A motion, which has been a hot discussion topic in the City of Windsor, has been pushed back for two weeks.
The CTS site location, at 101 Wyandotte Street East, was approved by the previous council and is set to open in March, 2023.
Prior to Monday's council meeting, numerous individuals from across Windsor-Essex have expressed their thoughts and input on the site, and whether they think the site should remain where it is and open, or be moved to a new location.
While ward 4 councillor, Mark McKenzie, spoke on AM800's Live and Local with Kyle Horner and said he doesn't support a consumption site at all in Windsor.
During Monday's meeting, Windsor Mayor, Drew Dilkens, announced that a compromise has been made, and that councillor Agostino will present a new notice of motion during the next meeting in two weeks.
Dilkens also said that a meeting will be held with the Health Unit Board during that time to help gather more information for the motion that Agostino is looking to present.
Councillor Renaldo Agostino says he will be the Chair for a new steering committee to pick a new location.
"Essentially what's going to happen here is that we're going to have a new steering committee to pick out an alternative location for the SafePoint CTS, and I will be the Chair of that committee. And, in the meantime, not one single person's life will be at jeopardy and we'll do whatever it takes to get our CTS open."
Councillor Fabio Costante says councillor Agostino will need approval from the Health Unit to inform his new motion.
"So long as we get those approvals from the Health Unit, and we pass the resolution to that effect, that will inform his new notice of motion that'll come to council two weeks from now. You know, there's going to be some details that are going to be worked out in the coming days and weeks, I don't want to speak for everybody on this, but there's certainly been a pathway that's been established to make sure that there's no delay in a CTS site in Windsor."
Agostino says this shows that council will work together to do what's best.
"I think what's most important here is sometimes you have to shake the trees to see where the leaves fall, and that's what I want my role to be on city council. But, I also want to make it clear that this is a prime example of how the next four years, this city council is going to work together to do what's best for the people in the city."
Costante says if there's room to compromise, council should always try to do so.
"We're a big family, whether it's council, whether it's our community. And there's going to be times where families will disagree on things, but we should always try to figure out solutions and ways to compromise because we're all coming from different perspectives, different ideas, different environments. It's always important that if there's room to compromise, and it requires everyone to bend, but if there's opportunities to do that, we should always take that approach."
Agostino adds how he put his reputation on the line putting this motion forward.
"I put my reputation on the line for this. I knew exactly what this could've done to me, and I saw what the accusations that people were throwing out there about me, but I'm not your typical politician. I never said I was. But, I am a person that knows how to get things done and I think I got a good thing done for downtown, and I got a great thing done for Windsor."
Costante says he gives councillor Agostino a lot of credit.
"I want to give him credit. I want to give him a lot of credit for consulting with a lot of residents, all residents that had shared their opinions on his motion, and for his ability to listen and the leadership that he certainly displayed. I want to give him credit for that, and it's very well deserved."
Windsor Council will meet on February 13 starting at 4 p.m.
A date for the Health Unit Board to meet has yet to be set at this time.