An ORNGE Air Ambulance on the heli-pad at Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest. (Photo by Ryan Drury)An ORNGE Air Ambulance on the heli-pad at Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest. (Photo by Ryan Drury)
Sarnia

Bluewater Health helipad funding included in 2021 county budget

Lambton County has set a 2021 budget that raises property taxes by less than two per cent.

The $240 million budget was approved by councillors in just under two hours Wednesday morning with no cuts being made. 

About $82 million is to be raised through taxes, a 1.75 per cent increase in the county portion of the property tax bill, after assessment growth is factored in.

Warden Kevin Marriott said they're funding up to 50 per cent of the capital cost of a helipad at Bluewater Health's Sarnia site.

"I believe Bluewater Health, even though they set the total cost of the helipad at $800,000, it is an estimate," said Marriott. "I believe they actually were hoping for us to be somewhere in the $300,000 to $400,000 range."

He said the hospital's overall request for $10 million over 10 years for capital projects was deferred, for a second year, to 2022.

"The main thing is, to see how the financial situation is due to all the uncertainty around COVID. So, it will be looked at in 2022 and further to the motion was to look at it on an annual basis, versus the 10-year commitment."

The estimated $1.8 million cost to implement a roundabout at Kimball Road and Petrolia Line was also put off to next year.

"It was deferred for a couple reasons," said Warden Marriott. "They (council) wanted to look at other alternatives mainly, including overhead lights, to make it safer."

Council agreed to direct $100,000 in capital spending from reserves toward the purchase of new furnishings, fixtures and equipment, cabling infrastructure, signage, security gates, shelving and moving expenses associated with the proposed relocation of the Mallroad Library.

County staff were also directed to start planning for the complete redevelopment of Lambton Meadowview Villa in Petrolia.

"The motion was to start doing the reports and research to see how we could move this up from somewhere down the road of five to ten years, to 2023 if it was possible, but we have to find out if the province is willing to step up with funding before we would go any further."

An application has already been submitted to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for a 10-bed dementia house.

The long-term care home, built in 1993, does not meet new design standards in Ontario and the age and size of the structure has resulted in increased costs to ensure it's safe.

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