“Outhouse” & “No Public Restroom” Sign Both Removed from City Hall
February 28th, 2012 by Joe Burgess
The sig
n that prohibited use of public restroom was removed from City Hall earlier today.
The “Stink Stirred at the Monticello City Hall” story was feature on at least one Little Rock TV station, with 2 others request photos for possible use today.
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Posted Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012
Following the recent “No Public Restroom” policy at the Monticello City Hall, a Monticello resident had an “old fashioned outhouse”, complete with the traditional “half moon window” in the door delivered to City Hall, Sunday afternoon.
Monticello District Judge Ken Harper told MonticelloLive that he was simply excercising his first amendment right of free speech, on behalf of tax-payers, who are being prevented from using services that the city is required by law to provide in public building.
Harper pointed out that his protest was done as a citizen, and not from his position as a judge.
The outhouse was removed shortly after it was donated for public use, at the city’s request.
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You Can’t “Take a “Water Leak”” Where You Pay Your “Water Bill”
Posted February 22, 2012
New sign posted on the door to Monticello’s City Hall – “no public restrooms”.
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Newer article: Linda Gail Sloan Rainwater
Older article: Burgess Enters City Council Race for Ward 2, Position 1
I might give them a new name for WATER..WORKS LOL Even the Dollar Stores let you go!! We paid for that bathroom open it!!!
I’m guessing this is a shot of the City offices?
Interesting…. a Public – publicly funded, mind you – building in which there are “NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS”?
There ought to be a law. Wait, I believe there is. Someone should consult the City Attorney.
People we are trying to save money anyway we can. please help the city and use your bath room at home.
What is the logical reasoning for this deceision, or is this something else that only certain citizens are entitled to know??????
I always knew that this City Hall thinks its citizens are riff raff. I guess they are afraid they may get “cooties” from tax payers. I am ready for a “citizen spring.”
ok folks this is not leagle and i got the proof…SECTION 403.4 from the Arkansas Department of Health state code begs to differ with this look it up you will find the Mayor literally dont have a pot to pee in or a window to toss it out of on this one folks… mabe hes so country hes got an out house for the public he better have something.
You people have got to be joking. Would you let just anyone in your rest room at your house that you have never seen and for sure don’t know what thay may have in your rest room. Come on now!!!!!!!!.
every person in this city is the public including city workers every place of business should have a plave to accomidate the public do they go home to use the bathroom
Seems like to me the mayor of our great city should be more educated on the Arkansas Law and statutes before he tries to enforce something. Arkansas health codes says they have to have a public restroom because it is opened to the public for business. Anyway none of the city bathrooms in city hall or the police department meet federal guidelines for handicap accessibility to the buildings or court rooms. This is the type of people that are trying to take over our water association and we want no part of it. Wonder if they are keeping our money in order to draw interest on it. Imagine that! Our Mayor! huh who is he really! Time for the city council to impeach him, before the city gets in million dollar lawsuits and not only bathroom ones either….We need a new election in order for our town to progress forward.
We should all flood city hall with phone calls until the mayor takes the sign down. Maybe Judge Harper will order it removed!
Love the comments and such humor on the part of this online picture. Maybe if we can’t get a outhouse, then we could try for a porta potty. But the funny part of that would be the city couldn’t afford that for the water department because they send all of the money out of the water fund to the General fund to take of the splash pool, and all the recreation we have around here.
i think i get it. we pay tax for everything and anything and yet we are denide the use of creature comforts such as using th restroom. you can bet that the employes bathroom is above standard. what if………. never mind the head honchos do whatever hey want and we the tax payers will suffer more and more so they can live better than us. Way to go Monticello
I don’t understand why no one is protesting the “Open for Business” hours. 8:30? Really?
The rest of the world is hard at work from 8:00 until 5:00.
its a public place open to the public its not THE MAYORS HOME!…i know he thinks he owns everything and aparently he has a few people like you fooled, but its not his private property and a bathroom is to be provided in any place open to the public. I looked up the code “THIS IS NOT LEGAL” spoke of, and it is the law, and the law even if you think its stupid needs to be followed.
I suggest the voters sign the Petition to get the Wet/Dry issue on the ballot. Maybe the extra revenue it will generate enough money to put in an extra bathroom in the water office, along with several other things this town needs.
Outhouse Annie sums it up perfectly, a spring cleaning of City Hall, including the current dicktator and all of his tatortots. Speaking of an outhouse, They are still in use in Monticello. You have the older wooden variety or the newer blue plastic variety. As far as location of said outhouse, my preference would be directly in front of the outgoing Mayor’s office.
You people are so stuped. Your just looking for something to B!!!h about. Use your time doing something better than looking for whats wrong rather than fixing it. You voted these people in did you not. If you don’t like what there doing VOTE them out, That is the way you fix it. People that look for something to B!!!h about has nuthing better to do. So get a real job and stop crying about stuped stuff.
Outhouse Annie sums it up perfectly, a spring cleaning of City Hall.
we need a new mayor…this one talked a good talk, but he is putting us “out” in the rain!!
Our public officials are not for the public. Vote them out any time now!!!!
Ken if you are going tell people they are stupid, learn to spell stupid first.
i went to talk to the mayor a fews mouth ago about a fews things, he did not want to talk to me at all, i voted for him, but when we vote again he is not going to get my vote. at lease the old mayor would talk to you!!!
Dear Ken; Before you tell everyone how “stuped” they are, please look up how to spell STUPID…… seriously… LOL
Ken, Before you go calling people stupid, perhaps you should learn to spell or at least find spell-check. Thank you. Finding anything to do in Monticello, even to just B!!!h, is about all there is left to do here. On the subject at hand, they are breaking the law. You boldly publicly break the law, Ken, even one you may see as stupid and see if Monticello stands up for you as quick as you did for it. My mother and father are on their own, they have diabetes and other health issues. They are clean people. Thing is, when out, if they have to ‘go’-they really have to ‘go’. They shouldnt have to beg permission to do their legal right..and they shouldnt have to use the bathroom on them selves because Monticello’s authorities unlawfully deny them their rights. Id go on, but would be pointless. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Maybe they have a plumbing issue. Like the pipes are not able to handle all the bull$#!+ that they spew and the waste a customer produces at the same time.
You have that right Jeff. The City needs to open the air-conditioned Taj Mahal bathrooms at the park and run the splash pad 24-7 so we can use what we paid for. If the water rates keep increasing, I’m going to need the public facilities to shower in the morning. We should all march into City Hall and use their “private facilitlies” and save on our own flushes.
Joe, is this really a picture of Monticello’s City Hall? Since I live in the out in the county, I don’t go in the City Hall. It just doesn’t look like I remember it. Just wondering.
Joe B. Yes.
Oh good for you every one. So i left the I out and put a E in. Boy does that make you feel better about your self. Good Boy LMAO.
Now, You people do not know what high water bill’s are. Just mine alone and not another person living with me and my water bill is $55 a month for only washing dishes and a bath every day. In Northen Ark it is higher up here for water so be glad yours is as low as it is.
Lighten up Ken. evun us stewpid peeple have a rite two b!!!h. By the way, if this goes to court the City will have the right to have a jury of their pee-ers.
personally i think all the people that have had all they can stand of this need to look up the 403.4 code there is a number for the state office on that site and begin flooding the state of Arkansas with complaints! phone calls e-mails just complain to anybody not conected to this town until you get results. if you cant get anywhere there that way contact the Arkansas State Atty. General.
Ken – why do you want to apoligize for our water fund being used as a slush fund, and the city failing to meet public standards in a public building – while, the MEDC property inspector chases after everyone else? Do you really think we should stand for bad government? Do you really think our local government is above the law? Despite all actions of the current powers at be- we the citizens of Monticello are not inferior, and they serve at the pleasure of the citizens. Buck-up Ken and be a man.
Are we still discussing the matter at hand or has this become a spelling bee. Last I checked, spelling bees are for children. So, Listen up kids. Everytime you point a finger at someone else, you are pointing 3 more back at yourself.
Sorry about the s-z confusion- the keys are next to each, but this is the matter at hand. Some citizens think City Hall is above the law, and it is perfectly fine to lock public doors, run people off the steps of public buildings and demand they use the back door, not have public restrooms in public buildings, and have increasingly higher water rates that are not used to improve our antiquadated city plumbing. We are letting our elected officials (public servants) off the hook by making some people (Ken) think this is acceptable behavior, and we,the citizens, deserve nothing better.
wonder if this would be something 7 on your side would be interested in, if enough people go to KATV news website and email them or dial news*7 from their cell phone and leave a message about it i wonder what would happen? Or theres always the rant and raves on fox 16 where you can complain about anything you want in the state and it might just make it on the air.
Hope our elected officials enjoy their new restroom
LMBO!! Love the out house. Great idea!
Monticello is opening themselves up for a class action lawsuit it sounds like to me…How can they close the public restrooms there? What about the days, the have court all day, what are those people gonna do…
i gotta say this is definatly protesting at its finest. GOOD JOB! :)
Nice to someone is thinking about the needs of taxpayers! :)
:) So funny! However, what our elected officals are doing is not funny. However, its our own fault. Drew County keeps electing liberal Democrats! Start voting Conservative! http://?www.drewcountygop.org/
Well said, Spauling.
Way to go with the public restroom.
that was a nice outhouse!!! mr. harper GOOD JOB!! i would vote for u, as mayor!!
Why are city officials more worried about bathrooms than the rest of this dying town? We have little job opportunities. Crap roads. And little to nothing to do in this town. A personal bathroom issue should be the last thing on their to do list. The stupidity of people surprises me more and more every day. @ tax payer. This is not the democratic party’s fault. It is the fault of the people listening to the rhetoric spillage of these non-creditable officials-convincing them to vote for such an idiot. They believe every word the candidate says without questioning his motives and ethos, credibility. This is the fail of the people. I do not consider myself neither democrat nor republican but moderate. The consistent blaming on each other’s party is the same as a child pointing fingers because he doesn’t want to get in trouble. It is irritating that neither party can agree to disagree and work for the good of the nation, state, or city. This is what we get when believe every word a man says. I care not if anyone disagrees to this because this is part of my first amendment rights.
You might consider recalling the mayors election. the city council is up for reelection this year. VOTE THEM OUT or put up with two more years of their bull. The Mayor wants two to three hundred thousand dollars for garbage hauling vehicles. How far would that money go toward fixing the water lines.
How many more times will they raise our water rates in the near future?
Seriously Monticello? An outhouse uptown? Protest in a way with a little more tact instead of a bunch of hillbillies.
Too funny!!
The city is going to be in deep sh–, ah (legal troubles) if that outhouse is not handicapped accessible!!
all of this bull**** really helps our town look more appealing to potential visitors and businesses. great idea to keep monticello as a bottom feeder town!!
Actually, closing the restrooms to the public removes the building ADA compliance (ADA requires public buildings to have restrooms open to the public), and restricts the city from receiving federal funds/ aid.
there is a simple solution to garbage cut pickups to one day a week look how much money that would save leave the out house on square this would be perfect match for the stupid stop signs spend some money on the terrible streets in this city and be looking for a new mayor
Actually Wow, check the records and history of Monticello. We are the Hillbillies.
will the new firehouse have a public restroom?
and says- do you really think a humerous Sunday afternoon public protest will keep away visitors and businesses. I suggest poor infrastructure (no, ballfields and splash pads are not infrastructure) high utilities including water rates and high taxes (10% sales tax) and 20 for the future that want to be the only 20 for the future, plus a pompous Mayor and MEDC director, and a cluless City Council probably will influence visitors and businesses more than an outhouse. Putting up the outhouse is the most intelligent thing I have seen a City Hall in a decade.
It just makes me sad to see all the bickering &
laughing going on about this issue. I love living
in Monticello & I hate seeing all the people acting
like this. Do people really enjoy seeing TV stations
making fun of us. Just because we use to be called
the Monticello Hillbillies doesn’t mean people have to
act like one. Be proud of your city. I just hope this
goes away soon.
At Dub:
Yes I knew that. Regardless it is a stupid way to demonstrate something. An outhouse…really!? Downtown?!
I must say if the outhouse had stayed you can’t say that Monticello doesn’t take care of it’s citizen’s needs.
this is crazy to me wtf no public restroom well i say just use it in the front. nah lol some folks will try that s………
We are the laughing stock of the state, why embrass us by telling taxpayers that can’t use the restroom.
Hey ,JUST ME, It truly is just you. I haven’t seen any news coverage that makes Monticello a laughing stock. The news coverage helped to effect change. A social wrong was made right and there is nothing funny about that.
The mayor missed a good opportunity to say ok I made a mistake by closing the public restroom in a public building. If he would have came outside and shook Kens hand and said ok i get it he could have shown the people of Drew County and the City of Monticello he’s not all upity and just for the few people, but for all residents of the area.
We all had a good laugh now lets get serious about real issues such as getting a better city council elected , bring in some new jobs and get this town on the right track for future growth that will help all the citizens (hillbillies included) of Drew county.
Just a thought–
The outhouse was not put up to make us look like hillbillies. It was put up to show that the city officials think of us as such. As Judge Harper stated it was a (great, in my opinion) way to protest the illegal sign that the mayor posted. It’s his first amendment right to do so as a taxpaying citizen. It’s about time that the horrible city officials finally get some bad press. I say continue to tell our public officials that we will not stand for being treated like “hillbillies” or second class citizens!
Let’s vote for a new mayor!!!
I was just going to saw if there done with the outhouse maybe we can
Get it brought to the sports complex so we don’t have to use the woods.
Harper’s actions are a bit comical. Personally, I’ve been busy trying to figure out if that was a real person sitting inside of the outhouse or not.
However, since I am a great supporter of the U.S. Constitution, I do not find fault with him expressing his right to freedom of speech.
Am I the ONLY person that wonders WHY the mayor seems to be ignorant of the fact that he can not restrict the PUBLIC’s use of the PUBLIC restroom at this facility? Especially since taxpayers dollars are spent on its maintenance and upkeep?
Wow…smh
The Mayor is not ignorant of the law, it just doesn’t want to have to deal with what he considers the great unwashed masses (us), except at election time. Then we just provide a backdrop for him to talk about himself. I voted for the guy- so, once shame on you. Twice, shame on me. I won’t vote fro him again, and if he continues his disregard of Arkansas Law and disrespect for Monticello Citizens, I certainly would not mind a recall.
the city is so backwards and sad to say i was raised in arkansas but the city do not care what the rest of the us thinks maybe that is why there r no jobs therer
@Just Wondering: The last time I looked the sports complex had plenty of bathrooms. That sports complex has much better facilities than a lot of ball fields in the region. I have no idea why you would have to go in “the woods.” A ridiculous amount of money has been spent there and I imagine people are getting a little tired of all the people that wanted it complaining about the money to keep it going. Maybe that little part of the equation should have been discussed before the construction of it. Can I get you some cheese with that whine?
Well, Ken, the beauty of living here in America is that we can still protest peacefully. If it bothers you that people exercise that right, then there really is only one thing for you to do. Move. To Russia. Someone of your ilk would probably love having the government tell you where you can use the bathroom.