Vandalism to Central Otago public toilets has cost the ratepayer more than $37,000 and contributed to a budget overspend in the repair and maintenance of these facilities.

At this week’s Central Otago District Council (CODC) meeting, held on Wednesday, June 26, councillors received a report that outlined the three main drivers for the overspend, which included a level of service increase, increased operational costs and most significantly, increased unplanned maintenance costs as a result of an unprecedented frequency of vandalism.

Between July 1, 2023 to May 16, 2024, there were 55 incidents of vandalism at various public toilets.

Pioneer Park toilets in Alexandra were the target of the majority of those incidents, with 15 cases of vandalism.

The repair costs of replacement fittings, infrastructure, and contractor’s costs at the time of preparing the report was $32,103 excluding GST. 

These costs exclude staff time to manage repairs. 

Repair costs have exceeded the repairs and maintenance budget by $10,621.

At the meeting, CODC asset management team leader Janice Remnant said since submitting the report, there had been a further four incidents, two of them at the Pioneer Park toilets, and one each at Anderson Park and Alpha St toilets in Cromwell – with estimated repair costs of $2000.

“It beggars belief that people think it is OK to damage public facilities,” Mayor Tim Cadogan said, “and regrettably, the actions of a very few are causing significant cost in repairs and impact on convenience in partial closure of facilities for everyone else.”

A steep increase in usage gathered from monitoring numbers, and increased costs in servicing toilets, had contributed to a forecasted overspend by end of financial year of $54,375 – now in the vicinity of $57,000 with the latest incidents. 

Only one incident at the Lode Lane toilets in Cromwell was able to be repaired through an insurance claim.

To combat vandalism, CCTV cameras were installed at Pioneer Park in March and since then, there have been two incidents. 

The Police have been able to identify the suspects from one event using the CCTV footage and are working with those concerned. 

The offenders from the second event captured on CCTV have not been spoken to by police yet. 

An outcome from both investigations is not yet known. 

Staff will continue to liaise with police for updates as they become available.

CODC property and facilities manager Garreth Robinson said this had led to the team having to take steps to reduce the frequency of vandalism.

As of July 1, 2024 the following toilets will be closed from 8pm during wintertime and 10pm during daylight-saving by the Council’s security company:

• Alexandra BMX toilets

• Molyneux Playground toilets

• Golden block toilets

• Molyneux scoreboard

• Tarbert Street toilets

Council’s cleaners will reopen the toilets by 7.30am each morning.

The annual cost to close the toilets is $12,775 ex GST and is included in the 2024/25 Annual Plan budget.

Read more: Security cameras needed in Pioneer Park, police say