Almost two decades in the making, the Ocracoke public restroom project is almost complete. Opening day will be sometime in the next several weeks as a few things have to be finished, said Bob Chestnut, president of the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association (OCBA).
Those tasks include completing a new septic system and drain field, installing plumbing and various fixtures and signage.
Providing a set of bathrooms somewhere in the heart of Ocracoke Village has been a constant request that came up often over the years at OCBA meetings, but the problem has always been where to put it since all the land in the village is privately owned, Chestnut said.
When the Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS) purchased the former Island Inn property and suggested the building and grounds be preserved for community use, this presented a logical spot for the long-desired public restroom.
Since the OPS plans to make the historic Odd Fellows Building a community building, a collaboration between the OCBA and the OPS to install a public restroom there was fitting.
So, the OCBA and OPS agreed to collaborate on this project and last year, Chestnut said, the OCBA finally broke ground on a four-stall public restroom.
Chestnut said the arrangement is that the OCBA is responsible for the restroom and its septic system. That is all the OCBA is responsible for on this property.
However, the OCBA and the OPS will jointly build a shed on the property, half of which will belong to the OCBA to store the Christmas lights and other items.
The OPS owns the Odd Fellows building and all of the land including the garden area and a landscaping committee within the OPS manages the garden.
The OCBA is a volunteer-run nonprofit that seeks to promote the general welfare of Ocracoke. It is not a government entity, though it does receive tax money (from the occupancy funds) to produce several events throughout the year.
But these grants do not cover all of the OCBA administrative expenses.
OCBA membership contributions support events, civic engagement and provide the public restroom.
Support of the Island Inn Commons (building and the garden) should go to the Ocracoke Preservation Society.