City of Leeds Responds to Public Restroom Inquiries

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 2022

City of Leeds Responds to Public Restroom Inquiries

The City of Leeds would like to address recent confusion regarding the City of Leeds annex in reference to public restroom and break room accessibility.

• The City sold property at 1408 9^th Street to Leeds Water Works Board (LWWB) on April 10, 2020.
• LWWB subsequently gutted their property including the removal of bathroom and water fountain.
• Recently, the LWWB leased its space, which is adjacent to the City Annex, to a third-party thus giving the third-party full access through an open adjoining corridor to working City offices and meeting spaces without informing the City of the third-party rental so that proper steps could be made prior to the rental occupancy to address security issues and city liability.
• The Leeds City Hall Annex building is a working area of the city where occasionally taxpayer data, citizen data and other privileged information is kept and discussed.
• Employee data and other records are held in this same area on occasion.
• The granting of third-party access to the City Hall Annex exposed the City to liability without the City’s knowledge.
• Upon discovery of exposure, the LWWB was notified that a wall would be erected to separate the areas between the two properties.
• Had City been notified prior to any tenant leasing, all steps could have been taken to property secure both spaces for both property owners without any issues.
• LWWB has no rights to convey access to a space that they do not own, for access to a restroom or space that is not open to the public, no more than the City could convey a space owned by LWWB.
• LWWB is welcome to continue their construction projects and to install a bathroom for their new tenant, should they choose to do so.
• Mayor Miller did not assert that the LWWB constructed the security barrier, this was a statement made by local media.
• The actions taken to close the corridor have nothing to do with the particular entity nor with any particular individuals occupying the LWWB space; instead, it involves the above discussed security issues.

For more information or to coordinate an interview, please contact City Hall at (205) 699-2585.  Any media exposure for this information would be greatly appreciated.