Author: John Draper

Three New Surveys Issued

John Draper

Cobourg recently lost the Communications Manager Ashley Purdy but without any announcement, we now have a new one: Kara Euale.  Kara is not new to the Town, she was previously in the Community Services Division looking after Marketing and Events but has now been appointed to the Communications position.  Although she has had her name on earlier announcements, she has now got our attention with three surveys: “What’s Next for the Memorial Arena?” and “Potential Affordable Housing Sites Survey” and Phase 2 on the ICSP.   The first two are getting a lot of attention by Council and both open up cans of worms with no simple answers so there will no doubt be a wide range of opinions for both.  … Read complete articleThree New Surveys Issued

The Cobourg Loft to Close

John Draper

Today Ken Prue announced that his unique venue, the Cobourg Loft, is to close on 30 October 2022. This is because the new owners of the building have decided to convert the space to residential apartments. The building was sold a few months ago and it has been business as usual since then. Ken has operated the Loft for 8 years and it has gained a reputation as Cobourg’s home of exceptional quality film and occasional live music performances.  Ken hopes to continue to present live music at Victoria Hall and wants to reassure everyone that the Loft will be fully operational right up to the end.  His announcement came as the footnote to a regular newsletter and is worth… Read complete articleThe Cobourg Loft to Close

Provincial Election Campaign Has Started

John Draper

Last night the Liberal Candidate, Jeff Kawzenuk, had a grand opening of his campaign office at the top end of Division Street (901) and on Saturday the Conservative Candidate and incumbent, David Piccini, will be opening his campaign office at the other end of Division Street (239). In addition, late Wednesday, the Green Party announced their Candidate, Lisa Francis.  The NDP have not yet announced a candidate but say they are working on it.  But in this election there are at least three other parties vying for our vote – one of these, the New Blue Party has also announced a Candidate, Joshua Chalhoub.  I’ll leave speculation on who’ll win etc to readers of this blog although I have collected… Read complete articleProvincial Election Campaign Has Started

Cobourg’s Earth Day – 2022

John Draper

Earth Day was April 22 but Cobourg celebrated it at its Ecology Garden on April 23.  A ceremony attended by around 80 people brought together a diverse group of people who felt a spiritual connection to the Earth.  First to make a statement were indigenous people but also represented were Christians, a Jewish representative and an interfaith group covering probably all religions. I did not hear the word “God” mentioned but instead “creator” – no one seemed offended.  Young children (from the S.O.N.G. group) participated with a couple of songs and Council was represented by Mayor John Henderson and Councillor Adam Bureau.  After the initial “song”, the indigenous representative (Susan Siwick) allowed all present to participate in a ritual smudging… Read complete articleCobourg’s Earth Day – 2022

Cobourg Planning Department Calls New Rules Unfair

John Draper

On March 30, the Ford Government introduced Bill 109 to reform the processes governing municipal approvals of new housing.  Comments were requested with a deadline of April 29 – however, the bill was fast-tracked through Parliament and received Royal assent on April 14.  But Cobourg’s Director of Planning, Anne Taylor Scott, was not happy with some of the changes and submitted a report to Council at Monday’s Committee of the Whole with the intent of meeting the April 29 comment deadline.  There are two main concerns: 1) late approvals will mean fees charged to applicants must be refunded (details below) and 2) the Provincial Minister will get more power to over-rule decisions by the Town.  Councillors were also concerned that… Read complete articleCobourg Planning Department Calls New Rules Unfair

GO Bus Coming to Cobourg

John Draper

For almost two decades, Cobourg and Port Hope residents have been asking for GO Transit to extend their service to Cobourg.  Up until recently, Metrolinx has said that there is not a business case even though they only want 20% of costs covered since Transit is generally subsidized.  The biggest potential number of riders would be by workers commuting to Toronto – these have often gone by VIA but currently VIA has no trains at times suitable for commuting (see Resources below).  But today, MPP David Piccini announced that starting in July, 2022, there will be an on-demand GO bus service connecting all of Northumberland.  The Bus will be “On-Demand” and not a fixed route and will connect to the… Read complete articleGO Bus Coming to Cobourg

Update on Program to Mitigate Marina Pollution

John Draper

Many of the big news items these days are about the Environment: electric cars, energy issues, unusual weather, climate change and pollution.  Enough people in the Town spoke up about this that the Town declared a Climate Emergency and established an advisory Committee.  Major projects are under way to decide what Cobourg can do on this issue but meanwhile action was taken on an issue mentioned less often: Pollution.  One pollution issue of particular concern is plastic waste in water bodies such as Oceans and Lake Ontario.  In October 2020, in conjunction with “Pollution Probe”, Cobourg installed a Seabin (and some LittaTraps) – see report in Links below.  And it’s still in operation!  At the next CoW meeting on 19… Read complete articleUpdate on Program to Mitigate Marina Pollution

Food Trucks planned to replace Canteen in 2022

John Draper

One of the changes planned for Cobourg’s Victoria Park Beach is to “re-purpose” the Canteen/ Washroom building by closing the Canteen and expanding the washrooms.  For many years, the canteen was run by the same contractor but then in 2018 and 2019, the owners of Market and Smor had a try at providing the service.  They wanted to offer healthy food – but that did not fly (it appears).  They also had a friend operate a chip truck there. In the end they gave up just as the pandemic arrived.  After the comprehensive review of how to manage the Waterfront, Council decided that instead of a Canteen, food trucks would instead provide the service.  An RFP was issued early 2022… Read complete articleFood Trucks planned to replace Canteen in 2022