Questions remain after a state-of-the-art bathroom in Riverview’s Mill Creek Nature Park was destroyed by fire.
The incident happened over the weekend and RCMP are investigating.
Communications Manager Ashly Barron says this wasn’t just your average porta potty, “The public washroom that was there, it’s state of the art. It’s actually one that has a pretty nice outhouse building, and it’s a waterless composting toilet. So it’s very much aligned with our sustainability priorities and helps to run itself. It’s self-sustaining, and can kind of do its thing without being managed.”
There were two units side by side. Barron says one had minor damage to the roof, while the other was destroyed.
She adds it was a costly investment. The price of the unit was around $18, 000.
“It can certainly be replaced, and that’s something that our teams are looking at. We do have to look at the investment again and see if it makes sense to move some priorities around, or what that might look like. So the team is definitely looking into replacing it and what that might look like.”
They’re asking anyone with information to report it to police.
Also over the weekend, there was minor damage to the town’s Hollywood-style sign’s lighting as well as an ice sculpture.
“It is discouraging but that being said, we haven’t had an incident of this magnitude with those restrooms in the four years that they’ve been there. So it just takes one but it’s certainly discouraging to see the investment destroyed, and the community’s hard work and things that they enjoy being taken away,” Barron stated.
The town is raising awareness of these incidents and encouraging the public to report any information to aid the RCMP investigation.
But Barron adds despite the setbacks, the town remains committed to investing in public spaces.
She says the RCMP has an online reporting tool and they encourage anyone to report any suspicious activity.
“It only takes a couple of minutes and even if you don’t think it was something big or major, it could be useful in some of their investigations,” Barron says.
