The old K-Max building in Quesnel will soon be home to a new accessible downtown washroom.
City Council unanimously approved a 5-year lease agreement at last night’s meeting.
City Manager Byron Johnson noted that the City will also sub lease out some space to community groups to offset some of the operating costs.
He says about 2/3rds of the 255 thousand dollars needed to renovate the space will come from outside funding sources and the operating costs are estimated at around $53,500 a year.
Councillor Ron Paull, while in support of the project, wanted the downtown business association to pick up some of that tab saying that taxpayers, including businesses not in this area, are subsidizing it.
Johnson confirmed that the Downtown Business Association was one of the groups they were negotiating with to sub lease some of the space to, although Paull says he would prefer they pay a little bit more than that.
Mayor Bob Simpson noted that this washroom, which they hope to have up and running in April, was only part of a much broader accessibility initiative for the downtown core.
The portion of the post office that is not being used was also being considered as a location for a downtown washroom.