The city has given the go-ahead to a contract that would keep its portable public toilet operating for the next five years. The 24-hour toilet, which aims to keep the downtown area clean over special events like this weekend's Austin City Limits Festival, will cost Austin this year.
Today's Council approval extends an agreement with Blue Chem Inc. to continue cleaning and operating the portable toilet, which was initially intended to be a stop-gap measure until the city built a permanent one. Blue Chem was for the bid. The firm's previous contract was set to expire in January.
The new five-year contract will cost the city no more than . The facility is manned from 6 a.m. to midnight by an attendant who cleans and monitors its use.
The restroom, which is periodically set up within a 5-mile radius of the Capitol, has been making the rounds in Austin for a little over a year, as the city determines the best location for a permanent restroom. Initial discussion of a public restroom in Austin was floated . Environmental advocates cite runoff from sewage and wastewater 鈥� as well as human waste from nightlife and special events 鈥� as major contributing factors to in Austin's creeks and urban streams.
