The state Department of Environmental Management plans to reopen bathrooms in a state building across from the Block Island ferry piers in Narragansett this weekend. They had been closed on weekends because of staff cutbacks, but DEM officials plan to reassign staff so the bathrooms are available seven days a week.

Also, in response to a complaint from a Chepachet resident about locked composting toilets at the Charlestown Breachway Beach, DEM notes that on slower days some of the toilets are purposely locked so usage of the toilets is more evenly distributed. Otherwise, DEM notes, the two toilets closest to the beach would be used all the time and the others rarely used.

Complaints about bathroom availability arose as Rhode Islanders try to catch up on beach use after losing virtually half the summer to cold temperatures and rain.

The bathrooms across from the ferry docks have been closed on weekends during the last few weeks, according to Larry Mouradjian, associate director for Natural Resources at the state Department of Environmental Management. He said DEM’s seasonal staff in Point Judith has been cut down to 2 workers as part of state budget-cutting efforts. He said it was felt those two could more efficiently provide maintenance services such as lawn cutting and litter cleanup on weekdays, when fulltime DEM staff were at work managing the piers.

Mouradjian noted that the ferry operator, Interstate Navigation Co., also has public bathrooms available seven days a week in its building. But in response to an inquiry from the Journal, Mouradjian said he and other parks officials decided to change the schedules of the two seasonal workers, so the state bathrooms can also be open on weekends.

As for the composting toilets in Charlestown, Mouradjian said he assumed staff would unlock toilets if lines were forming. He said he made calls to “sensitize” the staff to keep track of demands on the toilets.

DEM is down to about 42 full-time workers and 400 seasonal workers to keep its parks and beaches open, and Mouradjian said that his staff is managing to get the job done, despite significant cutbacks.