KENORA — The City of Kenora announced that it would host a grand opening ceremony for its new public bathroom downtown in December of last year, but that never happened, and the city says technical difficulties are to blame.
When the city announced the postponement of the ceremony, they told residents to “stay tuned for an announcement in January.” That announcement still has not been made.
One of the main features of the bathroom facility on the corner of Chipman and 1st St. is that it will be self-cleaning.
“This washroom is heavily reliant on sensors and electronics for all sorts of things, but it's not quite working how we would like it yet,” said Kyle Attanasio, the city's chief administrative officer (CAO).
According to Attanasio, the city is still working with Quebec-based Urben Blu, the washroom manufacturer, to get the facility up and running.
"We're hoping in the next couple weeks we'll have that worked out, and we'll be able to get that facility open,” Attanasio said.
The construction of a single-unit washroom was first introduced in a council meeting in November of 2021. The City of Kenora, Kenora District Services Board and the Harbourtown BIZ have since partnered together to ensure the $450,000 facility would be built.
The addition of the washroom was part of Kenora’s downtown revitalization, along with building the roundabout at First and Park Street, which was completed in 2019.
In 2022, the city commissioned Urben Blu to manufacture the washroom. Twice that same year, the city hosted community engagement sessions and feasts at the site, with ceremonies including smudging, prayers, and offerings to the land in preparation for the washroom’s arrival.
Urben Blu's washrooms can already be found in Fort Frances and Waterloo in Ontario, Moncton, N.B., Laval, Que., and Colorado in the U.S.
During that time, the city was also looking for artists to create mural panels for the washroom that “reflected the ceremony and the guidance provided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers,” said a city media release. They eventually decided on an Indigenous Winnipeg muralist, Cash Akoza, whose work can be seen at the facility now.
“We want to make sure that it’s fully operational before we open it,” said Attanasio about the washroom. “We’re very grateful for the support that the vendor has provided to try and help us through that.”
Urben Blu builds prefabricated “smart” restrooms meant to go in public places like parks, shopping centres and highway rest stops. According to their website, things like the washroom’s operating hours, occupancy time, the cleaning cycle, heating and lighting can be programmed and monitored remotely. Each unit comes equipped with a fully automated cleaning, disinfecting and drying system.
The washroom facility also houses a small space that the Kenora Makwa Patrol has begun using as a central location to store and distribute supplies since recently relocating their main office from the downtown core to Keewatin.
“I'm really grateful to the Makwa Patrol partnership that we have," Attanasio continued. “I’m grateful that they saw value in that part of the unit and that they're making use of it even though the washroom is not operational.”
As of March 19, the washroom’s grand opening has not yet been given an official date.
Kenora Miner and News / Local Journalism Initiative
