Eurobodalla Shire Council staff are fed up with and disgusted by continued vandalism throughout the Shire and are urging the community to report any suspicious activity to police.
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Moruya’s Gundary Playground alone has been targeted at least 14 times since it reopened in September, with the repair bill amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.
A public toilet at South Head was smashed during daylight hours on Tuesday, with offenders defecating on their handiwork, costing the community a new toilet and hours of clean-up costs. They also ripped the sink in the disabled toilet from the wall.
Vandalism at Moruya’s Gundary Playground and toilets has escalated to an almost daily occurrence over the past two weeks.
Last week offenders entered the public toilets through a gap near the ceiling and flushed garden mulch, toilet paper, and the contents of the women’s sanitary bins down the toilets, blocking the line.
Damage from the incident cost ratepayers an estimated $14,000 in cleaning and plumbing rectification works. The toilets were reopened Monday, and on Wednesday night they again blocked the toilets and ripped off a playground gate.
Previous damage at Gundary has included broken play equipment - the swings and diggers were broken on numerous occasions, as well as repeated toilet blockages, graffiti, damage to the fence, and the gates and toilet doors have been ripped from their hinges.
Parks and Gardens staff have been forced to leave the toilets closed for periods of time while they attend to their regular mowing, gardening and maintenance at recreational facilities.
Elsewhere, offenders recently started a fire in the brand new disabled toilet at Tomakin, ripped a toilet cistern off the wall at Tomakin, “firebombed” the Narooma Visitor Centre toilets, and blocked the Riverside Park toilets.
The council has also removed extensive graffiti from the Moruya Showground twice and Moruya pathways, only to have it reappear.
The council’s Parks and Gardens coordinator David Bohun said it was very frustrating for his team, particularly the continued attacks at Gundary, which they spent months upgrading to an all-abilities playground this year.
“Our maintenance budget for public toilets is being exhausted due to money being diverted into vandalism clean-up and repairs. It’s ratepayers’ money that would be better spent elsewhere,” Mr Bohun said.
“We’re also well behind in our already busy work schedule because of this problem. If only they’d use their energy for good.”
The incidents have been reported to Moruya Police and while the council understands some of the offenders have been caught and dealt with by police, the vandalism has continued.
The council is encouraging residents to keep an eye on their local community facilities and if they see anything suspicious to report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
In the meantime, the council is investigating an earlier lock-up time for the Gundary toilets and blocking the gap above the toilet doors.
