Indio moves to keep park restrooms open past 6 p.m. for evening games and practices

Indio will work to immediately extend public restroom hours at city parks following complaints that facilities are being locked up to four hours before evening sports leagues and family activities wrap up.

At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, councilmembers approved a fourth amendment to the city’s security services contract with Serna and Associates, not to exceed $605,850, extending the agreement through June 30, 2027, to cover downtown patrols, general security and the park ambassador program.

During discussion of the contract, councilmembers said restrooms at the new Indio Sports Park, South Jackson Park and Miles Park have been locking at 6 p.m. even as the public continued to utilize the parks until their 10 p.m. closing time.

“At the Sports Park at 6 p.m. we had adults playing baseball, people walking their dogs, kids out there playing,” Councilmember Benjamin Guitron siad. “I think it was an oversight. I think we really need to open them.”

City Manager Jonathan Nicks told the council the issue would be fixed without delay. “We will not wait six months on that,” Nicks said. “It’s very sensible and logical that the bathrooms are open when the park’s open. We’ll take care of that.”

Brad Taylor, operations and security leader for Serna & Associates, said at Wednesday’s meeting that Serna patrols 42 different locations, “Our route is designed so that you are able to get through it in two to three hours, but we change the focus based on what timing is needed.”

The topic also came up a day earlier, at Tuesday’s Community Services Commission meeting. One commissioner described a previous incident at South Jackson Park in which people urinated outside a locked restroom during evening hours.

Jim Curtis, the city’s community services manager, told commissioners on Tuesday the restrooms used to stay open until 10 p.m. but were rolled back to the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule after recurring vandalism drove up costs. “It was brutal,” Curtis said. “It cost the city a ton of money.” He cited doors broken off hinges, smashed sinks and clogged toilets among the damage.

Commissioners floated possible fixes, including issuing restroom keys to groups that rent fields and holding them accountable for damage, and posting clearer signage about park curfews.

Curtis said vandalism remains concentrated at Miles Avenue Park, Dr. Carreon Park, North Jackson Park and Dominguez Park, and that the city is researching whether or not to add security cameras and more lighting to address the problem.

Councilmembers also asked staff to bring a new request for proposals for the security contract back within about six months rather than the year originally proposed, noting the agreement now folds previously separate Serna contracts — downtown patrols, general security and park oversight — into one.

Councilmembers emphasized that the security contract is an interim, one-year bridge to allow the police department to properly evaluate park needs.

“The scope of opening and closing bathrooms really should be part of an organization that has to do with the parks, while public safety handles the security,” Councilmember Glenn Miller noted. “Every three to five years we should go out for a contract bid, and when a contract changes this much, it behooves us to make sure we are spending our money right.”

The city intends to issue a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for the consolidated security and ambassador services by the fall, aiming to bring a permanent contract back to the council before the end of the calendar year.

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