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Downtown residents urge Blue Ridge to restore public restrooms in FY2025 budget
Summary
At a public hearing on the proposed fiscal 2025 budget, residents and local arts leaders urged the City Council to restore funding for downtown public restrooms, saying the current facility is unsanitary, overused during events, and places maintenance burdens on small businesses and the arts center.
At a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, residents urged the Blue Ridge City Council to restore funding for a replacement downtown public restroom, saying the existing facility is unsanitary and overwhelmed during large events.
The city’s budget, posted online for public review, is scheduled for council review and a workshop before a formal vote. The chair noted the budget draft was prepared by city staff and thanked Joe Patterson, the city clerk, for leading the draft. The chair also said the city has been without a finance director since Oct. 4, 2024, and described the upcoming workshop as an opportunity to make changes before the council votes.
A downtown business owner who spoke during public comment said last year public restrooms appeared in the 2024 budget “to the tune of I think about $883,000,” but that amount does not appear in the FY2025 draft. The speaker called the existing downtown bathroom “a disgrace” and urged the council to tear down the old facility and build a new one with adequate facilities, adding: “it needs to be in the budget for next year.”
Marie Hearen, another commenter, countered that simply replacing the structure without a plan for daily upkeep would not fix the persistent problems. Hearen said the real issue is maintenance and recommended hiring someone or assigning regular cleaning and repairs so a new facility would not deteriorate quickly.
Kate Tong, representing the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association, said patrons frequently use restrooms at the art center (the old county courthouse) because downtown facilities are inadequate. “We pay for cleaning and maintain those restrooms because people don’t want to use the downtown bathrooms,” Tong said, asking the council to consider the burden on local businesses and nonprofits.
Council members did not vote during the hearing. Officials said they would take public comments into consideration and moved to a scheduled budget workshop where council members and department heads would review line items and answer questions. The public hearing was adjourned and attendees were invited to the conference room to continue the workshop.
No formal motions or votes were recorded during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
