By ROY WOOD

Users of the West Bench recreational facilities and adjacent hiking trails will likely have an all-season washroom on site in the spring.

Council gave pre-budget approval Monday for town staff to order a Green Flush Technologies single-stall Aspen model washroom. The unit will have interior and exterior lighting, stainless steel fixtures and running water.

Capital cost for the unit will be $87,100, according to a report from operations director Jim Dinwoodie. The money will come from extra funds in the dog park capital budget, the Resort Municipalities Initiative account and town reserves.

The town is forced to use the Aspen model — which includes a sewage holding tank that will need to be periodically emptied — because nearest available sewer line hookup is at the corner of Highway 97 and 62nd Avenue. Cost to install a line that long would be over $200,000.

Mayor Sue McKortoff asked about hooking into the sewer system at the adjacent high school, but was told it is not on the town’s sewer grid. Apparently the high school uses a septic field.

Facilities in the West Bench recreation complex include three tennis courts, four pickleball courts, two ball diamonds and the recently completed dog park. The Canal and Dividend Ridge Trails are also nearby.

The capital funding needed to be approved months ahead of the budget preparation period so the town could get its order into the company’s production queu