Councils
Invercargill's plan to replace a homeless shower facility has hit a wall over accessibility concerns.
The city council has been trying to find a new home for the Wachner Place public toilet and shower since May last year, when councillors voted to close it — provided an alternative site was found. It's still open, now running on reduced hours of four hours a day.
The latest proposal would have added a shower to an existing Exeloo public toilet next to the city library, about 50 metres from the current site. Council manager Chris Bowen put the plan to councillors on Tuesday, estimating the upgrade would cost up to $25,000.
The catch: the new facility wouldn't be fully accessible.
That was enough to give councillors pause. Cr Andre de Vries raised the accessibility shortfall and questioned whether the plan needed to go back to the drawing board. Mayor Tom Campbell backed him.
"I would rather encourage staff to bring back a more fully formed paper," Mayor Campbell said. "Can the shower fit into that space? How big would it be? Can it be accessible?"
Campbell said there was strong feeling in the community for providing showers and he supported a potential partnership model.
The Wachner Place facility — a staffed toilet block that opened in 1988 — has been expensive to run. A December report put the annual operating and maintenance cost at $194,294. Before hours were cut, each shower use was costing the council $270. The shower is available for $4.10 per use.
Bowen told councillors a redesign and rescoping were needed to deliver accessible options at the proposed new site. With the existing facility allowed to keep running for another 12 months, he said a final decision could wait six months.
Councillors ultimately asked staff to come back with more information on an accessible Exeloo upgrade and further work on a partnership model.