A new pre-fabricated bathroom is coming to Barb Cook Park, which currently lacks public restrooms. The park is located across the street from Latonia Terrace in Covington.
The unit will be constructed by Hunter Knepshield, a company out of La Grange in Oldham County. Documents submitted to the Covington Board of Commissioners put the price of the unit at $93,000. The company will construct the unit in their facility, before delivering it to the Covington Public Works Department. The department will then install the unit and necessary utility infrastructure. Keith Bales, Covington’s director of strategic infrastructure initiatives, put the total cost of the bathroom plus installation at $118,000.
Bales also stated pre-fab restrooms like this have a life cycle of two to three decades.
“Boone County has utilized this company also for a concession stand,” Bales said. “They’re reputable; they have a very good product.”
Mayor Ron Washington asked why the city felt the restroom was needed, and Bales said the park is utilized enough to warrant the expense.
“This is a highly utilized park for basketball, playground, old people hockey,” Bales said. The hockey comment elicited laughter from the city commissioners. Bales added that the Parks and Recreation Department issued a lot of event permits for the parks on the weekend, so “something’s highly needed.”
The city hopes to have the bathroom up and ready by the summer.