Stonington — Borough officials have begun an effort to possibly install public restrooms.

The idea has been discussed in the past but never came to fruition.

Warden Jeff Callahan said Tuesday that in recent days he has been contacted by members of the Stonington Village Improvement Association who are interested in the idea.

"In the summer in particular we have quite a few tourists here but there is no place for them to go. It's embarrassing," he said. "This is not a new idea. They'd like to get something done and so would I."

Callahan said he plans to place the topic on the agenda for the next Board of Warden and Burgesses meeting for discussion.

"I know the merchants would love to have public bathrooms instead of people wandering in and asking to use the bathroom," he said.

Callahan said that eight years ago when he took office, he toured the sewer treatment plant at the Town Dock, which had public bathrooms at one point but they had been vandalized and were not accessible.

There is no proposed location yet for the restrooms. While the Town Dock property might seem like a good location, Callahan pointed out there are issues there with flood elevation requirements, meaning a building would have to be elevated, which in turn could pose accessibility issues.

Currently, visitors try to access bathrooms in restaurants or the Stonington Free Library. In contrast to the borough, visitors in downtown Mystic can access two public restroom facilities: one at Mystic River Park and one in the police substation on Water Street on the Groton side of the Mystic River.

j.wojtas@theday.com