The Jefferson County Parks Department will spend $796,484 of the $1,028,480 in American Rescue Plan Act funds it has received so far to upgrade bathrooms at river access areas and parks around the county.
Tim Pigg, the Parks Department director, said pit toilets at four river access areas already have been upgraded to vault toilets
“(A vault toilet) is a fancy in-the ground Porta-Potty,” Pigg said.
He said three parks around the county still have pit toilets, but the Parks Department plans to upgrade those to restrooms with septic systems this fall.
River access areas
The four river access areas that now have vault toilets include Brown’s Ford, 7787 Browns Ford Road, in Dittmer; Cedar Hill Park, 6801 Cedar Hill Road, in Cedar Hill; Rockford Beach, 4320 Hwy. W, in House Springs; and Morse Mill Park, 6700 Park Road, near Morse Mill.
Pigg said the new vault toilets in those river access areas are a big improvement over what was there before.
He said the pit toilets basically were outhouses, which had been at the river access areas for more than 30 years were not environmentally friendly.
“The human waste would just continue to seep out,” he said. “In a vault toilet, (the waste) is contained.”
Pigg said the vault toilets are prefabricated concrete buildings, which will be drained once a year.
He said the vault toilets were made by Huffcutt Concrete in Chippewa Falls, Wis., and Brockmiller Construction in Farmington acquired them from Huffcutt for the county and then installed them at the river access areas.
Pigg said it cost $56,771 to buy and install each of the vault toilets, and Brockmiller submitted the lowest of two bids for the project.
He said the toilets had to be moved by crane and the river accesses were closed during installation.
Parks
Pigg said new restrooms with septic systems will be installed at the following parks: Big River Saddle Club, 11350 Joe Buck Road, in Dittmer; Pleasant Valley Nature Preserve, 6701 Twin Rivers Road, in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka; and Sunridge Park, 8093 Tower Road, in the Hillsboro area.
“Those are actually flush toilets,” he said.
Pigg said he is excited about adding more flushing toilets to the parks. Right now, only the Northwest Sports Complex, 4900 Byrnes Mill Road, in House Springs, and High Ridge Civic Center, 2800 Community Lane, in High Ridge have flushing toilets.
Integra Construction in St. Charles was hired as the general contractor for the park restroom upgrades. The company submitted the lowest of two bids for the job, Pigg said.
He said each restroom cost $189,800.
Pigg said the Jefferson County Council voted 6-0 on Nov. 22, 2021, to approve the expenditures for the upgrades to the restrooms at the river access areas and parks. County Councilman Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge) abstained from the vote.
Other ARPA projects
Pigg said the Parks Department also will use American Rescue Plan Act funds to install electric service and a water wells at Pleasant Valley Nature Preserve, and upgrade a septic system at the Northwest Sports Complex.
He said the electric service will be added to the pavilion and bathroom at Pleasant Valley, and the project is expected to be completed in late summer.
The County Council voted 6-0 Jan. 10 to award a $74,720 contract to Brockmiller Construction for the electric service project. The company submitted the only bid for the project. County Councilman Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) abstained from voting.
The County Council voted 4-2 on May 23 to approve the water well project, which will cost $133,475. Renee Reuter (District 2, Imperial) and Groeteke voted no. Haskins, Phil Hendrickson (District 3, Arnold), Dan Stallman (District 6,
De Soto) and Vicky James (District 7, Cedar Hill) all voted yes.
Pigg said Flynn Drilling in Troy submitted the only bid for the project and was awarded the contract.
He said the septic system upgrade at the Northwest Sports Complex should be completed in the next month.
Pigg said AA Quick Pluming and Sewer in St. Ann, which submitted the only bid for that project, was hired to complete it. The project will cost an estimated $23,800.
The County Council voted 6-0 on April 11 to approve that contract, with Reuter abstaining.