Charm Emiko is always at Concord’s White and Keach parks.
White Park has easily accessible portable toilets and trash bins.
Keach, where Emiko often runs her organization, Project S.T.O.R.Y.’s, programming, has no trash bins and two portable toilets she described as being in rough condition. Whenever a car is parked next to the portable toilets, Emiko’s friend, who uses a mobility scooter, can’t access them.
“My first concern was like the health of our community. You know, like why don’t we have trash cans at a public park?” Emiko said.
The City Council will vote on Monday night to refer Emiko’s request for improved waste management and accessible bathrooms at Keach Park to two committees, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice & Belonging Committee and the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee. The vote was placed on the council’s consent agenda and will not include discussion.
The city has explored waste management solutions at public parks before, according to Parks and Recreation Director David Gill, with varying levels of compliance with carry-in/carry-out policies from park to park.
In July, Gill presented the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee with cost estimates for installing or replacing 34 trash bins at all 18 city parks.
Permanent, protected bins would cost $23,800, while 32-gallon, plastic bins would cost $1,530. The same document, included with other budget requests for the 2027 fiscal year, estimates that the city would spend an additional total of $3,550 on trash bags: The city would go through approximately 71 boxes of 50 trash bags, priced at $50 each.
Staffing and the purchase of a new truck would be the costliest expenses associated with waste management upgrades. In total, Parks and Recreation estimated it would cost $196,250 to maintain twice-weekly pickup in addition to the cost of bins, a sum that would account for one full-time truck driver, one seasonal worker and the cost of a new 4×4 truck.
Emiko hopes the city will reconsider its approach of carry-in/carry-out at most parks, especially Keach, in an effort to keep the space cleaner and safer for all who use it. The question of equity surfaced in her conversations with Zoey Murphy, who serves on both the committees that may hear her request following the City Council vote on Monday.
The parks, White and Keach, serve very different segments of the city.
“The equity issue didn’t really come up until after the health issues were all assessed, and it was like, ‘Wow, this is actually getting to be bad,'” Emiko said. “I wanted to get at least a trash can, and I really wanted to get a toilet that was usable, especially for kids.”
New signage recently went up at Keach Park reiterating the carry-in/carry-out policy, and a portable toilet was also cleaned and moved for accessibility just last week.