In December, the Hogansville City Council voted to reject all bids for renovations to the amphitheater and Lake Jimmy Jackson after they came in well over budget.

The largest cost in those bids were the public restrooms and concession stand, which in the eyes of the council, came back much more extravagant than necessary.

“I was just brand new here when those bids have first gone out, so when the bids came in, we took a look and tried to figure out what was inflating them,” said City Manager David Milliron. “The biggest inflation of cost on those bids is what was referred to as a level three concession stand attached to each bathroom. A level three calls for everything stainless steel, fire suppression systems, everything.”

During Monday night’s city council meeting, Milliron presented several options from the Public Restroom company in Nevada. The council voted to table the discussion until after its upcoming council retreat, but several ideas were discussed.

The presented options included restrooms, concession stands and storage buildings all in one. The cheapest option was around $100,000, not including added amenities, Milliron said. It had two restrooms. The lowest bid in December was $984,500, but that included restrooms, a concession stand, a boat dock, kayak dock, a beach area and more.

Milliron recommended another, which featured three restrooms. The largest example shown to the council was more than $300,000, but it included eight restrooms.

“Ultimately my feeling is at your amphitheater, a two or a three restroom would be sufficient. At the lake, same thing, a two or three would be sufficient,” Milliron said.

“Ultimately it is what is the long-term plan for that and whether or not you expect over 200 people or 300 people or 400 or 500 people in a given time at those locations.”

Milliron said he was working on estimates of a maximum of around 300 people at the lake and the amphitheater at any given time.

Mayor Bill Stankiewicz asked the council if they’d like to create a committee to give guidance to the city manager on the restrooms. The council voted no, electing to decide on it as a full council.