Men’s restroom at Agnes Patterson vandalized

An act of vandalism at the middle concession building near the softball fields of Agnes Patterson Memorial Park has “completely destroyed” the inside of the men’s restroom, Park Operations Superintendent Nick Cummins said during the monthly Newton Park Board meeting Wednesday evening.

Two toilets, two urinals and a sink were among the damaged fixtures. Cummins told the board “the whole floor is nothing but porcelain.” A cost estimate of the total damages has not been determined by Newton Parks & Recreation.

“Both toilets were completely ripped out of the ground and I think they actually used one of them to possibly bust the urinals off,” Cummins told the Newton Daily News Wednesday. “The sink was busted off, and the dividers between each toilet and urinal and the doors were all ripped apart.”

The adjacent concession stand and women’s restroom were undamaged.

The park restrooms, which Cummins said are never locked, are regularly checked by a weekend staff person. At roughly 8 or 8:30 a.m. Oct. 6, a Saturday, a staffer checked the men’s restroom and noticed no acts of vandalism. The broken porcelain fixtures were found the following morning, a Sunday.

“He was doing his normal morning routine and just stumbled upon it and called me,” Cummins said. “I met him over there and we called the cops … We kept it locked. They didn’t have anyone on staff to do a full investigation Sunday (Oct. 7), so they came back the next day, on a Monday (Oct. 8), when a staff person was available.”

The person or persons who caused the vandalism have not been found. Cummins said the act of vandalism is currently under investigation by the Newton Police Department. The city is also working with insurance following the incident.

The restroom facility was built at the time of the park’s construction a few decades ago. At this point, Cummins said the restroom fixtures will need to be totally replaced.

“We’re used to vandalism but not things actually getting broke like that,” Cummins said. “It’s usually someone goes in there with the spray paint or things of that nature.”

Public Works Director Jody Rhone, who attended the park board meeting, said there are talks of possibly installing stainless steel fixtures — instead of porcelain — in the restrooms.

The board also brought up the possibility of installing video cameras to prevent further vandalisms; however, Rhone said cameras could only be installed outside of the restrooms and would not catch anyone in the act of vandalizing, making the footage an unreliable source of proof.

Newton Park Board member Amanda Price was shocked to hear the news of the vandalism.

“I have no words,” she said. “That’s just … it’s so frustrating.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com