Highland will open public restrooms for major festivals — presuming people behave

The public restrooms at Highland’s town square will be opened for major festivals in the future, with staff to prevent damage and misbehavior.

Public complaints surfaced at Highland City Hall after the newly constructed restrooms at the plaza park were closed during the recent Schweitzerfest. This annual celebration of Highland’s Swiss heritage includes entertainment, food, a 5K run, washers tourney, parades and more, with sizable crowds.

Closing the restrooms was an intentional decision, according to City Manager Chris Conrad.

“Unfortunately, (restrooms) have not been treated well during large festivals,” Conrad said. “In years past we would keep them open, and we would have damage.”

Conrad said the organizers had asked they be closed, but he’d received calls and feedback about the closed restrooms. So he brought the question to the city council last week, hoping for some guidance.

“We could open them (during festivals), or open them for certain hours,” Conrad suggested. “If we did, I would recommend we have staff dedicated to supervise ... that would be an additional cost to the event.”

Councilwoman Peggy Bellm said she was “bombarded” with reactions from the public, and said she had “mixed feelings.”

“If the city chooses to open then, I feel the event should not be charged,” she said. “Whether we should do that or not, I am not sure ... we built these bathrooms and we’re not letting people use them.”

Bellm said if they do determine the restrooms should be open, a sign should be posted explaining they are closed for safety and security reasons.

Councilman John Hipskind said he believes they should be open. He was at the festival with his kids, and when he saw the restrooms were closed he had assumed they were out of order.

“We asked people to invest in the square,” he said. “I think we should at least give it a shot.”

Councilwoman Sarah Sloan said she worked at the festival all day and no one had complained to her. The Jaycees, who managed Schweitzerfest, do not have enough people to monitor restrooms, she said, and was not sure if existing insurance would cover them if the restrooms were open.

“Speaking from the point of view of an organization, they don’t want to take responsibility and liability for the bathrooms,” she said.

Going forward, the city bathrooms will be opened to the public under the supervision of city employees, Conrad said.