Vandals have caused thousands of dollars in damage to two City park comfort stations on Oahu.
It’s really bad — from graffiti, to fire damage, to even stolen equipment.
Lots of kids hang out at Makalapa Park near Aloha Stadium.
But they won’t go to the restroom here. In fact, they can’t.
Not only does it look uninviting, but also there aren’t any toilet bowls — either because they were stolen, or because they were damaged when someone torched the place.
"I cannot imagine how they can do this kind of thing. It’s really very sickening," said Honolulu City Councilman Romy Cachola.
Councilman Cachola was just taken on an eye-opening tour by City Parks Director Gary Cabato.
"Very, very surprised it’s so filthy," said Cachola.
Vandals not only wreaked havoc on the comfort station at Makalapa Park, but also at nearby Aliamanu Park.
At least at Aliamanu they still have working toilets. But, one of the seats is missing in the women’s restroom, and you can see remnants of a fire.
"It’s for them. Why are they going to torch it?" asked Cachola.
Lots of kids and adults use Aliamanu Park.
It’s where this Cal Ripken Mustang team practices.
But the team has one rule — none of the boys can go to the restroom without an adult.
"There’s graffiti, it’s dirty and just not safe for the kids," said Coach Neal Matsueda.
The City estimates it’ll cost $15,000-$27,000 to undo the damage at the two comfort stations.
And this isn’t the first time these two comfort stations have been vandalized. In fact, the City spent money fixing them up before.
"It’s you fix it up, come up with new, make it, improve it, and before you know it it’s trashed again. If it happens again, I don’t know what I will recommend. We may do away with the comfort station," said Cachola.
Police have not arrested anyone yet for the vandalism.
Cachola says he plans to report this to the neighborhood boards in the area to see if they can somehow help.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
