| Author |
Message |
    
alia
Citizen
Username: Alia
Post Number: 115
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 11:21 am: |     |
About Orchard Playground: I need help.
I mentioned this in another thread but I need help in the form of other people's voices.
In years past, the bathrooms are open when rec. dept. employees are in the park. This includes during tennis lessons and the summer drop-in program.
There is no summer rec. dept. program there this year, therefore the bathrooms are never open. With so many little kids, it's disgusting to have them pee in the open, and teaches them that public urination is a-okay. One of the people who's property backs up to the park just got a solid
fence because so many kids were peeing on the tree just outside her yard and she was sick of watching it. The moms would steer their kids to that tree even when she was outside in her own backyard!
I called and talked to Roger Brauchli (sp?) last fall. He said then they don't open the bathrooms due to potential vandalism etc. But this is not a teen-attracting park, and sometimes even moms and dads havta go!
I traded messages with him Monday and today (Friday), but if more than one voice calls, it will help.
Please call him at 763-4202 and stress that it would only take a trial run to see that leaving at least one bathroom open would not be a problem.
Please, post if you call and what reaction you get. Also, does anyone think a petition would help, or should I try talking to anyone else?
Thanks in advance, Alia |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1597
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 8:55 am: | |
I have an idea for you Alia... If you want to do a petition, make it one for a key!
Any parent resident should be able to rent a key from the town to any park bathroom they like. The key would cost, say $5-10.00 per season. The cost would help offset the expense of extra paper and cleaning. At the end of the season, the lock would be changed, and next year the rental would start over again. This plan would keep the bathrooms safer, cleaner, and open for local residents to use... Good luck.
BTW, I would try the TC on this idea!  |
duncanrogers
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 611
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 10:09 am: | |
Hey Art.. did you see Urinetown?? |
bklyntonj
Citizen
Username: Bklyntonj
Post Number: 33
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 10:50 am: | |
That's a good idea ajc. For some reason $$$ always seems to get "the deciding person/people's" atttention.  |
JerryC
Citizen
Username: Jerryc
Post Number: 8
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 1:05 pm: | |
It would be fairly easy to put an electronic access control lock on the bathroom doors and cards could be issued to parents who desire them. This would eliminate the need for re-keying the locks each year and it would allow the town to deactivate a card if lost. The cards could also be used as an ID system for children with information about them...their name, address, parents etc.
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Jackie Day
Citizen
Username: Zoesky1
Post Number: 41
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 3:30 pm: | |
I love the key idea. I can't say how annoying it is to see these locked bathrooms while your 3-year-old pleads to go potty. What choice do we have but to lug along a portable potty and have her go in that? Yet that IS gross, and none too pleasant for the neighbors. Still, the alternative is to not go to the playground at all. Access to these bathrooms would also mean we wouldn't have to change younger kids' diapers out in the open. How would we go about petitioning the town to allow some kind of key idea? I'm serious. |
hismom
Citizen
Username: Hismom
Post Number: 61
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 4:20 pm: | |
Have you seen the bathroom at Orchard? It's disgusting to say the least. Our preschool class "rented" the park (for $10, I think) for the end of year picnic & got the key but once people saw the filthy conditions, noone wanted to use it. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1598
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 11:03 pm: | |
No Duncan, I haven't seen Urinetown, why? Bklyntonj, you know what they say about money...
I wonder what happened to Alia? BTW, electronic access control locks would cost to much.
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bklyntonj
Citizen
Username: Bklyntonj
Post Number: 36
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 11:50 pm: | |
I sure do know what they say about $$$ ajc. That's why I know your plan will work. Long live capitalism. C.R.E.A.M. |
duncanrogers
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 618
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 12:49 pm: | |
http://www.urinetown.com/flash/index.html |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1605
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 2:49 pm: | |
OK! I checked out the link... I guess it would be a good show to see, but why tell me about it? Are you in it?
I only see a couple shows a year, so are you recommending this as one I should see? If so, why? |
duncanrogers
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 620
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 7:36 pm: | |
Art this is from their press release.. I bring it up because of the similarities that struck me if we started locking all the public bathrooms etc. And you might want to see it anyway. It won 3 Tony Awards in 1998, Best Director, Best Book, and Best Original Musical Score. It is a hoot.
"A terrible draught has crippled the Gotham-like town where all the toilets are owned by a corrupt corporation. The citizenry must use public, pay-for-use amenities - a privilege which is expensive, draining and dangerous - THIS is the setting for URINETOWN: The Musical. A tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a time when water is worth its very weight in gold , URINETOWN has been hailed by The New York Times as "Extraordinary, hilarious and entirely original…simply the most galvanizing theatre experience in town." "
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alia
Citizen
Username: Alia
Post Number: 118
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 7:46 pm: | |
AJC, how sweet of you to worry about me. I've been so busy shuttling my kids to and from the park and home for potty breaks I didn't have time to check the board.
How do I go about presenting any ideas like these to the TC? I thought about meeting with Mr. Brauchli first, since we keep trading phone messages. If I do, I'll print out this thread for him. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1609
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:41 pm: | |
Duncan,
Thanks, it sounds like something my wife and I would enjoy. BTW, last night my wife met you at the library and said you seem like a very nice man. Hey, I could have told her that if she had asked me...
Alia,
You could start by meeting with Mr. Brauchli, and printing out this thread for him is a good idea.
I have always found Roger to be very helpful, and I suspect he will agree that most parents would be very responsible with keys of their own.
On the other hand, I don't suspect that many residents will request keys, but so what? I believe in the end, the suggestion will have to be presented to the TC by either Roger or you.
If you need a hand, let me know! BTW, I worry about everyone...
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duncanrogers
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 622
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 3:41 pm: | |
Well Art.. I met a few woman at the library that night not one of whom I could say a bad word about..ergo I can say without actually knowing which woman was your wife, that she is very kind indeed
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shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 585
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:05 pm: | |
That bathroom IS disgusting. My daughter had to use it last summer (two summers ago?) during the arts/crafts program and I would have been better off having her pee in a cup. YUCK! I, like Jackie, have been keeping a little porta-potty in my car, but it doesn't help if your car is not close by!
Yes, the key is a good idea, as long as the bathrooms are maintained. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1793
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 10:01 am: | |
If an electronic strip were added to the Recreation Department ID card, and the ability of that ID car to open electronically locked bathroom doors in our town parks could be added for a small additional annual fee, the cost of the lock maintenance could be self supporting.
Could the cost of installing the initial locks and back up computer needs be covered by a block grant or some other specialized grant money? The project could be presented as crime reducing -- bathrooms would be available to card carrying residents registered with the Recreation Department only and would lock from the outside whenever a resident entered them, tax saving in the long run -- recreation staff would not have to be present whenever the bathrooms were in use, environmentally friendly -- fewer people using the bushes in lieu of a toilet, seniors friendly -- so many of us seniors have such weak bladders, and child friendly -- easier to potty train, contained location for soiled diapers, the list goes on. |
JerryC
Citizen
Username: Jerryc
Post Number: 9
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 11:44 am: | |
Art,
The cost of electronic access control can be much less than you think. Besides, exactly what contitutes too much? Is it less expensive to leave the bathrooms open for vandals to damage? Also, if you use an electronic locking system, you can control what time access is grated. If you give out keys, people can use the bathroom all night (not a good idea). If a single key is lost, you'd have to change the lock. If you use a regular key lock and choose to leave the bathrooms open during the day and close them at night, someone from the Rec department would have to go around every day to lock and unlock them. What would THAT cost?
Electronic security is my business so if you'd like to discuss this with facts, let me know. It can be done with small standalone units that don't require a computer at all.
I like the idea of having residents get a recreation ID which includes a magnetic stripe for access to areas like bathrooms. Our parks should be a resource for residents. |
lseltzer
Citizen
Username: Lseltzer
Post Number: 1650
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 12:24 pm: | |
If you all want electronic locks so much and it's not so expensive then pony up the money yourselves. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1626
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 2:18 pm: | |
"I like the idea of having residents get a “recreation ID” which includes a magnetic stripe for access to areas like bathrooms. Our parks should be a resource for residents."
Jerry... thank you. I know a good deal when I hear one. Your suggestions are excellent and expand the idea to include access to tennis courts and other recreational services the town can provide.
It’s clear that electronic security is far superior to a key system. I would like to discuss the facts and what it would cost for the small standalone units that don't require a computer.
Hey, we don’t have to do all the parks at the same time. At each park we can post signs for residents to get involved in the fund raising for their park, plus their annual costs for the convenience. I’m sure the local neighborhood associations would get involved as well.
Lets saddle up and ride this pony so Larry doesn't have a heart attack....
Call me when your ready to talk Jerry, and for that matter anyone else who would like to get involved in this project. (973) 762-8518 Art |
JerryC
Citizen
Username: Jerryc
Post Number: 10
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 2:20 pm: | |
LSeltzler, that comment was just plain silly. |
bklyntonj
Citizen
Username: Bklyntonj
Post Number: 54
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 4:03 pm: | |
Great idea Jerry C. Let's make it happen. I'll call Art too. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1798
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 4:23 pm: | |
Jerry C:
Glad to hear that stand alone units could work in this situation.
What, in your experience, would be the cost of a single stand alone unit?
Could a stand alone unit be programmed to admit persons only at certain times? (I agree that having open access to the park bathrooms in the middle of the night is not a good idea.)
Could a stand alone unit be programmed to deactivate lost or stollen cards? |
lseltzer
Citizen
Username: Lseltzer
Post Number: 1651
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 6:14 pm: | |
Silly? And thinking you'll get money from the state or township for this in the current financial environment is reasonable? And a new swipe card system for the rec department? This all sounds funny to me.
Good luck, but I hope none of my money goes to it. |
mellie
Citizen
Username: Mellie
Post Number: 259
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 3:13 pm: | |
what I don't understand is why we built'em if they are not supposed to be used ?
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newjerz
Citizen
Username: Newjerz
Post Number: 44
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 3:21 pm: | |
I wonder if it has to do with the fact that when the bathrooms were built the parents in Maplewood taught their children how to behave properly and taught them that defacing these bathrooms was wrong. Maybe I have a romanticized notion of the way things used to be, but I think this is just another indicator of decline in our society which has become afraid of enforcing community standards. Also maybe there used to be more money available to spend on these types of services before we had to spend so much on trying to keep our school system afloat. |
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