SEBASTIAN — The on-again-off-again plans for a restroom facility at the Sebastian Bark Park are back on after the Sebastian City Council unanimously approved a request to increase the park’s budget to allow for the amenity. The city’s Recreation Advisory Committee met in April and decided to ask the council for another $25,000 to get the project done.
In March, City Manager Al Minner reported to the City Council that it was his recommendation that the restroom be shelved due to lack of funds in the budget and other priorities for parks.
Sebastian resident Jim Sunnycalb, who, with others, championed the dog park in the beginning, told the Sebastian City Council at a recent meeting that the park’s usage is growing as more and more people learn about it and other amenities – such as a walking trail and pavilion – are added.
“This is where you meet people in Sebastian,” Sunnycalb said of the city’s parks. “This park belongs to everybody.
To that end, he urged the council to approve the extra funds to build the restroom so park visitors wouldn’t have to leave to take care of their needs.
Fellow resident Louise Kautenburg agreed that having a restroom at all the city’s parks would be nice to have, but the Bark Park might not be the highest priority. She said the Barber Street Sports Complex, with its heavy usage by people of all ages, could stand to use a new restroom facility.
As for the Bark Park, Kautenburg reminded the council that its cost has grown and grown since before it opened, when it was initially, roughly projected the park would cost a mere $25,000.
Vice Mayor Don Wright, a former member of the city’s recreation committee, said the additional allocation to the Bark Park for the restroom would not preclude the council from putting funds into other parks.
“It just makes sense to me” to have a restroom at that park, Wright told his fellow council members.
As part of the now-$100,000 budget for the park, the city either plans to or has already installed fencing to enlarge small dog area, planted eight Live Oaks, placed benches and an information kiosk, constructed a pavilion, built a bridge over a corner of the pond, and purchased and placed material for a trail surface.
