Essex County council discussed and debated the Isolation and Recovery Centre, and which level of government should apply to the federal government to operate it for the coming year, but a decision was put off.
Windsor City Council approved a recommendation from administration back in February to withdraw from operating the IRC effective June 20, 2022, if not sooner.
County administration relayed that there could be some resolution to the ongoing operation of the IRC soon, and requested to give staff time to further that discussion and report back with a firm recommendation at the next council meeting.
Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, who moved the original motion, wasn't happy about the decision to take extra time but ended up supporting it after a discussion.
"I will not quietly sit back and have us give up on this IRC, I will put this as plain as I possibly can. The Health Unit is also suggesting that we need to continue this, I will begrudgingly agree to two weeks, but it's not something I'm particularly pleased about," she stated.
MacDonald was adamant on moving sooner because she had received a City of Windsor report that outlined the partnerships, staffing and that the funding will come from the federal government.
"They have basically written a manual on guidelines, policies, procedures and processes," she continued. "So it isn't like anyone has to reinvent any kind of a wheel, it's just a matter of some oversight from the county."
County Warden Gary McNamara says he's spoken to many of the partners involved, and they're still committed to the IRC for the near future.
"It will still be in the City of Windsor, and the hotel operators agreed to maintain the 110 rooms to support the centre moving forward beyond the date. I know EMS are still involved, the Health Unit are still committed to the centre, and all the other partners make sure they're fed, taken care of and so forth."
A full report and a recommendation will be presented to Essex County council at their next meeting on April 6.