Bracebridge councillors received a closer look at three potential sites for a new hospital in Bracebridge this morning, as well as news that a fourth site might be in the mix.
Tuesday members of Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC) and Urban Strategies Inc, attended Bracebridge General Committee to discuss site selection to replace the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital.
The delegation outlined selection criteria for the new sites, and some specifics of those locations.
The first site is a 45-acre Fowler Construction property with frontage along Highway 11 (but no access currently). The idea is to create access from Pine Street, and potentially access from Depot Drive.
The second site is known locally as the Muskoka Royale property. The property consists of 201 acres with frontage along Ecclestone Drive and Muskoka Beach Road.
The third property is on Highway 118 and consists of 79 acres with frontage along 118 W. The site is bisected by Beaver Creek and has potential access from Salmon Avenue and the subdivision to the south.
Eric Turcotte of Urban Strategies told councillors that a fourth potential site was also identified yesterday. Turcotte didn’t provide any specifics on the fourth site, except to say that they had only received word in the past 12 hours and hadn’t yet had time to do the proper research on its viability.
Council had several questions and concerns for the delegation.
Coun. Debbie Vernon questioned whether there were concerns with the Muskoka Royale location in terms of Muskoka Airport traffic and helipad use at the hospital.
Turcotte said they were seeking a meeting with the Airport, but if flight paths conflicted with the hospital helicopter traffic the site would likely be disqualified.
Coun. Vernon also questioned whether they had taken into consideration the number of trees that might need to be removed to build a hospital.
Turcotte said that was a part of the formal process and that the land would be cleared in an environmentally sensitive way. He also mentioned the possibility of building using wood for the construction of the hospital – something which has been done in other parts of Canada.
Coun. Don Smith questioned how much thought has gone into which areas of the community were expected to see the most growth in coming years. He was told that information has yet to be calculated.
“Without that demographic and population information, it’s pretty difficult to understand,” said Smith. “That’s a key piece of information the community should have.”
Turcotte said they will gather that information and have it for the next round of open houses.
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