Predictions for 2024 –  Opinion

Judging by my previous efforts. I’m not very good at predicting what will happen in the next year but it’s fun to do, so why not?  But first, how did I do last year? Out of 12 Town predictions, I got 9 right.  Notable misses were that I thought the harbour would get repaired (wrong!) and the web site would get fixed (ever hopeful). Of 6 predictions on the economy, I got 3 wrong – no Cannabis stores closed in Cobourg (although one failed to open), inflation improved and there was no recession.  For 2024, once again I predict no action on the Harbour, Sidbrook, the Park Theatre, the Tannery or Downtown vitalization. There will be some action at Brookside but probably… Read complete articlePredictions for 2024 –  Opinion

Most Discussed Subjects in 2023

It’s a no brainer that the single most talked about subject in Cobourg this year was homelessness and the encampment. That’s also the message provided by the number of comments on posts.  But what came second and third?  Reader interest seems to put Council issues (Budget, Governance, Strategic Plan, remuneration of councillors) second and Police/Crime third. Cobourg residents also do care about public transport and the environment – but they have little to add to my reports on Entertainment. Maybe that’s good given that many comments are negative.  I should note that my numbers are biased since I have a strong focus on Council meetings so subjects discussed there dominate. This is not a scientific survey!  Overall, there were 118… Read complete articleMost Discussed Subjects in 2023

Town Announces Situation on Homeless Camps

On August 9, the Town removed a tent that had been erected in Victoria Park but did not immediately act on several tents on the West Beach.  Councillors received multiple complaints about these and in Today’s Northumberland, Pete Fisher reported the details on one couple living there (see Resources).  However, the Town has now reported that “Officers found that the encampment is in violation of the current Parks By-law, Nuisance By-law and Trespass to Property Act.”  But before acting, Council met on Friday in a special closed Session emergency meeting to consider legal advice – in particular to consider a recent ruling of the Ontario Superior Court in the Waterloo decision which dictates that “unless and until encampment residents are… Read complete articleTown Announces Situation on Homeless Camps

Poppy Crosswalk for Cobourg?

In October 2021, Cobourg created a “seven feathers crosswalk” to remember indigenous “truth and reconciliation”; in June 2019, Cobourg celebrated Gay pride with a Rainbow crosswalk; and at the next Committee of the Whole Council meeting, Adam Bureau will move to create a third one – a poppy crosswalk – to honour veterans.  Adam does not specify exactly what it would look like but other municipalities have already created one so we can look at them for an indication. Adam does not say whether he has talked to the Legion about the idea – it’s possible they may not like the idea of people walking on poppies – not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.  See links below on the… Read complete articlePoppy Crosswalk for Cobourg?

Community Grants Policy

The Policy for Community Grants was set some time ago – see Resources below – but at the budget meetings in February 2023, Council passed a motion to review the Policy to at least make the process more efficient and possibly do away with community grants altogether. Specifically, a motion was passed directing staff to explore options and report back by June 2023. If you look at the video of the Feb 9 meeting, this motion is passed at around the 1:17 mark but it’s not recorded in the minutes. I reported this motion and the list of approved grants in a Post on February 10 titled “Last Year for Community Grants?”. Applications for the 2024 grants are now being… Read complete articleCommunity Grants Policy

Province to Provide Additional Funding for Housing

On Friday, MPP David Piccini announced that the Province would provide Northumberland County with an additional $2M towards their Homelessness Prevention Program.  Mayor Lucas Cleveland and all Cobourg Councillors were at the announcement as were representatives from County staff and other County Townships.  Police Chief VandeGraaf was also in attendance.  David Piccini and Warden Mandy Martin were the only speakers. David said that the increased funding would help end the housing supply crisis and help end homelessness and that the Province remains a committed Partner. Mandy expressed her gratitude to the Province – she said that the investment comes at a critical time and she looks forward to continuing cooperation from all levels of Government.  Mandy spoke about the County’s… Read complete articleProvince to Provide Additional Funding for Housing

Public Input Wanted on CDCI West Playing Field

The other contentious item considered at Monday’s CoW Council Meeting was what to do with the now dormant land that used to be the CDCI West playing field. As reported in an earlier post, staff offered two options: A) keep as a park or B) mixed park and affordable housing. Discussion started when Councillor Burchat suggested a partnership with the County on the affordable housing aspect but Councillors seemed unsure about what the public wanted. Mayor Cleveland added a third option when he said that Williams Academy offered to buy the property for use as a football park for their school now occupying the old CDCI West building. It was also not agreed that the Town of Cobourg’s definition of… Read complete articlePublic Input Wanted on CDCI West Playing Field

Sleeping Cabins – update

At Cobourg Council’s Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on Tuesday 21 February, there were seven delegations about the proposal to put “Sleeping Cabins” in the parking lot of the Memorial Arena on Furnace Street.  Six were in favour and one presented a petition of 36 nearby residents who were against the idea.  Not all of those in favour were from Cobourg – Rob Horgan was originally from Durham but said he “needed a place to go” and even the representative from the “Northumberland Sleeping Cabin Collective” (NSCC), Alastair McKeating, was from Port Hope.  Several people spoke emotionally about how homelessness was bad and in fact was a crisis.  They were short on what to do about the crisis other… Read complete articleSleeping Cabins – update

Affordable and Rental CIP for 2022

In the summer of 2022, applications were opened for Cobourg’s Community Improvement Plan which is intended to “help stimulate the provision of affordable and rental housing in the community”.  The deadline for applications was 30 September 2022 with the announced budget being $125,000 although unused amounts are carried forward.  At the Committee of the Whole Meeting on 21 February, 2023, the committee reviewing applications will provide their recommendations to Council.  All six applicants are to be approved for a total of $108,627.  Details of the awards (assuming recommendations are approved) are listed below.  The committee also recommends that the same committee members work on the 2023 CIP which is anticipated to be approved in the 2023 budget. (List of Committee members… Read complete articleAffordable and Rental CIP for 2022

More Public Input on Budget

Council held a special meeting on Monday, 23 January, to accept public input on the budget. As well as receiving the report about the online survey per my previous report, there was a presentation by Johnny Percolides wanting a second dog park (at Donegan Park) and presentations from Community groups requesting a grant. The total requested is $87K but unlike previous years, no target total has been announced. Last year’s total was $30K but some previous years were $50K. No decisions were made at Monday’s meeting but there were 14 presentations plus 4 others who did not make a presentation. I sorted the applications based on whether they were new for 2023 and whether they made a presentation. For those… Read complete articleMore Public Input on Budget