The backsides of Towradgi can now be eased onto new seats, safe in the knowledge they are spending quality time pressed against some of the best toilets money can buy.
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This week Wollongong City Council opened the refurbished amenities block at Towradgi, a project that cost ratepayers $765,700.
The spending comes as the council faces such tough financial times that it is considering reducing services, raising rates, laying off staff or closing ocean pools.
The toilets, at the popular Towradgi playground, sit in a prominent position at the beach edge of the park. And they certainly look sharp, with a combination of steel and timber, murals painted on the side, and landscaping around the blocks.
But the sum spent on the toilets is enough to build three new houses. Or it would be enough to buy two apartments, based on the Illawarra's median unit price of $349,000.
A council spokesman said the old amenities were ageing and did not meet the community's expectations in such a busy location.
"If we don't continue to renew and refurbish these assets we will lose services as assets reach the end of their life and fail," he said.
"Given the harsh seaside conditions at Towradgi, all elements in the facility such as columns, grates and other structural items are a high-grade stainless steel. This is more durable and will not require replacement during the life expectancy of this facility.
"As many facilities are also prone to vandalism, council has ensured all fixtures and fittings are of vandal resistant stainless steel to minimise the cost of vandal attacks," he said.
The men's and women's blocks each have three toilets and three showers.
The new block also comes with a talking toilet - the self-cleaning, music-playing, automated Exeloo, which greets depositors with a recorded message saying "Welcome to Exeloo", before piping tunes to ease the patrons' passage.
The Exeloo website describes it as a "self-cleaning automated toilet solution". These toilet solutions aren't cheap - the council has budgeted $250,000 for one in MacCabe Park.
But they require little maintenance and cleaning.
The Towradgi renovation included the replacement of the sewage pumping station, the installation of marine-grade stainless steel metalwork, and a new roof. The contract for the work was awarded to Project Co-Ordination Pty Ltd.