside Community
Park. All locks were continually vandalized.
Due to frequent illicit activities, the restrooms will need to be regularly monitored if kept open. Dawn to dusk coverage is needed for parks by season, as follows:
Seasons Months Hours of
Coverage/Day
Days Total Hours
of Coverage
Fall/Winter November - March 10 183 1830
Spring/Summer March - November 13 182 2366
Proposal Overview
City staff members are presenting three options that will allow City-owned restrooms to be regularly open to visitors. Oversight responsibilities for both proposals will be jointly shared between the Public Works Department, Parks and Landscaping Division, and Community Services Department, Recreation Division.
An overview is provided in the table below, followed by more detailed descriptions for each proposal. Attachment 4 – Cost Estimates for Proposals includes more detailed costs for each proposal.
July 11, 2023
Option Description Estimated
Annual Cost
Estimated One-
Time Cost or
Additional Cost
Estimated
Total Cost
(One Fiscal Year)
A Park Stewards
Program
$329,129 $50,000 $379,129
B Full-time Utility
Workers
$486,358 $200,000 $686,358
C Security Guards (with
Cleaning Contract)
$180,212 $70,000 $250,212
Option A: Park Stewards Program
The Park Stewards Program will require nine (9) part-time Park Stewards (or other appropriate classification) and one (1) full-time Maintenance Leadworker or Recreation Program Coordinator to provide coverage at the 14 restroom facilities seven (7) days a week. Due to current staffing levels in both divisions, at least one (1) new full-time staff member will need to be hired to provide oversight.
Part-time staff members hired may have responsibilities beyond opening, closing, and monitoring restrooms such as park and restroom maintenance and park rules compliance (Attachment 3 – Park Stewards Job Description). The time required to complete one full round of restroom monitoring may not allow much time for additional work, although it is possible.
Full-time staff members hired will have responsibilities other than oversight of Park Stewards. For example, a Maintenance Leadworker may perform landscaping maintenance (Attachment 4 – Maintenance Leadworker Job Description). A Recreation Program Coordinator may supervise, develop, lead, and support other community service programs (Attachment 5 – Recreation Program Coordinator Job Description).
The program will require the acquisition of one vehicle, uniforms, and cell phones. The vehicle will be a one-time cost, while uniforms and cell phones may be recurring costs.
Attachment 7 – Cost Estimates for Proposals includes more detailed costs for this proposal.
The Park Stewards Program will result in additional oversight responsibilities for current staff. Additionally, it may be challenging to keep part-time Park Steward positions filled due to low compensation and limitations on hours.
Option B: Full-time Utility Workers
With this option, the City would need to hire four (4) full-time Utility Workers. Schedules would be staggered to ensure full coverage at the 14 restroom facilities seven (7) days a week.
July 11, 2023
Utility Workers hired may have responsibilities other than opening, closing, and monitoring restrooms. Other duties may include cleaning and maintaining City-owned facilities (Attachment 6 – Utility Worker Job Description).
The hiring of the Utility Workers will result in additional oversight responsibilities for current City staff members but will be more manageable than the Park Stewards Program (Option A) due to the smaller amount of supervision required.
Attachment 7 – Cost Estimates for Proposals includes more detailed costs for this proposal.
Option C: Security Guards
A security guard company will be contracted to open, close, and monitor restrooms. No other duties will be performed by the company. The need to acquire additional equipment or vehicles varies by security company.
City staff will have to reach out to the current security vendors to obtain quotes and/or formal bids will need to be solicited to obtain an accurate cost estimate. The hourly rates are based on existing security guard contracts within the City of Richmond.
Attachment 7 – Cost Estimates for Proposals includes more detailed costs for security.
In addition to the cost of security guards, the Public Works department will have to amend the contract with the current vendor that cleans parks restrooms to expand their scope of work. The average cost to clean a park restroom seven (7) days per week for one (1) month is $600 or $7,200 annually. Based on usage, some parks may not require daily cleaning.
Staff Recommendation
City staff members recommend Option C: Security Guards. A security guard company is a more reliable option because Options A and B may result in turnovers and service interruptions, and the City is already challenged with City staff turnover and filling vacancies. Option C is also the least costly proposal and does not require significant upfront costs such as vehicle acquisition. Additionally, Option C requires the least amount of City staff coordination and can be implemented the most efficiently and immediately since it does not require hiring staff members. Both Options A & B would require a meet and confer with the appropriate union. Lastly, Option C eliminates any issues and concerns regarding workers’ compensation.
Next Steps
If Option C is approved, the City Manager will (1) approve contract amendments or a new contract with Allied Security Services or a new security firm to open, close and monitor park restrooms, and (2) amend a contract with Enviro Clean Maintenance, LLC
July 11, 2023
to commence or increase cleaning at park restrooms that are currently closed or only available via reservations. City staff will work to prioritize the opening and cleaning of restrooms at parks based on usage, and will work expeditiously to put the necessary contracts in place to provide this important amenity at our local parks as soon as possible.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Photos of Park Restrooms
Attachment 2 – Survey of West County Agency Restroom Practices Attachment 3 – Park Steward Job Description
Attachment 4 – Maintenance Leadworker Job Description
Attachment 5 – Recreation Program Coordinator Job Description Attachment 6 – Utility Worker Job Description
Attachment 7 – Cost Estimates for Proposals