Dealing with the call of nature can be expensive and nobody knows that better than Oak Harbor City Council members.

The ongoing construction of the sewage treatment plant is the biggest and most expensive project in city history. The exact cost of building a facility for processing human ordure, as it were, is still an unknown but will likely be around $100 million.

And now the council is looking into a type of public restroom that’s become popular in communities that want to provide folks with relief without creating spots for criminal activity or targets for vandals.

The pre-fabricated, single-occupancy, graffiti-resistant, stainless-steel “Portland loo” solves all kinds of problems and would be a perfect fit in Windjammer Park, where the old restrooms will be going away as the waterfront park is revitalized.  But the fancy bathrooms come with a price.

Each loo would cost about $100,000 delivered, Public Works Director Cathy Rosen recently told the council.

Sure, it’s a lot of money for a steel room with a single toilet inside. But the price tag doesn’t take into account how much will be saved over years in staff time, repairs and maintenance.

Folks should be relieved that it’s not more. Remember Seattle’s foray into self-cleaning toilets that ended with officials washing their hands of the whole matter? Those toilets cost $1-million each.

In contrast, there’s a reason that Portland loos are all the rage in communities across the nation. They work.

Public potties can be surprisingly troublesome facilities. They become shelters for drug deals, prostitution and other unsavory activities. While those aren’t big concerns in Oak Harbor, the city has had quite a bit of trouble with vandalism and graffiti at the restrooms in the park.

And there’s the gross factor. Typical public restrooms — and port-a-potties, for that matter — are malodorous, unclean and generally unpleasant places.

Portland loos are designed with simplicity in mind. The stainless steel structures can be easily hosed out. They’re not closed-in structures but have plenty of air flowing through. The angled steel louvers on the top and bottom allow police or anyone else to see how many people are inside and if anyone is lying on the floor.

The walls have anti-graffiti coatings and are made from heavy-gauge steel which can take a beating from ne-er-do-wells with bats. There is no mirror or sink on the inside that can be damaged. Hand sanitizer is on the inside and a sink on the outside.

Council members should consider first purchasing a couple of the new-generation toilets for Windjammer Park. Perhaps a local civic group can be persuaded to sponsor a loo or two.

If there are no problems, the city can then look at placing them elsewhere around the city, as Councilman Joel Servatius suggests.

In the past, officials have had difficultly passing major proposals as citizens complained about the lack of movement. It’s good to see the council bearing down and pushing forward with big decisions.