The new restroom area facilities to replace Porta Johns in Watershed Preserve Park out in Addison Township, were finally delivered a couple weeks ago.
‘Before we had just little outhouses, not everybody wants to use those. This one here we can actually run electricity to it and we can put lights in there and make it so it’s got a light inside and we can even put some heat in there if we want to,? said township Supervisor Bruce Pearson. ‘So, (for) special events or occasions we can at least keep the chill out, if somebody needed to change (clothes) or something like that.?
The restrooms were paid for by a $25,000 grant from Enbridge Incorporated to Addison Township last year. According to Pearson the restrooms were made and shipped from a company in Texas called CXT.
‘You pick out the colors and the design, but they ship them all over the country,? Pearson explained. ?(The restrooms) are precast cement. It comes in three pieces and each piece weighs 17,000 pounds. That’s the maximum on the load bringing it up here, 48,000 pound on the semis. It takes them three days to get up here and then takes a huge crane that came in here from New Haven to unload them.?
Because the park doesn’t perk, the restrooms are ‘low-impact, waterless rest areas.?
‘This is going to be a system that is a contained system that is pumped out every few months, so it’s not going to be one that has a septic tank,? Pearson said.
Right now, they only have one of the restrooms placed. The second restroom will be placed come Spring time, he noted.
Pearson said getting the first restroom in place couldn’t have been done without the great help of Eric Eisenhardt of Road Maintenance Corp, located in the Village of Leonard.
‘I just want to make sure he gets some credit for donating his time here,? he added. ‘It took the whole day to get them in, but Eric prepped the whole area by digging the hole and (putting) the right level of gravel and sand on the bottom.?
Pearson said Eisenhardt has been very instrumental in making Watershed Park what it is today, including the parking lot, trails to walk on and the moving and placing of the historic Arnold School House.
‘Eric is the guy with expertise. I’m just the guy who has his telephone number, Pearson said with laugh. ‘Whenever I am in a tight spot, I always call Eric and he has a solution. He’s always there and never failed me.?
Eisenhardt, who grew up in Addison and whose mother Pat is a former township trustee, said he is glad to help out.
‘I’m glad it’s happening,? he said referring to the restrooms. ‘Not just for this generation, but future generations. It’s good for the kids and good for everybody.?
Pearson also praised Park Committee members Joe Schnur and Charlie Peringian, who helped in the effort by cutting trees down.
‘Every time I try to do something, Joe and Charlie are always there to help,? he said.
The project will also include landscaping of at least 15 native evergreen trees ranging from four to five feet tall at the welcome center.
As far as the restrooms go, Pearson believes they will make a ‘big difference.?
‘You can’t have a family park without facilities to make sure everybody can stay out there for the day,? he said. ‘Now, it makes it so you can actually go out there and spend the day with your family and go fishing.?