Sunshine Music Festival organizers have appealed to qathet Regional District to keep the washroom facility at Palm Beach Regional Park open for the annual music festival.
At the committee of the whole meeting on Thursday, July 11, Wendy Cocksedge, a member of the Sunshine Music Festival board of directors, outlined the importance of having the washrooms open for people with young children, people with disabilities and seniors. Currently, the proposal is to supply portable toilets for festival-goers.
In an interview after the committee meeting, Cocksedge said the festival has about 800 people attending the event during Labour Day weekend, which is above the capacity of the septic system at the park.
“The regional district said it was just going to close the bathrooms during the festival and our difficulty with that is we have a very wide range of ages and capacities attending,” said Cocksedge. “For instance, inclusion Powell River is a very important participant; they volunteer and attend. Some people would have more difficulty using the portable toilets.
“We have very young families with toddlers and we have older attendees. We believe the portable toilets would be difficult and may even preclude some people from attending. That’s our issue.”
Cocksedge said the board was trying to come up with some suggestions that would still facilitate the use of washrooms, or at the very least, the use of the building during the festival. At the moment, it sounds like the regional district is going to look into the prospect of pumping the septic system during the festival, she said.
“We would hope that’s doable,” said Cocksedge. “If not feasible, we are hoping we can have a festival staff volunteer at the doors and only let a certain number of people in each hour so we don’t overwhelm the system. It would be for those who cannot possibly use a porta-potty that would have access to this bathroom.”
There would still be portable toilets onsite, including accessible portable toilets, but they are not the most convenient place to change a diaper, for example, or a child soaked from the rain, said Cocksedge.
She is hoping the current septic system can be pumped to keep up with capacity on the festival weekend, but she has no idea whether it is feasible. The next best alternative would be to have limited access to the buildings and the washrooms.
“We are going to do everything we can to make it as comfortable as it has been,” said Cocksedge.
At the committee of the whole meeting, regional manager of operational services Patrick Devereaux said in July 2018 it was apparent the septic system at Palm Beach had failed and there was no money to upgrade at the time. He said staff has been budgeting and planning for the replacement of the septic system at the site.
About $35,000 is in the budget to install a new septic system. A request for proposals was sent out to four local contractors and one bid came in at $71,000, which is $36,000 over budget.
Devereaux said he contacted local governments in Merritt and Pemberton, where music festivals are run, and both use portable toilets exclusively.
City director CaroleAnn Leishman asked if it was possible to pump out the septic system over the weekend. Devereaux said he could explore all options but he cannot guarantee anything.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne asked if there was the possibility of providing access to the washrooms for people who are really young, or seniors.
“Is there a way people could be using the facility with mobility issues or people with young children and allow 10 or 15 people an hour into the facility?” said Gisborne. “Everyone else could use a porta-potty.”
Devereaux said there is no budget for regional district employees to supervise the access to the washrooms.
Area B director Sandy McCormick asked how many people could use the facility. Devereaux said it was designed for a daily flow of 100 people.
City director George Doubt wondered if it was possible to have a pump-out scheduled.
Chief administrative officer Al Radke said a report on the matter could be fast-tracked for the July regional board meeting.
The committee passed a motion for a report on the pump-out to be brought to the regional district board. The motion carried.
Cocksedge told those in attendance at the meeting that the festival would be willing to bear the cost of pumping out the septic system.
