The process for the SafePoint consumption and treatment service site will continue to move forward without interruption, following a pair of votes at City Council on Monday evening.
At the last meeting of council, Ward 6 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac requested that administration bring forward information to look at factors related to the financial implications, obligations, and risks associated with the opening of the CTS site without provincial funding secured.
On Monday, Gignac asked that council accept the recommendation from the Windsor Essex County Health Unit board from February 3, save and except for the financial portion.
It was defeated by a vote of 7-4, with councillors Fred Francis, Angelo Marignani, Renaldo Agostino, Gary Kaschak, Kieran McKenzie and Fabio Costante against and Mayor Drew Dilkens and councillors Gignac, Ed Sleiman, and Mark McKenzie in favour.
Following that, councillor Costante put forward a motion that council reaffirm its endorsement of 101 Wyandotte Street East based on the resolution based by the Health Unit on February 3.
It passed by a vote of 7-4.
Francis took time during the debate to acknowledge that the concerns over the funding were fair, but he was comfortable supporting the agreement reached earlier in February.
"So if we're assuming to get provincial funding August, July, end of summer, and we're able to operate this facility in March until then with no added ask budget wise to the Windsor taxpayers from the Health Unit, in my opinion that's a risk mitigated," he said.
Gignac says she supports the need for a CTS and that the location issue has been dealt with, but wanted to voice her financial concerns given other potential shortfalls facing the city.
"These are things that aren't popular to discuss, they aren't popular to take a stand on, but we just finished up a week of budget negotiations looking at the landscape for our residents in terms of municipal responsibilities," she continued. "You know, there's a big elephant in the room."
Costante says council deals with spheres of risks all the time in making decisions and by not disrupting the current process that will lead to lives being saved.
"I'm very comfortable with where we're at, I'm very comfortable with moving forward, I think the risk is greatly mitigated and this is a service in our community that I think frankly should already be here so I'm looking forward to moving forward together."
Mayor Dilkens believes council was sold a different funding model when it was originally presented, and that's why he supported Gignac's motion and not Costante's.
"And so this changes the agreement, this changes what was sold to city council in terms of the funding model. I think it is a slippery slope and certainly creates a dangerous precedent with respect to funding from the Health Unit."
Kieran McKenzie says even if the province wasn't going to eventually come through with funding, he'd still vote to support the service because of how needed it is to deal with the opioid crisis in the community.
"This service is too vital for us to delay. Today sets us back on the path where we'll be able to deliver this service within the anticipated timeline. I'm delighted that we've gottten here, certainly I have my own concerns with respect to why we're in this position and how we got here as well, but I think we're landing in a good place," he said.
Agostino says he's heard a lot about risk during his short tenure on council so far, but whenever he hears the term risk it also comes with the word reward.
"That's the world I come from, what's the risk and what's the reward. And the reward on this is saving lives, you know, and when you look at the opportunities that we have here to figure this out it takes faith."
The Health Unit has spent more than $775,000 on SafePoint in capital and operating expenses according to council documents, with more than $550,000 of that coming from the Ministry of Health’s mandatory program funding.
If final provincial funding is not secured by July, Windsor will be obligated to pay $34,000 each month until approval comes through. By the end of the year, Windsor will have to pay just over $170,000 to keep the facility open.
Provincial government approval for the Safepoint location is expected by mid-summer, based on the health unit being eight months into the typically year long process.