Invercargill's Wachner Place Restroom provides a toilet and shower facility which is used by some of the city's homeless. Photo: LDR/Matthew Rosenberg
A restroom alternative for Invercargill's homeless community is still being worked through as the cost of the current set-up continues to bite.
The inner-city Wachner Place Restroom offers a free shower which is used twice a day on average, equating to about $270 per time based on overall running costs.
Its closure was imminent following a May decision which was made on the proviso work be undertaken to find alternative locations.
But the place has been thrown a lifeline until March 2026 as the council continues to look for solutions more than six months on.
On Tuesday, council policy analyst Hannah Kennedy detailed some of the steps council had taken to connect with the homeless population and those who worked with them.
There were "specific issues" facing that community, including storing belongings during the day - which Wachner Place offered - and maintaining hygiene for things like job seeking.
A strong theme from the survey and engagement was that homeless people valued the space as much as the showers, she said.
"In other words, having a friendly face, somewhere that was warm, safe, private. Someone to have a chat to and make you a cup of tea, were very much appreciated as much as the showers."
But keeping the facility open was also hitting ratepayers in the pocket.
Former councillor Lesley Soper was the lead elected representative for engagement events and presented to council alongside staff.
She said the shower was used about 60 times per month, or twice a day, which equated to about $270 per shower.
It was also utilised by a "very small number of homeless", with the main users being people who had lost water, power, or were travelling.
Councillor Ian Pottinger visited the facility for the first time on Tuesday and spoke highly of it at the meeting.
He said the council could go and look at other options, but nothing would come back at the price they were already paying.
"I believe council has a responsibility to provide a facility like this," he said.
The contract renewal to March 2026 marks a seven-month extension to the original plan of closing the toilets by the end of August.
A report prepared for the meeting said there was no clear estimate of homeless numbers, but most agencies that attended sessions believed it was getting worse.
The need for a more significant facility providing temporary overnight accommodation had also been raised.
Council manager Doug Rodgers said his team would look at options which ranged from a minimum approach to a community or tourist hub, and hoped to bring back prices in February.
Operating and maintaining the facility cost $194,294 per annum, according to the report.
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