Warrenton officials are "ashamed" and "discouraged" over the near-weekly vandalism that's occurring in city parks. Aldermen decided to keep the restrooms closed at the athletic complex when practices are held and voted Aug. 18 to add a second portable toilet instead. The decision came after Patrick Randolph, recreation director, told the board he recently caught four boys ranging in age from 6 to 8 stuffing toilet paper and paper towels down toilets at Khoury Park. "It's a shame that children in our community are destroying" city facilities, said Alderman Beth Kendall. In a letter sent to the board of aldermen, Randolph asked for direction regarding opening the restrooms at the athletic complex. He said the athletic complex is being used weekly from 3:30-8 p.m. as soccer teams schedule practices through the recreation office. The city pays $130 monthly to O'Fallon Sewer Service for one portable toilet that is open at all times at the athletic complex. A second toilet would double the cost. When asked for his input on the matter, Brad Busekrus, maintenance/grounds supervisor, said he wouldn't leave the restrooms open due to the threat of vandalism. "Absolutely not," Busekrus remarked. "Too far out of the way . . . It's a never-ending thing. Out there, no, I would be totally against it." Busekrus reported that the boat ramp at Spector Lake had been recently let loose three days in a row. He added the bathrooms at Lakeview Park are constantly being vandalized. "It's going on during the day," he said. "We've gone down there at noon and it's been destroyed. We go at 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock in the morning and it's already destroyed. There is no set pattern. It's a weekly thing that one of our parks has some kind of vandalism done to it." The city's recent problems with vandals follows a similar situation that occurred about a year ago. In one instance last August, two juveniles, 9- and 10-year-old boys, were taken into custody for starting a fire in the restroom at the city pool in the middle of the afternoon. Past incidents also included obscene words spray-painted onto the walls and paper towel dispensers being torn from the wall. Randolph said he has never seen this high amount of vandalism occur in one place in 17 years working in a recreation department. "I think Warrenton is a wonderful city, but I am discouraged by the amount of vandalism that goes on," Randolph said. All the restroom facilities at other city parks are open during the day. The doors are locked by police at dusk. City officials talked about the need to have a city seasonal employee at the complex to supervise use of the restrooms, but quickly changed their minds as the discussion continued. "Until I heard your comments, I was in favor of opening (the restrooms)," Alderman John Clark said.