Black Elk Pond will get restroom facility

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
A proposal from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to install a vault-style restroom at the Black Elk Pond was approved by the Newcastle City Council. 
The 1.6-acre Black Elk Pond lies just east of the hole No. 5 tee box at Newcastle Country Club and is a favorite fishing spot for kids and adults.
Seth Roseberry, Sheridan region habitat and access coordinator for Game and Fish, met with the council before its March 4 meeting to discuss the proposed restroom. 
Roseberry said that there are city zoning requirements for restrooms within city limits, which includes Black Elk Pond. 
“We usually deal with access areas and places outside of city limits,” Roseberry said. “The idea is to install a permanent restroom facility that is simple to maintain and handicap accessible. We then realized that we are inside of city boundaries and fell into zoning requirements.” 
According to Roseberry, Game and Fish is interested in installing a vault-type facility with no running water. These restrooms are usually installed at Game and Fish facilities because they are economically reasonable in price and “pretty much” maintenance free, he said.
“Nothing breaks and there is no freezing. From our agency’s standpoint, they are feasible and simple facilities,” Roseberry said. 
Game and Fish looked at other options, he said, once it realized the pond was within city limits and that a flushable concrete structure did not appear to be feasible. The other option, according to Roseberry, is to leave a rented portable facility at the pond. 
Costs for a vault-style restroom, according to Roseberry, run about $10,000, while a flushable unit would cost $40,000-$50,000. He said that the flushable option also comes with more issues and maintenance fees. 
“We looked at the types we could use and narrowed it down. The department would most likely choose to put in a vault style that doesn’t freeze or get plugged,” Roseberry said. “They are still nicer than a portable, which we could rent for 35 years in place of a flushable option.” 
“We are requesting that you look at the vault-style exception for the pond,” Roseberry said. “Our main goal is ideally to provide a cost-effective toilet to everyone, whether it is portable or the vault style.” 
According to Roseberry, the vault-style restroom would be available year round and be independent of the water system. The restrooms do not require running water, maintenance, heat or hookups to a sewer, he said. 
The restroom would be a vault-style tank located underneath a prefabricated structure that comes in two sections that would be put together onsite, Roseberry said. Game and Fish would hire a maintenance contractor in the area to act as the facility’s local representative and clean and maintain the facility, he said. 
“I guess I don’t have any real concerns about it because of the remote nature of the location,” said Mike Moore, city engineer. “I don’t see there to be a potential for adverse effects to the surroundings considering the location.” 
Mayor Deb Piana stated that her only concern is setting a precedent for other variances to the zoning requirements if the city were to allow Game and Fish to install the restroom. 
“I think if we are going to grant a variance, it will be based on the unique situation under certain stipulations. This is not a private situation; this is to a governmental entity,” City Attorney Jim Peck said. “We have waived things in the past for intergovernmental cooperation.” 
City Clerk-Treasurer Greg James said that he didn’t see the restroom approval as setting a precedent, “given the point of where it is going and what it will be used for.”
“It would be a nice addition to the facility, and given what we have done in the past I don’t think we are setting a precedent that we need to worry about,” James said. 
The council approved the request during its regular meeting. The council added a stipulation requiring a memorandum of understanding between Game and Fish and the city that would include requirements for building permits, a routine plan for maintenance and the right of the city to close the facility if it is not being taken care of.