Bluewater Health has notified the city that, as of Friday, it is no longer maintaining the former Sarnia General Hospital site.
In a report to council, staff say they're working with the hospital to provide an orderly transition.
Mayor Mike Bradley says the bigger issue is finding a solution for the future of the Mitton St. site.
"It has to happen in a timely manner," says Bradley. "It's not good for the neighbourhood. It's not good for the community. We need to find a way to resolve this and get on with demolition of the building and the recovery of that site into a green field site."
Staff are planning to budget $45,000 in 2017 to cover insurance and maintenance costs; including lawn cutting and snow removal. Most utilities have been turned off.
In May, the Ontario Superior Court Of Justice ruled the city is the owner of the building and is also responsible for legal costs in the case against Bluewater Health.
"To me it's everyone's problem, even though the courts have designated that it is a city building," says Bradley. "We need to find a solution and it's pretty apparent from all of the reports and studies that have been done that the building itself isn't salvageable."
He says there has been some interest in the site.
"The reality is because of the legal issues the city is not in the position, even if they wanted to, to put it up into the market place right now," he says.
The estimated cost of demolition has ranged from $3-million to $8.8-million.
The province has only offered to pay $75,000 towards those costs, although it provided $15-million in demolition funding for a hospital in London and $4-million for a facility in Windsor.
