$550K ‘smart bathroom’ in Fountain has been approved

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) -- Fountain City Council has approved the installation of a $550,000 'smart bathroom' in Aga Park. Fountain City Council confirms that some of that money will come from grants, but most will come from the city.

The plan is to replace the current bathroom, which is 30 years old, and locals tell me they couldn't be happier to get rid of it.

"I've never been into the restrooms, they're kinda gross. We live close by, so anytime she has to go to the bathroom, we just leave," park visitor, Angelique Leatham tells us.

With amenities like a playground, splash pad, and tables to throw birthday parties, Aga Park is one of the busiest parks in the Fountain area, and its current bathroom is one of the less attractive parts of the park, with ongoing issues like vandalism, a broken water fountain, and sometimes complete inaccessibility. 

A community member, Jazmine Zamora, tells us, "It has been locked majority of the time that we've come to visit, so we do have to run home and use the restroom."

But in this week's city council meeting, the city approved the purchase of a new 'smart bathroom' from the company Urben Blu.

It has unique features like automatic locking, notifications when toilet paper gets low, and anti-vandalism walls, which the city says allow for easy cleaning.

Another feature that the bathroom will provide is self-cleaning, which helps city officials. 

"We're trying to take care of our community, we want to have nice things for our people, we want to continue to grow and show them that we care about making sure everything is good for them," said Fountain Recreation Coordinator, Chris Sterling. "And as far as having a smart technology bathroom, me working here, I never thought that would come about in a small city like Fountain, but it's here."

Fountain City Council tells us the smart restroom should be fully installed by mid-October and that they plan to add a pickleball and tennis court here at Aga Park. 

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