Residents urge porta‑potties at popular Portsmouth playground and complain about Ragged Island concert noise

Ansel Fila and Anne Sofia told the Portsmouth Town Council on May 11 that the Portsmouth Community Playground has no restroom facilities and urged the town to provide temporary porta‑potties for the site.

“My name is Anne Sofia, and I wanna talk about the Portsmouth Community Pueblo,” Anne Sofia said, adding that “families have to leave early because there’s no bathrooms” and that the park draws hundreds — “over 1,000” — visitors some weeks. A second commenter told the council the park is highly rated on Google and that portable toilets would be a cost‑effective improvement.

During the same public‑comment period, Ray Abraham, a resident who said he lives two blocks from the venue Ragged Island uses for concerts, described neighborhood impacts from amplified music. “Shortly after I moved in … the amplified music might as well be coming right at my kitchen,” Abraham said, adding that police decibel readings have been “within the limits” but that residents still lose quiet use of their homes. Abraham told the council Ragged Island has obtained permits for amplified music and warned of two concert days in June that would amount to about 16 hours of amplified sound.

Council Chair (speaker S1) acknowledged that public comment items do not produce immediate votes but said the council would take the concerns under advisement and work with staff to explore options.

What happens next: the council recorded the comments for the official record and directed staff to be aware of the requests. No formal action was taken at the meeting; the chair said staff would follow up with possible options for restroom access at the playground and to review Ragged Island’s permitting and neighborhood impact as part of regular licensing and enforcement procedures.