Category: News 2018

County Councillors to Get Pay Increase

John Draper

With an election due in October, Cobourg Council recently went through a long process to review Council Salaries but finally decided to reject the Ad Hoc Committee recommendations and approved significant increases.  Now the County is recommending increases too.  They have not appointed a citizen committee but instead Staff are making recommendations at the County Council meeting on July 18 and the increases will be substantial.  Since the county councillors are in fact the Mayors of each of the constituent municipalities, the total salary for Cobourg’s Mayor will be significantly higher in 2019 than in 2018.  Other provisions of the proposed new bylaw include an annual CPI adjustment, an increase in allowed expenses for conferences and an implementation of the… Read complete articleCounty Councillors to Get Pay Increase

Suzanne Séguin running for Deputy Mayor

John Draper

This morning, Cobourg councillor Suzanne Séguin filed her nomination papers as a candidate for Deputy Mayor. There was no public event but she issued a Press Release outlining her campaign commitments and her credentials.  In January 2017, Suzanne was selected to replace Councillor Larry Sherwin who resigned in December 2016 (see post in links below).  In mid 2014, she moved to Cobourg from Prescott where she had served as Mayor and was immediately involved in many Cobourg community organizations.  In addition, Suzanne and her husband Gerry Brown operate Lighthouse Press which recently published a well-received book about Cobourg by Rob Mikel.  As a Councillor, she has been busy on several committees and has made her presence felt with some dissent… Read complete articleSuzanne Séguin running for Deputy Mayor

Busy Day at Victoria Park and Beach

John Draper

Today was another glorious summer day in Cobourg with lots happening at Victoria Park and the Beach.  In the Park, close to 200 cars participated in the Lakeside Antique and Classic Car Show, the Lawn Bowling club were hosting the Ontario Championship national qualifying lawn bowling tournament (also Saturday), the Ontario Volleyball Association had 33 courts active on the beach (continuing from Saturday), the Courtyard Cantina operated for the weekend and there was a good crowd on the beach.  However, the Water Park was not setup and the Lifeguard stations were all still the old styles.   Mysteriously, the Coast Guard moored a “Police, Marine Security” ship offshore – the local Coast Guard said that it’s nothing to do with them… Read complete articleBusy Day at Victoria Park and Beach

Lame Duck Council expected on July 27

John Draper

Cobourg’s Council has a total of seven members and Provincial legislation says that if on nomination day (July 27), fewer than 75% are running for re-election, then it is in a “lame duck” position and restrictions apply as to what it can do.  So far, Gil Brocanier, Debra McCarthy and Forrest Rowden have declared they are not running so there will be a “lame duck” council on July 27.   At the next Council meeting on July 23, it is planned to pass a by-law to delegate the missing authority to CAO Stephen Peacock.  The issue has not previously been as big a concern but the period from Nomination day to election of a new council is longer this time than… Read complete articleLame Duck Council expected on July 27

Downtown Real Estate Update – July 2018

John Draper

With the sale of the old Curling building on Queen and the plans to build Condos there (see link below), I asked myself, what else is for sale in Downtown Cobourg?  Quite a number of buildings are on the market – many with tenants – so in that case, there may not be any visible change when they are sold.  In my survey, the first thing I noticed is that the building at 101 King West, which was the Milestone Boutique, has now changed hands: Milestone moved to Port Hope and a Port Hope business took their place in Cobourg.  The new business is Raw Animal Diet Inc. and they sell raw pet food which they believe is better for… Read complete articleDowntown Real Estate Update – July 2018

Food and Music Festival

John Draper

On Saturday July 7, Cobourg staged yet another successful Festival that attracted citizens and visitors.  It helped that the weather was perfect – a cloudless sky yet not too hot.  It was not quite as big as organizers hoped – 25 food trucks were booked but only 15 showed up – so it only stretched from George to Division with Hibernia to George being left out.  But to judge from the crowds, especially mid-afternoon, those who came enjoyed the food and at least some of the entertainment.  The Festival was in its second year and vendors did well enough – not perhaps as well as they’d like but enough they’d probably come again.  If you look at the collection of… Read complete articleFood and Music Festival

Four Exceptional Students Win Bursaries

John Draper

Each year Marie Dressler Foundation awards bursaries of $1500 each to four students finishing high school in Northumberland and planning to go into tertiary education to prepare for a career in the arts.  Today, in a presentation inside the recently rebuilt Marie Dressler Museum, the winning students were presented with their cheques as well as a framed certificate (and a bouquet of flowers). The video below shows the presentation by Rick Miller (chair of the Foundation) and other board members.  The first winner in the video is Graham Beer – many will note that he is generally on the other side of the camera.  Witnessing the event were Foundation board members, parents of recipients, the media and a couple of… Read complete articleFour Exceptional Students Win Bursaries

Changes coming to re-cycling in 2019

John Draper

Effective September 1, 2019, the County intends to make major changes to its recycling and waste collection program.  Instead of one type of recyclable waste, there will be two: paper and containers. In addition, organic waste will be collected separately. Residents will be given blue, grey and green boxes.  It will get complicated so expect a major educational program.  The motivation for the dual-stream recycling is the cost of recycling when it’s contaminated with non-recyclable material.  Currently in Northumberland County, contamination of recyclables is around 20-25% – with dual stream, it can go as low as 3%.  Because of this contamination, the price paid for recycled paper has dropped from $100 per metric ton to $5 per metric ton. The… Read complete articleChanges coming to re-cycling in 2019