The new place to 'go'

What a relief...Left Hand Valley Grange Park will soon have a proper replacement for the portable toilet that has been on sentry duty for a very long time. The new restrooms will be open to the public including park visitors and any passersby, such as those traveling the Longmont to Boulder (LoBo) trail.

The original plans were for the installation of a prefabricated building equipped with plumbing and electricity but, what's presently in the works is a standard two-stall restroom.The toilets are the non-flushing kind; there will be no running water, electricity, heat or lighting. If you've visited Lagerman Reservoir or any other Boulder County parks and open space trailheads, then you'll be familiar with this type of restroom.

This style of potties is called a vault restroom. The vault refers to a concrete airtight cavity placed in the ground which prevents fluids from leaking and the evaporative piping system averts odor issues. This also allows the system to require very little pumping which, depending on the volume of use, is typically needed twice a year.

Brent Wheeler, Boulder County Recreation and Facilities Project Coordinator, is responsible for overseeing the restroom installation at the Left Hand Valley Grange Park.

"This has been a very long, challenging project for a lot of different reasons," Wheeler said. A Boulder County regulation Wheeler and his staff were unaware of before this project, in addition to several other factors, has made this project unusual for the county.

The county health department regulation states that any restroom being installed in an area where sewer services exist must be tied into that system. None of the other approximately 30 trailhead restrooms in the county are located within a sanitation district, Wheeler said, but this one is the exception.

"So that's why we tried to build a fully conditioned, fully plumbed tie into the Niwot Sanitation system back when we were trying to pursue the prefabricated building. Our contractor could not meet those requirements, [so] we cancelled that contract. At that point, we were given a waiver by what was at that time the Boulder County Land Use Department, which is now called Community Planning and Permitting," Wheeler said.

A realization that the initially selected contractor would come up short on the required energy efficiency and on the Americans with Disability Act stipulations meant the plug had to be pulled on that contract. Wheeler explained, it was the comprehension of all of the challenges of accomplishing the original plan that resulted in the waiver being granted, allowing for the construction of the vault restroom,

"It's a significant cost savings over the full flush sewer system, with heating, electric, plumbing," Wheeler said. Although the initial contract was comparable in price, it ultimately didn't meet the requirements; so admittedly, it's difficult to compare the costs accurately.

Prior to the issues around the type of restrooms, a setback variance from 83rd Street needed to be approved regarding the placement of the building. Navigating that process took nearly a year, Wheeler said.

But last week, the selected contractor, Whitestone Construction, began excavation to make room for the vault, which is scheduled to be installed this week. Following an inspection of the vault and a subsequent approval to proceed, the hole will be backfilled and construction of the building will begin.

Most county parks are open from sunrise to sunset, and as a result, so are the restrooms. But the LoBo Trail is a regional trail (one that connects communities) which is available for use all day every day, so the restrooms will also be open for use 24/7. The building will be open year round and county staff will regularly stock the building with toilet paper and hand sanitizer and will keep a watchful eye on the building.

The project was originally funded by a state trails grant from Great Outdoors of Colorado, but because of the complications, the grant application had to be withdrawn..The cost is now being paid for through the regional trails program within the BoCo Community Planning and Permitting Department.

Phil Dumontet and Alexa Squillaro, a married couple from Longmont, are gifting the location with a drinking fountain.

Dumontet wrote, "After many, many long runs where I found myself parched and looking for water, I called into the county to find the right person to speak to about installing water on the trail. I was surprised for such a health-driven, beautiful community, that there was no fresh water for runners, walkers, and cyclists. My goal for this has always been to start with one fountain, and see if we can work with the county and the community to add more strategically located fountains on the trail to build out a network of fountains. When I connected with Brent Wheeler, this particular trailhead at Niwot was the lowest hanging fruit, as the county was already set to install plumbing and running water with a bathroom, but they did not have a water fountain spec'd in the plans."

The cost of the stainless steel drinking fountain itself is $3,600. It will be connected to the potable water tap obtained years ago by Niwot Youth Sports from Left Hand Water District to irrigate the ball field, and the design includes bowls that make it ADA compliant, along with a low bowl for dogs to quench their thirst too. This is the first drinking fountain in the county park system.

Another first for this project is that it's the only county park restroom facility next to ball fields or playgrounds. "So, Left Hand Valley Grange Park is a very unique parcel in our open space system," Wheeler said.

Dumontet and Squillaro would like a plaque to be near the water fountain reading, "Quench your thirst - go the extra mile!"

Wheeler said, "We have a plaque policy that allows for a small 3" by 5" cast bronze plaque to be placed near or on the donation similar to the bike station at the trailhead that was donated by Niwot Community Association."

The exact wording on the plaque will be decided by county staff and Wheeler said he's confident they will come up with something that everyone will be happy with.

Plans are for the restrooms to be open for business by mid-June.