John Draper – Page 32 – Cobourg News Blog

County Debates Affordable Housing

22 July 202210 August 2022 John Draper

Cobourg Council recently seemed to catch on that homelessness and affordable housing are a County responsibility. One action that came out of the recent Special Council Meeting on homelessness was that two councillors (Nicole Beatty and Aaron Burchat) would make a presentation to the relevant County Committee and then to the full County Council. This happened at the County Council meeting on July 20. The County does not record their meetings and I did not watch it live, however, you can see the Agenda item (see resources below). Also, 93.3 News reported that in response to a suggestion to use existing buildings, “Deputy Warden Mandy Martin pointed out that the buildings were abandoned for good reason – often because making… Read complete articleCounty Debates Affordable Housing

Town Experiencing Staff Shortage

20 July 202221 July 2022 John Draper

It’s not just businesses that are short of staff and experiencing high turnover, it’s also the Town of Cobourg. Looking at the Town’s web site Job Opportunities page, there are four management positions and six temporary or part-time positions. In addition, at Monday’s Council meeting, Planning Coordinator Councillor Nicole Beatty, announced that 3 planning staff are leaving – including Dave Johnson (Planner 1, Heritage). Two of the Management positions stand-out: Dan Taylor was only recently recruited as the Manager of Economic Development but he has left and a replacement is being recruited. The Manager of Planning is described as two possible jobs: either “Development Review” or “Long-Range Planning” – both are needed. The current manager of Planning, Rob Franklin, has… Read complete articleTown Experiencing Staff Shortage

Cobourg Confirms Urban Status

17 July 202215 July 2022 John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on June 20, Aliyyah Phady made a delegation to Council asking that she be allowed to continue keeping 3 Miniature Bantam chickens in her back yard at 304 Tweed Street despite the Town’s By-Laws prohibiting this. She said the 7 year old chickens had only a little time left to live. Staff has already extended the time to comply by 30 days. Council asked staff to report and provide options and this was done at the CoW meeting on July 11. Option 1 was to give a further extension, Option 2 was to change the By-Law to allow chickens and Option 3 was the status quo. Also at the same July 11… Read complete articleCobourg Confirms Urban Status

Fire Damage to 93 Albert Required it to be Demolished

16 July 202216 July 2022 John Draper

On Friday July 15, there were two fires in Cobourg in houses up for sale (see reports by Today’s Northumberland in Resources below). One was at 93 Albert whose owners were recently before Council asking for permission to demolish. Staff had recommended demolition but some councillors (led by Emily Chorley and Nicole Beatty) felt that the building should be preserved for its heritage value and that it was simply a matter that it was not economic. The building had been abandoned since 2000 so it was described as being demolished by neglect – but Emily and Nicole were determined that the owners would not get away with this (even though the current owners only recently acquired the property). Mayor John… Read complete articleFire Damage to 93 Albert Required it to be Demolished

Northam Industrial Park – Status Q1, 2022

15 July 202213 July 2022 John Draper

In March 2003, when the Mayor was Peter Delanty, the Town of Cobourg purchased Northam Industrial park with a loan (mortgage). In March 2018, the full amount of $13,330,027 of this loan was repaid. Over the period to date, the revenue earned has contributed to the Town’s operating and Capital Budgets – details below. Each quarter, treasurer Ian Davey provides a report on the finances and the Q1 2022 report was provided at the CoW meeting on July 11. Included in that report was some financial information not usually provided: the total contribution from the Park to the Town’s finances. Some people have said that the Town should be run like a business and it’s clear that this is already… Read complete articleNortham Industrial Park – Status Q1, 2022

Covid-19 Update – July 2022

13 July 202217 July 2022 John Draper

Life seems almost back to normal but it’s not quite – Covid is still with us. At a media briefing today, Dr. Natalie Bocking of the HKPR Health Unit provided an update. We are now in a seventh wave or a third Omicron wave – caused by the BA-5 variant. As usually the case with new variants, it’s more infectious and more easily transmissible but does not cause worse symptoms. Cases in our area are not (yet) at previous levels but we need to be cautious – especially if susceptible such as older or with an immune condition. Dr. Bocking recommends vaccination protection, staying home if sick (at all), avoiding large indoor gatherings and use rapid testing to check. However,… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update – July 2022

Queensview Development to Continue

12 July 202212 July 2022 John Draper

In 2018, Council agreed to a deal where the parking lot at 36 Queen (opposite the Post Office) would be sold to a developer who would then build Condos that included public parking spaces as well as spaces for residents. The original deal allowed the public parking spaces to be charged at a rate no more than twice Town rates. The 5 storey condos would be “high end” with a roof top garden – see the presentation by the developer in resources below. The time frame for this project expired due to Covid as well as planning department delays but the developer continued work on it. At Monday’s Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting, Council agreed to an extension (which… Read complete articleQueensview Development to Continue

Council asked to approve increases to Staff wages

9 July 202211 July 2022 John Draper

The collective bargaining agreements between the Town of Cobourg and CUPE expired on December 31, 2021 and new agreements were reached on the 2nd of June 2022. The agreement is for a 9% increase spread over 3 years at 3% per year with an effective date of January 1, 2022. In addition benefits will go up 2%. Council have no doubt been discussing this in their many closed door sessions so this will not be news. I expect that they will therefore approve the increases at their CoW Council meeting on July 11. In addition, non-union wages will increase by the same amount “to ensure that internal equity is maintained across positions and workgroups”. The financial impact is significant but… Read complete articleCouncil asked to approve increases to Staff wages