(PENSACOLA, F.L.) --- The City of Pensacola was awarded $750K for a bathroom and will provide only one male and one female restroom at Veterans Memorial Park.
The five-and-a-half-hour Pensacola City Council meeting on August 13 addressed many matters, including the notorious bathroom.
Although the Florida Department of Commerce awarded a nearly million-dollar grant with a maximum budget of $584,476 for a 170 sq ft facility that included ADA bathrooms, it’s not happening.
Ultimately, after a contentious discussion, the city council approved a 5-2 measure to purchase a prebuilt restroom building, with Council Members Jennifer Brahier and Charles Bare voting against it because of size, cost, and time.
(Photo: David Glassman holds up two fingers, representing two places to use a restroom, while addressing the Pensacola City Council)
Elected officials were not alone. In a tense back-and-forth discussion, citizens agreed that getting a suitable restroom facility for the veterans has taken too long, beginning with David Glassman.
The Veterans Memorial Park Board member, Glassman, emotionally asked, “What are we gonna get for the 100-year-old veterans that come there on Memorial Day?”
Glassman also noted that two restrooms are not fit for field trips, getting a bit graphic with his description that children will have to go to the bathroom in the weeds. Larry Downs Jr. also brought up the veterans.
Councilman Bare said he was “offended” that $160K was squandered and should have been used with the original $750K grant. Now it will cost about $350K to assemble the restroom.
(Photo: Councilman Charles Bare notes his time in the service when discussing the Veterans Memorial Park bathroom at the August 13 meeting)
“This is not what a city that has the proud heritage and history and the naval presence and the Navy base is; it's a lot more than just Navy,” Bare said. “It's got lots of Marines, it's got Air Force, there’s lots of different people, people from all over the world come there, we need to do better.
The councilman made the matter personal.
“You know, when I was in Iraq, we urinate into tubes in the ground,” Bare said. “Basically, you could have like eight tubes in one place.”
(Photo: Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier shares her disappointment in the Veterans Memorial Park outcome at the August 13 meeting)
As for maintenance, the city will be responsible for the facility, which will be closed in the evening. Councilwoman Brahier said she felt deceived during the bathroom plans because she was told veterans who visited in the evenings would be able to use the restroom, and now she is finding they can't.
“That was a completely false narrative,” Brahier said.
(Photo: Mayor D.C. Reeves discusses the at the August 13 meeting)
Mayor D.C. Reeves also mentioned how long the process has taken, with 12 years since the initial notion came forward.
“It has been a long time coming,” Reeves said.
Some reasons noted for the delay included deciding the design and location.
(Photo: Proposed design of bathroom facility at Veteran Memorial Park)
Questions remain about where the rest of the grant money is. According to officials, funds are still available, but because there was no plan, a deadline to use the grant money was extended to June 2027.
If the money is not used by then, another extension could be granted, but the money may not be available then.
Council President Allison Patton had a few words as well.
“I know that there are people that are not happy about the outcome,” Patton said. “But I do think that at some point we've got to get this across the finish line and provide restrooms in Veterans Park, and this does that.
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