Council to discuss installing baby stations in all city restrooms

As El Paso and its families grow more diapers need to be changed and one city rep is hoping to give families more places to safely and cleanly take care of their babies.

District 6 representative Claudia Ordaz hopes to get public support and install baby changing stations in all public buildings around the city in Monday’s discussion on the 2017-2018 budget.

“While we were waiting to board there was a father who had asked me if I would mind if he changed his daughter’s diaper. Of course that wasn’t a problem, and he had to change the diaper in the middle of the airport floor,” Ordaz said.

Not all city buildings in el paso are missing diaper changing stations, but City Representative Claudia Ordaz says it’s enough to rack up the price.

“Currently there’s about 40 that don’t have that. Of course this comes at a cost, and the cost is about $105,000,” she said.

“So our fiscal year begins september of this year. So we should be seeing these sometime in the fall, it shouldn’t take long, we should be seeing a quick turnaround.”

City rules require all new businesses as of 2016 to have these baby changing stations, but Ordaz is looking for ways to also motivate older businesses to get them installed.

“Maybe it’s gonna begin the dialogue, and I’ll have this in the future with my colleagues, about reimbursing the sales tax if a business does decide to put a changing station in their establishment when they don’t have to.”

The city council special meeting starts Monday at 9 a.m.