Category: News 2019

LUSI accused of grossly overcharging

John Draper

In a presentation to Council on Monday August 12, Drew Macklin of William Street Brewery Co. (WSBC) plans to say that LUSI accepted their water meter’s reading despite strong evidence that it was giving faulty readings.  The cost to the fledgling craft brewery was $8,050 (plus interest which brings the total to $10,101)  – but the business has also suffered.  The overbilling started when a new water meter was installed in December 2017 and only stopped in April 2018 when the meter was replaced.  WSBC tracks water usage separately and their measurements now agree but during the 5 months of alleged overbilling they were wildly different. No leaks were found and LUSI cannot explain where the extra water went but… Read complete articleLUSI accused of grossly overcharging

Coast Guard Plans a New Building on East Pier

John Draper

The current Coast Guard building on the East Pier is on land owned by the Town of Cobourg but leased to the Federal Government for use by the Coast Guard.  It’s in two parts: 1) Search and Rescue Station buildings and 2) a concrete pier to the west where the Coast Guard boat is moored.  The Coast Guard proposes to demolish and remove the current buildings on the east part and build a new, 486 m2 Coast Guard marine Search and Rescue Station building in their place.  An application for site plan approval to accomplish this will be submitted to the Council’s Committee of the Whole on Monday.  The new building will include a two-storey residential module and a single… Read complete articleCoast Guard Plans a New Building on East Pier

Cobourg Commercial Properties for Sale – August 2019

John Draper

There is quite a lot of commercial real-estate activity in Cobourg – some for sale and some for lease. I find the more interesting category is sale (rather than lease) since that means the owner wants out. It’s also interesting to note which properties are no longer on sale – for example the Park Theatre and the “Quigley” lot on Second Street. Based on public information (MLS and others), I have prepared a list with some properties new and some which have been up for sale for a year or more.  The list is not complete since not all sales are on MLS – a notable group of properties in this category are those on King West originally owned by John Lee. Note… Read complete articleCobourg Commercial Properties for Sale – August 2019

Sidewalk Sale and Sandcastle Competition 2019

John Draper

Everyone I spoke to commented that it was a perfect day – sunny and warm but not too hot – and a breeze helped.  And it seemed that many people agreed since the beach was packed and the Downtown Sidewalk sale was busy – at least one vendor said it was the best yet.  The point of these events is to boost downtown business so we’d hope they did well. I’d guess that we had more visitors than even the Waterfront festival.  The Sidewalk sale was a four day event – Thursday to Sunday on King between Division and Spring; the Sandcastle competition was only Saturday – so I checked the event out on Saturday, around noon. I’m glad I… Read complete articleSidewalk Sale and Sandcastle Competition 2019

Highlights from Busy Council Meeting

John Draper

Councillors were busy at the July 22 combined Committee of the Whole and Regular Council meetings.  As well as the items already reported (Dragon Boat issue, Cornerstone presentation, Housing developments and closure of the Memorial Arena),  Councillors announced a number of items of interest.  Each Councillor (including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor) is assigned a role of “coordinator” of parts of the Town’s activities and at the end of the regular Council meeting, the agenda provides for each Councillor to report on these activities.  In many cases, these reports are about events where Councillors have participated but other reports are about what I would call news items.  Given limited reporting resources, below is a selection of their reports which I… Read complete articleHighlights from Busy Council Meeting

Police Join Forces to Nab Vehicle Offenders

John Draper

On July 29, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Cobourg Police teamed up with the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Environment and the OPP to do a blitz in accordance with the July S.T.E.P program.  For the month of July,  S.T.E.P. (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) focused on unsafe loads, commercial motor vehicles, unsafe motor vehicles, modified motor vehicles and loud mufflers (unnecessary noise violations).  The blitz resulted in 22 charges for violations – details are below.  A temporary inspection site was set up in the parking lot of the Fellowship Baptist Church on Elgin near the corner of William/Burnham. Below are some photos of the event (supplied by the Police) plus I have added some highlights of Cobourg Police… Read complete articlePolice Join Forces to Nab Vehicle Offenders

Staff Propose Closing Memorial Arena

John Draper

Ever since the Cobourg Community Centre opened in 2011 with two ice pads, there has been a question of what to do with the Jack Heenan Arena and the Memorial Arena.  In late 2011 the West Northumberland Curling Club took over the newer Jack Heenan Arena but the aging Memorial Arena was still being used each winter (well, Labour Day to March 5). But now the cost of necessary repairs and upgrades look to put an end to its life as an Arena. The building could still be used for something else and an Ad Hoc committee and a Public meeting are recommended to help with a decision. There are still some users but staff believe they can be accommodated… Read complete articleStaff Propose Closing Memorial Arena

CAO Stephen Peacock Stepping Down

John Draper

In an internal memo to staff on Friday 26 July, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Stephen Peacock announced to Town staff that he is going on medical leave effective September 1st.  In a conversation a few months ago, Stephen told me that he was planning to retire effective the end of the year with an announcement late Fall so it seems that he is bringing this forward.  There is no official announcement currently planned  since he is not actually retiring (it’s medical leave) although it is not expected that he will return anytime soon.  Stephen has been CAO since 2009 and before that Director of Public Works from January 2004.  He graduated from Guelph University with his Engineering degree in 1986. … Read complete articleCAO Stephen Peacock Stepping Down