Ironic

I see on KGW that Mayor Potter has announced City Hall’s first floor bathrooms will be open to the public from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., in addition to the current hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning in August.

That’s not the ironic part. I applaud making City facilities available to people needing a safe place to use the toilet during the night, until more 24-hour public restrooms are available throughout downtown. But the six month trial period, at a cost of $46,000 for additional security staff, comes at a time when the neighborhood Citywide Parks Team volunteers have been told we may no longer meet in City Hall at 7 p.m. on third Thursdays, unless we are willing to pay for a security guard ourselves. People wanting to volunteer their time to promote a better Portland, and to use City Hall for its intended purpose as a gathering place for citizens seeking the long term public good, are being told to pay – or go elsewhere.

Ironic, don’t you think?