Essex County is supporting a $200-million dollar levy, which will pay for the local portion of the region's hospital system revamp, including a new acute care site.
Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj says they still need to get the City of Windsor on board, but this decision sends a strong message to the province.
"We're saying to the government, 'Let's go. Let's get to stage two. Our community is behind this. Let's move this forward.' We want to get that money released for the next amount of planning, and make this project a reality," says Musyj.
Stage two includes $35-million from the government for planning, creating different designs and getting community feedback.
Musyj and his hospital delegation will come before Windsor city council in February. If the city agrees, it'll be up to the Windsor and Essex County councils to decide how to pay $200-million towards the project. The overall project is expected to cost $2-billion, 90% of which will be covered by the Ontario government.
The first local payment to the province wouldn't be due until three months before moving into the facility, which is about ten years away.
