Although Deb Matthews made no firm commitment, Sarnia Councillor Anne Marie Gillis is pleased with the deputy premier's response to a request for provincial funding to help pay for demolition of the old Sarnia General Hospital site.
Gillis and CAO Margaret Misek-Evans met with Deb Matthews in London Thursday.
"She was very receptive," says Gillis. "She was impressed with the level of community support we have for the Sarnia General Hospital Project by GFIVE."
GFIVE Inc. purchased the property earlier this year and is planning to build a multi-faceted development, which may also include a new Withdrawal Management Centre proposed by Bluewater Health.
"She made no committment at this time but was genuinely looking for a fit for our ask," adds Gillis. "We talked about possible scenarios which would help the project and we left it with her to explore. Overall it was a good meeting and well worth the effort."
As part of the sale, the city committed $5.3-million toward demolition and remediation of the site.
