Residents Protest to Demolish Old Grace Hospital City Auditor General
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Turn To page 2 Turn To on page 12 Turn To page 6 Date for the Windsor Aquatic Centre annouced LaSalle Vipers win big during overtime Where will Windsor International Film Festival go? Volume Vii i SSue X www .ConVergedCiTizen .Com February 7, 2012 e H T CONVERGED CITIZEN a S T. C lair College STudenT JournaliSm publiCaTion Residents protest to demolish old Grace Hospital City sells woodlot Jason Viau Citizen Staff Reporter to St. Clair for $1 Residents living around the Adam Foran abandoned Grace hospital say Citizen Staff Reporter they are fed up and demand Members of Windsor City the site be demolished. Council have agreed to sell a Windsor city council planned city-owned woodlot to St. to make a decision Feb. 6 on Clair college for $1. whether to demolish or board The lot, located between up the former hospital. But Talbot Road and the college’s since asbestos may exist, main campus, covers 37 acres council is waiting for the and is classified as a natural Ministry of Labour’s test heritage site by the Essex results before they make a Region Conservation move. “It’s the biggest ugly- Authority. looking mess in the city of According to council, St. Windsor,” said Mark Dana, Clair is interested in the lot not who lives nearby and organ - only because it is adjacent to ized a protest with other resi - the main campus, but because dents on Feb. 3. “As far as it presents an opportunity to we’re concerned the building expand their horticultural is beyond repair. It’s time to studies. The woodlot is cur - take it down. I think that it Photo by Jessica Brisebois rently undeveloped but coun - Michelle Heroux holds up her sign at the protest of the old Grace Hospital on University Avenue needs to happen now, we can’t cil said there is a possibility on Friday, Feb. 3 wait.” for trails to be constructed. Dozens of neighbours chant - when he walks past the the site have witnessed plum - profit from his investment. In Council initially planned to ed for demolition and held up derelict property. meting property values 1999 he paid $97,000 for his sell the woodlot to St. Clair signs to passing motorists on “The city has been left in a because of the tarnished image home. After renovations Dana but councilors said they were the steps of the boarded-up terrible position but the com - of the neighbourhood. had it appraised for up to concerned about relinquishing entrance. Windsor-West MP munity and the neighbourhood Dana, who has been living $130,000 and said it’s now control over the protection of Brian Masse, who lives nearby is in an unacceptable situa - near Grace for 13 years with worth 34 per cent less. the site. Coun. Drew Dilkens and attended the protest, said a tion,” Masse said. his wife and 12-year-old - “Now if you were try to go said he was uncomfortable strong stench lingers in the air Many residents living around daughter, said he isn’t going to ConTinued on page 3 selling the lot to the college. “This is a fairly significant woodlot in ward one and when there’s an option to maintain City Auditor General gets terminated this woodlot and to allow St. Samantha Reaume tives in his reports. Clair to achieve their objec - Citizen Staff Reporter “It’s always cheaper to do tives, we should take it,” said things in-house,” said Dilkens. Windsor’s auditor general is Langlois’s lawyer Jim Cooke, Mayor Eddie Francis moving on from the position backing his client’s claim that explained that council had two after nine months on the job, outsourcing would cost three requirements for the purchas - following his termination Jan. times more. However, Mayor er. The first is that the woodlot 31. Eddie Francis said until the remain a woodlot. The second Todd Langlois was fired private sector responds to a was that it not be acquired and from the position following a request for proposal there is then sold for other uses. To complaint made about his con - no way to know for sure. accomplish this, legal council duct in the workplace and Langlois had planned to audit advised the implementation of alleged refusal to outsource Enwin Utilities, categorizing it a restrictive covenant to pre - his office. At a press confer - as a “high dollar amount,” but vent St. Clair from selling it Photo by Samantha Reaume ence Feb. 3 Langlois disputed said he was told repeatedly by and a conservation easement City CAO Helga Reidel, left, and Mayor Eddie Francis hold a these claims, saying he was Francis that it was “not within to regulate what could be done press conference at City Hall on Feb. 3. The city is defending its fully willing to outsource the his scope of responsibilities.” with the woodlot. decision to fire fomer audior general, Todd Langlois, Jan. 31. office, but provided alterna - ConTinued on page 3 ConTinued on page 2 CONVERGED CITIZEN February 7, 2012 NEWS page 2 Opening date announced for Aquatic Centre choosing the best design since project could be better spent Windsor City Council on repairing deficient roads, approved the project on Dec. controlling widespread flood - 15. ing in the city and changing “It’s a very aggressive sched - the city’s bicycle path net - ule and the consultants and the work, which he said is of low general contractor ... have standard compared to other been working on plans,” cities. Sadler said. “We’ve been Halbertstadt said he was working on the pool, the big against the project from the auditorium, the competition beginning because it calls for pool layout and that type of the repurposing of the thing with the supplier of that Windsor Water World and pool.” Adie Knox facilities. He said Funding for the $77.6 mil - children from low-income lion project will be shared by families in the area use Water the Province of Ontario and World and Adie Knox is used the City of Windsor, with the by members of a nearby province donating $15 million senior’s residence. and the city in charge of pay - “What it’s going to do is ing the rest of the bill. Sadler close down a neighbourhood said he wants all of the details beacon in Water World and on the centre sorted out before Adie Knox,” Halberstadt said. construction begins at the now “I don’t think the neighbour - unused parking lot at Church hood's wishes are going to be Street and Chatham Street respected as they should be.” Photo by Tom Morrison West. Sadler said the repurposing Don Sadler, project manager for the Aquatic Centre, points to the centre’s plans in his office on “There’s no sense digging a of these facilities will not hap - Jan. 27. great big hole,” said Sadler. pen until the aquatic centre is “You only have to dig what operational “so that no one is Tom Morrison February, according to the venture in charge of designing you have to dig.” out any body of water.” Citizen Staff Reporter project’s manager. the aquatic centre will sign the When council approved the The facility is projected to Representatives from the contract for the project soon, project in December, Coun. open by June 15, 2013, about a Construction on the Family City of Windsor and the said project manager Don Alan Halberstadt registered month before Windsor hosts Aquatic Complex is expected EllisDon Corporation/DeAng- Sadler. He said everyone the only vote against it. the International Children’s to begin by the end of elis Construction Inc. joint involved has been working on He said the money for this Games. Tuition rebates now available Jason Viau Citizen Staff Reporter Eligible post-secondary stu - dents will reap the benefit of a 30 per cent tuition rebate. The Liberal Party of Ontario is putting $423 million back into the pockets of over 300,000 undergraduate stu - dents. The Ontario Tuition Grant, which kicked off Jan. 5, allows university students to receive $1,600 and college Photo by Betty Gudel Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities speaks to a scholars to collect $730 each year. crowd of students and people in the community at the University “I think it’s a step in the right of Windsor on Feb. 2. direction. By no means is it omitted from the rebate. invoices and the colleges perfect, but hopefully with Students must also be recouping that money for the time it will get better and bet - enrolled in a full-time under - ministry,” France said. ter,” said Matt Caron, St. Clair graduate program to qualify. The 30 per cent rebate is College Student “I’m hearing a little bit of based on the average tuition Representative Council presi - feedback regarding the eligi - cost in the province. Fixed dent. “I think that with this 30 bility (about having) to be tuition is something Caron per cent reduction in tuition graduated from high school supports. it’s starting to get more afford - within four years. Some disap - “A tuition freeze would be able. Everybody would like pointment with respect to that nice. That way our tuition free tuition, but there is value criteria, but in general people doesn’t continue to increase,” ConTinued From page 1 opt for a lease. to your education.” are very very happy,” said Caron said. Coun. Hilary Payne expressed “I believe in the lease. I However, not all students are Patti France, St. Clair College Students receiving Ontario his concern over the sale say - believe in protecting the land.