The mayors of south Niagara have wrapped up the first in a series of meetings to choose a site for a new local hospital.

The mayors of Niagara Falls, Welland, Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Pelham & Wainfleet piled into Regional Chair Gary Burroughs' office Friday morning to start the process.

Niagara Health System Supervisor Dr Kevin Smith has charged the mayors with picking a spot for a new south Niagara hospital & a stand alone urgent care centre.  Chair Burroughs is acting as a kind of facilitator.

Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin tells 610 CKTB News the first meet up was just a general discussion.  The group wants more information from regional planners & Niagara EMS to help with their decision making process.  They hope to have it in hand when the mayors meet up again next Friday morning.

Martin & Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati agree all the mayors were on the same page in the meeting.

Welland mayor Barry Sharpe wouldn't go that far, but says they all understand the importance of the decision at hand.