By Dave Lieber
watchdog@star-telegram.com
A Fort Worth City Hall employee tipped The Watchdog that the city is spending almost $50,000 to build five showers so city workers can clean up after biking to work or exercising at lunchtime.
"I have nothing against riding a bike to work," the tipster wrote. "What I do take issue with is the city, in such dire straits, on a dead run to spend money to build showers so that folks can ride bicycles to work at City Hall.
"You can count the number of parked bikes around City Hall daily on two hands. The number of riders versus the cost of the showers seems rather cold when you have let employees go within the last few years, forced furlough days on the general staff and are already talking about how difficult next year's budget could be."
The Watchdog investigates.
BackgroundCost: A City Hall spokesman says the estimated cost to build the showers, using in-house crews, will be less than $50,000. In addition, the estimated annual cost for daily janitorial service will be $6,500.
Location: The lower level of City Hall, where the Emergency Operations Center was. Two stalls for men, two for women and one that's accessible to disabled people. Each shower has an individual changing area. Lockers will be available in each room for use only while showering. Employees provide their own soap, shampoo and towels.
Funding source: "The scheduled replacement of an air-conditioning system at the Animal Care and Control Center will be deferred until next fiscal year to allow this shower facility to be constructed now," a spokesman said.
Did the city do a survey on need?No. Mayor Betsy Price, an avid cyclist, told The Watchdog: "Then we would have had to spend money on surveys. ... We know from employees' requests that they'll be used. Plus, it's the right thing to do. If you can help improve attendance and cut health costs, our productivity will get better.
"We all need to focus on health and wellness. This is a small step to help move that forward."
Councilman Joel Burns: "I had a number of employees say repeatedly they wish they had this type of facility. It's a customer service issue. You don't want folks coming into City Hall to interact with sweaty city employees.
"Part of my support for this is we, as an employer, ask our employees to be healthy because we are self-insured. ... It's not an opulent health club. We're just providing the means to clean up and have a professional appearance after heeding our request [to exercise] and help us reduce the city's healthcare cost."
Assistant City Attorney Doug Black, a cyclist, called it "a great idea" and said the lack of showers was "a barrier for a lot of people" to commute by bicycle.
"I actually think employees will use it," Black said. "I hope it will change the commuting culture, and those who live within a comfortable mileage range will look at this as an opportunity to finally ride their bike to work."
One problem, a city spokesman said: "There are racks on both the north and south ends of City Hall, and they can accommodate 24 bicycles." Is that enough?
Biking in Fort WorthThe city's new Bike Fort Worth plan is designed to promote bicycling as a safe and attractive alternative for commuting. About 11 miles of city streets have been marked with bike lanes.
Downtown bike racks are mostly empty, and the lanes are not filled with bicyclists.
City officials say they hope to attain the designation Bicycle Friendly Community through the League of American Bicyclists. In Texas, only Austin, San Antonio and The Woodlands Township have qualified.
Are costs justified?City officials point to a recent study by the Wellness Council of America and the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity showing that if as few as 5 percent of inactive employees exercised, a city staff the size of Fort Worth's could save more than $500,000 a year. That includes reduction in medical and workers' compensation costs and improved productivity.
On the other hand, sometimes well-intentioned, government-initiated projects do not go as planned.
Example: North Richland Hills used part of a $2 million federal grant awarded in 1999 to develop its Walker's Creek Park trail. That included money to install lockers under a large canopy near the water park for bicycle commuters to stow their belongings.
In 2009, the lockers were removed because officials feared they could be vandalized or someone could get locked inside. Those lockers remain in storage today. Bill Thornton, assistant parks and recreation director, told me the lockers are being altered and will return one day.
John Roberts, president of the Fort Worth Bicycling Association, said of City Hall showers: "I can say there is some demand for it, but I can't say how much. But then again, you put them in, and more people might be encouraged to do that. It is one of those things we just don't know for sure."
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.The Watchdog column appears Fridays and Sundays. Dave Lieber, 817-390-7043Twitter: @davelieber
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