Portable toilets set up at homeless campsites

MOSES LAKE — Following a public forum in Moses Lake on homelessness last week the city has decided to place portable toilets at various locations around the city where homeless people are known to stay.

As of Friday the toilets had been placed at Neppel Park, to the south of the Alder Street Fill, Civic Center Park, near the Moses Lake Public Library, and at Paul Lauzier Memorial Athletic Park. Civic Center Park and the Alder Street Fill in particular have been inundated with tents and other materials following a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling regarding the homeless being able to set up camp in public spaces if a city does not have a homeless shelter.

Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Grigg said each portable toilet costs around $65 to rent and about $15 to pump out when they get full. The general rule of thumb when it comes to the toilets, according to Grigg, is that one toilet is adequate for between 1 and 10 people for a week.

The addition of the toilets comes in the wake of last week’s homeless forum in Moses Lake. During the meeting, which packed the council chambers at the Moses Lake Civic Center, several community members expressed concern, as well as outrage, over homeless people urinating and defecating outside.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.