JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For months, the Argyle Athletic Association has been dealing with unsanitary conditions.
“Right now they are forced to use porta potties, and you know the porta potties that we have don’t really support all the needs of all the kids that we have coming out here," said Corey Jones, president of the Argyle athletic association. "They are supposed to get cleaned on a weekly basis that doesn’t always happen."
Jones says the septic system began failing last July. He says the city turned off the water and told them not to use the bathrooms, but they never came back to fix the problem.
Jones says the city just added a mobile restroom station about a week ago, but it also periodically runs out of water so the toilets and sink aren’t usable.
“We also have tournaments on a monthly basis and there are thousands of people here, and we don’t have the capacity to handle all those people. And when the bathrooms go out we try to get them services and then it's hit or miss," said Jones.
He said then they are forced to tell people to drive down the streets to use the restrooms during games.
Softball Coach Costa has a daughter who plays on one of the teams, and he says he feels the city neglected this park.
Costa says this past weekend during a tournament, the porta potties were overflowing with waste and the mobile restroom stations were not functioning properly.
“To let this go on for as long as it has and to see these little kids out here who have hopes and dreams and have to deal with stuff like this is really pathetic. I hope somebody steps up and makes a difference instead of giving us the run around," said Costa.
The city says that the plumbing improvements have been designed and permitted. The construction will begin as soon as the material are delivered which is scheduled to be May 2023. Once the materials are on site the project can be completed by June 2023.
The city also added that they are planning to have a larger mobile restroom facility delivered to replace the current one that is there now.