By Dongyun Kwon
Concerns regarding the state of cleanliness in Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) Facilities were raised through a question during the recent council meeting.
Resident Eric Adams asked a question to the Yarra Ranges councillors and introduced his experience on Tuesday 27 February.
“In September of last year, I asked for the ones [public toilets] at Brice Avenue to be cleaned properly,” he said.
“[After] I got a response that it had been done, I went back, checked and nothing had been done, they were still as bad as they were.”
Mr Adams said he had to contact the council several more times to get it cleaned.
“There had been a large clump of toilet paper thrown up onto the sensor for flushing urine and apparently it had been there for three months, so the urine hadn’t flushed for three months,” he said.
“[After the team cleaned it] the toilet paper remained and we had to get them to come back again to do another clean.
“That was not my issue, my issue is the goop that’s running down the wall that has been there for three or four months.”
According to the YRC’s annual report 2022-2023, the council allocated over $6 million to property and facility management.
Mr Adams said the services that the contractors provided should have been better for the amount of money the council paid for the contract.
“I understand that when you clean a toilet, half an hour later, someone’s used it and it’s not the same as when you cleaned it,” he said.
“But, It is just unacceptable [considering the amount the council paid]. It’s just not being done to any great standard.
“It [cleanliness of public toilets] is not the only part of the council that the checking needs to be done, the street sweeper is supposed to come around and sweep the streets every six weeks and I don’t think he comes up my street every six weeks.”
Streeton Ward Councillor Andrew Fullagar said it’s a wake-up call for the council to work together to solve the issue.
“As Mr Adams pointed out, we’re a high tourist area and it’s not just the tourists that use the toilets but it’s also our local residents who deserve better [public toilets],” he said.
“I’ve heard, time and time again, that the service is going to improve [with] different contractors but these problems persist.
“We really do need to take apart, get a new piece of paper and work on this together, community and the council.”
Built environment and infrastructure director Hjalmar Philipp responded to the question, stating that the team is looking at the current contract.
“Over the last three months, we’ve appointed more of a focus on an auditing role,” he said.
“There’s the whole back to basics on what are the specifications that are right for the council, particularly given the comments around tourism and that’s the part of what the team is looking at and they’ll come back with the specifications to the council for the next tender.
“As part of the draft budget discussions today, we’re looking at extra funding for upgrades of toilets as well, so there’ll be for the council’s consideration as part of the budget process.”
