Windsor council presses pause on Riverfront Festival Plaza canopy decision for now

Windsor city council has held off making a decision on a project that's being boosted by the mayor a $32.5-millionupgrade to the Riverfront Festival Plaza that includes a large canopy.

Following the passing of a motion todefer thedecision on Monday,Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said he thinks the project will be referred back to council sooner than later.

In an interview with CBC Radio's Windsor Morning the day after the meeting, Dilkens suggested that the vote wasn't a referendum on the project as a whole, because it still would need budgetary approval regardless,but a starting point for the conversation.

"Obviously it has a high price, but you haveto give council and the public something to look at in order to start the conversation, so that's what yesterdaywas about," Dilkenssaidon Tuesday.

At Monday's meeting, the motion before council askedthem toendorse an architect's design and refer the project to next year's capital budget.

Instead,Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac requested that councilrefer the plaza proposal, along with theCelestial Beacon streetcar project, back to city administration. Itnarrowly passed in a six-to-fivevote.

The deferral wasto allow for a detailed report on how both projects could be linked to the new city promenade.

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Council voted to commissionan architectto prepareplans for the Riverfront Festival Plazaback in 2018, Dilkens said.

The canopy is intended to enhance the riverfront area byprovidingrelief from what Dilkens called anasphalt"heat island" next to the stage.The canopy would have acapacity of5,000 people.

Overall, the plan to revitalize thearea will cost an estimated$32.5 million, with the canopy itself coming in at $13.5 million.

In the interview on Tuesday, Dilkens defended his support for such projects, which critics say fall outside ofcore municipal responsibilities like roads and sewers.

While defending his record on taxes and thebudget, Dilkenssaidevery mayor should want their city to have the best.

"I'm going to push for the best and I want Windsor to shine," Dilkens said.

He said it's a "false narrative" to suggest the city isn't also focused on the basics and pointed to its $1.6-billion, 10-year-infrastructure plan and spending on affordable housing and alleviating homelessness.