Augusta, Ga (WJBF) – With its ball fields and tournaments Diamond Lakes, is considered the number one park, for generating economic impact, now this popular park has a new number one issue.  

 It’s an issue Diamond Lakes regular Hannah Ringer doesn’t even try to deal with now.

“We actually never use the bathrooms here, I think a lot of times I look at them and they don’t look open, so I just assume that they are not,” said Ringer after a walk with her young son.

The latest additions to Diamond Lakes are these portable potties, that’s because regulars say when they try to use the bathrooms in the scoring towers they are closed.  

“It’s packed out here and if the bathrooms are not working, I mean who wants to come to a park, where you can’t use the bathrooms,” said D.J. Jackson.

“That’s happened to you?”  

“Yes, plenty of times,” said Jackson.

The Diamond Lakes bathrooms impacting park goes prompted an emergency discussion by commissioners, requested by commissioner Alvin Mason.  

“We need to have operational bathrooms, in order for them to use those were the types of complaints I was getting why are the bathrooms locked and or why are they not working,” said Commissioner Mason.  

But our visit today, found the bathrooms open and functional, but Mason saying the doors are being locked in the afternoons.  

 Drainage issues in the scoring towers is being cited as a reason for the bathrooms being closed, commissioners looking at options of replacement or repairs but in the next phase of the Special Purpose sales tax there is just 500 thousand dollars for Diamond Lakes.

“So we have to be really smart about how we go about fixing this particular issue,” said Mason. 

Following the commission discussion about the Diamond Lakes Bathrooms the city administrator said she will come back with recommendations to renovate or replace the scoring towers in two weeks.