The Cost Of Convenience: Public Bathroom Debates In Great Falls

From the Electric:

Great Falls Proposes Public Bathroom Downtown

According to the Electric, during a City Commission work session, Commissioner Shannon Wilson discussed whether or not Great Falls should add a public bathroom in downtown Great Falls. Wilson visited other sites in Montana that have implemented a public bathroom and researched if this would be a good option for downtown Great Falls. Billings had theirs built in 2023 while Missoula has had a public bathroom since 2016.

Wilson also suggested using tax increment financing funds for the project considering other uses for the funds in the past. According to the Electric tax increment financing is used for public improvements.

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The Cost Of A Public Bathroom Downtown

City officials received a quote for the anticipated cost  for the unit including delivery, installation and infrastructure. They would be expecting $200,000 to $500,000 and above that would require ongoing maintenance of the unit costing $10,000 to $20,000 that would have to come from other funding than the initial construction.

Others brought the concern over loitering; that if there was a public bathroom there would be those who use and abuse the public facility which could possibly require more security and therefore require more funds than the anticipated maintenance. There is also the risk of people using the bathroom for more than its intended purpose.

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Mayor Cory Reeves stated he wanted to hear more from downtown businesses to see if this was something that needed to be looked into further.

Would Great Falls benefit from a public bathroom? I think it could prevent a lot of public concerns where there are homeless people going to the bathroom in public places and would provide some privacy and opportunity for a cleaner downtown.