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Council agrees to seek UDOT action after state park manager warns of restroom costs
Summary
Council members discussed removal and storage of four UDOT restroom signs after Anasazi State Park manager (in a written statement read to the council) described rising maintenance costs and urged the town and county to pursue longer-term funding for public toilets along Highway 12.
Boulder Town Council members directed staff to draft a formal request to the Utah Department of Transportation asking that four restroom signs be removed from their current locations and placed in storage while the town, county and travel council seek a longer-term funding solution for public restroom operation and maintenance.
Councilmember John read a written statement from Jamie, the Anasazi State Park manager, who described steady increases in visitation and rising recurring costs for park restroom maintenance. The manager’s statement said the park maintains six stalls and two urinals and incurs roughly $1,000 per septic pump-out, about $1,500 annually for paper and cleaning supplies, and roughly $500 per visit when a plumber responds to blockages. The statement added that the park already does some tourist service work and that Utah recreation grants and county transient room tax dollars are potential funding sources.
Why it matters: Council members said Boulder’s role as a tourism gateway along Highway 12 results in maintenance burdens on a small set of public facilities and that those costs are being borne disproportionately by the state park. The council seeks to preserve current access for visitors while shifting responsibility for ongoing operation and long-term planning to county or regional bodies with broader taxing authority.
Council discussion and next steps focused on limiting short-term disruption while clarifying responsibilities. John proposed, and the council agreed, that he would draft a letter to UDOT documenting the town’s request: remove the four restroom wayfinding signs from their field locations, place the signs in storage, leave the state park’s “after-hours” directional signage at the park entrance, and ask county and travel-council partners to pursue funding or grant opportunities to support restroom operation and maintenance along Highway 12. Councilmembers asked that the letter also request that Google Maps not be altered to remove Boulder’s public restrooms listing.
Councilmembers emphasized they were not assigning blame for prior decisions; John said his review suggested an email request in September 2023—originating from local business interest—started the sign placement and that UDOT communication procedures were not consistently followed when the signs were moved. Councilmembers agreed the town should pursue grant and county coordination for a longer-term solution and that the letter will be circulated to council members for signature before being sent to UDOT.
No formal vote was required to authorize the letter. Staff were asked to add the subject to the next meeting’s materials and to forward a draft to council members for review.
Ending: The council left the restroom signs at their current locations only on a temporary basis while pursuing the written request and county/travel-council coordination to secure funding or other operational arrangements for public toilets on the Highway 12 corridor.
