Essex County Council is reaffirming its commitment to a new mega hospital for Windsor-Essex.
The support comes after a public meeting Tuesday, where a number of groups raised concerns over the location and the impact the new hospital will have on the downtown core and Windsor's west end.
Kingsville's Deputy Mayor Gord Queen made a notice of motion at Wednesday's county council meeting, calling it important for the project go forward.
Queen also called the location at County Rd. 42 and the 9th Concession, a "fair location" that'll serve both the city and county. "We want to solidify that in terms of communication with the province as well to let them know that this was a well thought out process and we appreciate the fact that it's not just for today, but it's long range in terms of the future. The location should serve the residents of the County of Essex and the City of Windsor."
AM800 file photo of the proposed location for the new hospital at County Rd 42 and the 9th Concession.
Critics of the new location argue it will leave the downtown core under serviced. But Queen says while the new hospital will be on the outskirts of the city, some services will remain downtown. "The whole package, when county council committed $100-million, was that there would be some services in the downtown core. I think that's what people have lost sight of. It's not just the mega hospital, but it's the services that will be in the downtown core that will remain after the mega hospital is built."
Queen says the county is looking for the same endorsement from the city and province. "County council is committed and we're just asking the City of Windsor to acknowledge the fact that we want to move forward with the project. We don't want this put on the back burner. So we have filed a notice of motion which means it will come up for discussion at the next meeting of county council and our intention is basically to communicate that to the province."