A piece of Calgary public art was "honoured" Wednesday after winning an award for being the most wasteful municipal spending of 2015.
The Forest Lawn Lift Station features LED lights that map flows in the city's wastewater system, an initiative that Mayor Naheed Nenshi described as both beautiful and functional.
However, some residents were frustrated that the city spent $236,000 decorating what Paige MacPherson, Alberta’s head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, called a "pretty poop palace."
Now, the city has been awarded a Teddy Award for the waste station's controversial artwork.
“Most people would agree that our waste water is something to manage discreetly, rather than celebrated with an expensive hilltop art project,” said Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the taxpayers federation, in a news release.
The Teddy Awards are named for Ted Weatherill, a former federal politician who was known for his ridiculously exorbitant expense claims.
Other nominees included Saskatoon, for building a parking system that doesn't work in cold weather. And Victoria, for installing musical sensors on stairway rails in a municipal parking lot.
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