Grey County Council voted to set an upward spending limit of $92-million for the Rockwood Terrace redevelopment project.
Citing inflationary pressures and high interest rates as a reason the forecasted costs have gone up, county staff originally recommended that council borrow $108-million from Infrastructure Ontario to be repaid over 25 years, but the motion was amended after a closed session discussion on March 23.
At a March 21 redevelopment task force meeting, Councilor Scott Mackey said he wasn't in favour of taking on that much debt, with the committee voting to defer the matter to its regular meeting.
"It's such a big moment for all of Grey County, we need to get it right and that means having all of the information and all of council hearing that information," Mackey said during the March 21 meeting. "But I'm not in support of putting the county on the hook for a $108-million loan right now."
Staff will now return to Colliers Project Leaders to adjust the project scope of the new 128-bed facility to meet council's budget limit.
The redevelopment project is slated to begin later this year and should conclude by summer of 2026.
