City council is being asked if they still want to move forward with a capital project in Windsor's west end considering the tariffs being imposed as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada.
A report going to the April 28 meeting will ask if the council wants to proceed with awarding the construction contract to Fortis, which submitted the lowest tender of $19,502,000 for the Reimagined Adie Knox Herman Recreation Complex Project.
Administration is asking council to reaffirm support for the project despite concerns over unexpected challenges, tariffs, or inflationary implications that could impact the construction.
Ward 2 Councillor Fabio Costante says the reason Adie Knox is coming forward now is because it's the first project in the queue.
Costante says the good news is that the project is well under budget.
"There was a huge contingency amount that was allocated when this came forward to us the last term of council. There may not even be a reason to dive into that contingency because it's significantly under budget," he says.
In July 2022, council approved the project to redevelop the existing Adie Knox Herman Recreation Complex and Wilson Park parkland to create a community hub that will include building and arena renovations/upgrades, new outdoor amenities in adjacent Wilson Park, along with a new parking lot, landscaping, and lighting.
A deal has also been reached with the University of Windsor to have Adie Knox serve as the home arena for the men's and women's Lancer Hockey teams, with the upgrades including dedicated space and locker rooms for the teams.
Costante says there's a significant amount of risk if you defer this.
"We don't know if any other bids in the future would come up higher; frankly, there's a good likelihood they would," he says. "There's also grant money attached to this from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that we would throw away if we didn't move forward with this project. Lastly, there's a deal with the university in place, and attached to that deal are resources and funding as well."
Costante says he's confident council will move forward with the project.
"I think it's a great project not just for the west side but also for downtown and our inner city. It's a transformational type project that's going to serve a lot of residents and families all throughout," he says.
Council meets Monday, April 28, at 10 a.m. at Windsor City Hall.