Courtesy photo.
COCONINO COUNTY — Coconino County Parks & Recreation celebrated the completion of the first permanent, publicly accessible, year-round restroom at Fort Tuthill County Park on Wednesday, October 21, with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The restroom is located east of the Fort Tuthill Bike Park, in the north parking lot of Fort Tuthill County Park. County Supervisors and representatives from Kinney Construction Services, Peak Engineering, RJA-Architecture, and Arizona State Parks attended the celebration.
The restroom was financed in part with a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) administered by the Arizona State Parks Board. This project is the first LWCF grant that Coconino County Parks & Recreation has received. The LWCF grant also financed part of the Fort Tuthill Bike Park trails and features that were completed in Fall 2019.
“In the past year and a half, COVID has emphasized public reliance on public spaces, including parks, trails, playgrounds, and support facilities, such as this new restroom. A primary objective of Coconino County Parks & Recreation is to continue providing the amenities and facilities the citizens have come to value through our parks and open spaces,” said Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Nemeth.
As the park transitions to heavier and more year-round use with varied amenities, this restroom is another step towards modernizing Fort Tuthill County Park and providing the public spaces that Coconino County citizens have come to appreciate. These new amenities are a welcome feature to this regional park in Northern Arizona that continues to see an increase in use.
“About 20 years ago, County citizens identified restroom facilities as a needed amenity at Fort Tuthill County Park, and infrastructure work like sewer connections was included in the Park’s development when citizens passed the Coconino Parks and Open Space Initiative,” said Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Matt Ryan. “Now, approximately 20 years later, one of the first items talked about is one of the last items completed, and we are fortunate to have this restroom in a park where recreation use continues to be in high demand. Fort Tuthill County Park is coming into the 21st century, and we appreciate our partners and the public who helped make this a reality.”
For more information on Fort Tuthill County Park, please visit https://www.coconino.az.gov/279/Fort-Tuthill-County-Park.