ELORA – Even with a grant from the federal government, installing a public washroom behind the municipal office in Hoffer Park is shaping up to be an expensive “brick poop house.”
“This is the most expensive toilet I’ve ever seen,” said councillor Steven VanLeeuwen. “This is the – what do you call it – the brick poop house.”
Managing director of community services Pat Newson presented a report to council at its July 18 meeting explaining why they need another $114,000 to build the washroom.
In May, the township received a grant from the Federal Economic Development Agency’s Tourism Relief Fund worth $208,600 for the washroom.
The total cost was expected to be $272,500 and council approved a motion to take $63,900 from the general capital reserve to cover the shortfall.
The washroom is a high-tech self-cleaning model and the government grant is specifically tied to this kind of toilet. It locks after use, runs through a self-cleaning cycle that takes about three minutes, and then unlocks for the next user.
It’s accessible, gender neutral, located in the tourism area, is intended to be open year-round, and only requires staff to monitor it.
“Regrettably staff have been unable at this stage of the project to fully understand the servicing requirements of the site,” Newson wrote in her report.
And as with other capital projects since the pandemic, it’s been difficult to secure a contractor to set the foundation, and estimates are coming in higher than expected.
As well, the grant stipulates the project must be completed in 2022.
Newson said they recently learned the township has been granted an extension until March next year but they would still need to lay the foundation before the ground freezes.
She was seeking the budget top-up in order to go ahead and order the washroom, prepare the site and complete the project within the timeframe of the grant.
“There is a 16-week lead-time from the time the washroom is ordered until it is guaranteed to be delivered and installed on site,” she wrote, adding that means the washroom needs to be ordered as soon as possible.
“There is still good value in this project for the township, its residents and visitors,” she said, adding that even with a total township contribution of $177,900, it’s still less expensive than the amount originally in the 2023 capital budget.
“The cost is in the preparation for the site,” she told council. “It is becoming an expensive washroom, but it’s the servicing that’s expensive.”
Council approved the added expenditure and staff will proceed with ordering the toilet.
