ELORA – Moloks will not be installed at the site of new public washrooms in downtown Elora after all.
Following conversations with the Elora BIA, owners of the Karger Gallery and Kat Florence Canada – the company already funding the washrooms and that was willing to foot the bill for the Moloks – township staff is now recommending returning to the original plan for public washrooms.
Council was first presented with the notion of Moloks as a solution to the garbage problem in downtown Elora at its Sept. 16 meeting.
There is not enough space for businesses and restaurants to store garbage until it is picked up and Moloks were proposed as a solution.
Moloks are large bins that are partly submerged underground.
They are tidier looking than regular dumpsters, have a large capacity and are rodent-proof.
The use of Moloks in Elora was to be a pilot project that might also be a solution to garbage issues in downtown Fergus.
John Kears and Renata Carter, owners of the Karger Gallery located immediately beside the washroom site, delegated to council on Sept. 16, expressing their objection to Moloks that would be located within view of their business and the residential units above.
At the Sept. 30 council meeting, township buildings and property manager Kasey Beirnes told council that while the Elora BIA likes the idea of Moloks, it has asked the township to look for a different location.
The BIA cited noise, odours, possible spillage during waste removal, and the days and times of day they would be accessed as reasons for its change of heart.
“And it’s beside the tourism hub,” Beirnes said.
“People didn’t want to take their garbage to that site. So we want to return to the original washroom plan.”
As well, waste removal is the responsibility of Wellington County and “Wellington County Solid Waste (Services)will need to take a leading role in providing options,” he wrote in his report.
Returning to the original plan for washrooms means there will be more green space between the tourism building and the new washrooms.
Council agreed to return to the original washroom design and directed staff to work with the Elora and Fergus BIAs and Wellington County in finding a solution for downtown garbage.
