The mayor of West Grey says reopening the debate on the future of Grey Gables in Markdale would set back the push for efficient long-term care facilities in Grey County.
Kevin Eccles, along with a majority of county councillors, voted against reconsidering a plan already in place to close Grey Gables in Markdale and amalgamate it with a new facility to replace Rockwood Terrace in Durham.
Two weeks ago, a new plan to add 28 beds to Rockwood Terrace in Durham and keep the 66-bed Grey Gables facility in Markdale was brought to the table, however, that idea fell by a weighted 52-38 vote at Thursday's meeting.
Eccles says he didn't see the advantage of reopening the debate and going back to square one.
"A lot of dreams and fantasies in my estimation in where it came from and not enough facts to be able to give us an absolute certainty, that is we open this back up again that we would have anything in place by 2025," says Eccles.
According to Grey County Director of Long Term Care Lynne Johnson, beds at Rockwood currently cost Grey County around $12,700 per bed annually. That number would shrink to approximately $1,500 per bed at this proposed 128-bed facility in Durham. The exact cost per bed at an amalgamated 166-bed facility in Durham is not currently known.
In a letter to CKNX, Ontario Public Service Employees Union Vice President Eddy Almeida says this is an outrageous decision, and the Union will continue to fight it.
The whole issue is complicated by the coming provincial election as well as municipal elections in the fall.