ARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — The City of Arvin announced Thursday that it will be closing Smothermon Park and Garden in the Sun Park restrooms. The closures are due to extensive damage from vandalism.
- Arvin has temporarily closed restrooms at Smothermon Park and Garden in the Sun Park due to ongoing vandalism.
- City Manager Jeff Jones reports monthly vandalism incidents, including graffiti and damaged plumbing from flushed clothes.
- Recent restroom renovations costing $70,000 have been undermined by the vandalism.
- Estimated repair costs for the current damage are approximately $10,000.
- Porta potties will be available for public use until repairs are completed next week.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Arvin officials say vandalism inside park restrooms is a common issue. City Manager and Finance Director Jeff Jones says they have to repair the restrooms at least once a month.
"It is disappointing because Arvin just invested a lot to get the Arvin Soccer Little League up and running and unfortunately the bathrooms impacted are at the park," expressed Jones.
The City of Arvin announced the temporary closure of restrooms at Smothermon Park and Garden in the Sun Park on Thursday. Jones says he receives calls at least once a month complaining about the vandalism at park restrooms. Some of the vandalism includes graffiti and damage to the restroom's plumbing system by attempting to flush clothes down the toilet.
"Unfortunately, people have been flushing clothes down the toilets, which has been impacting our sewer lines," stated Jones. "Now, we have to spend thousands of dollars repairing the sewer lines for restrooms that we just renovated, to the tune of $70,000."
Though the city has yet to receive a quote for the current damage repairs, Jones says he estimates the cost will be approximately ten thousand. In addition to the repairs being costly, Jones says some of the repairs can also be difficult to handle.
"We have an old-style plumbing system. These are very old parks—especially at Smothermon—so the plumbing is very complex and some of the repairs are a little more difficult than your normal plumbing job," explained Jones.
The repairs are expected to be completed sometime next week. In the meantime, the city says they will have porta potties available for the public to use.
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