Saugeen Shores council is reluctantly going ahead with the Beach House project at the Port Elgin beach.
Council voted 6-2 in favour of spending about $640,000 to renovate the Green St. washroom, though councillors voiced displeasure with the final cost.
Councillor John Rich voted in favour, but says he did so out of a lack of options, pointing out the project has been around for about two years. He added that the cost has bounced around from a high-water mark of $1.2-million to as low as $400,000 when the idea was first hatched.
Rich says the way projects are handled is backwards in his opinion, pointing out they start with a luxury proposal and cut it down to fit a desired budget, when they should be designing large capital projects with a set budget in the first place.
Rich says he felt obligated to vote for the proposal because the current washroom facility does not meet standards and the price tag will only keep going up.
"You get pushed into this corner where you have absolutely no choice, you either leave a washroom facility that is falling apart and doesn't create an attractive environment for users, or we're left with [the current Beach House proposal], right?" says Rich. "I don't know, I didn't like it at all."
The Beach House proposal will renovate the existing building, as well as family changing pods, outdoor showers and foot-washing stations and storage for municipal equipment and is targeted for a late June completion.
