Category: News 2022

Harbour Repair Cost Problem

John Draper

As we heard over the last couple of years, Cobourg’s Harbour is in urgent need of repair – that is, the harbour walls and the breakwaters need a whole lot of work.  A consultant has done the design work and the estimated cost for Phase one of the work was put in the 2022 budget and tenders issued.  Specifically, Phase one was to rehabilitate the walls on the north and east side of the marina basin as well as the fuel dock. However, all 6 bids responding to the tender were well over the amount in the budget – the budget is $5M and the lowest bid was $7M so Staff are recommending that the tender be cancelled and that… Read complete articleHarbour Repair Cost Problem

End of Year Staff Reports

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on 26 September, three major reports on Staff actions will be presented as well as five reports on Policies and other actions.  Reports on these by Cobourg News blog will follow in the coming days but advance notice on some key items seems called for.  The reports are listed below and it must be said that it’s good that Staff, led by CAO Tracey Vaughan, are providing these updates to Council and the public. Some things that are happening and highlighted by these reports (notably the Service Delivery Report) are:  Reduced spending on Tourism, $1M per year increase in Parking Revenue, the new Asset Management plan and review which will point to… Read complete articleEnd of Year Staff Reports

Johnny Percolides and Brian Darling

John Draper

These two candidates have very little in common – one difference is that Johnny is not planning a web site although Brian Darling only recently put his online.  Johnny had previously run in 2014 and 2018 but was not elected and Brian has been a councillor since 2014. Johnny is a Real Estate Broker and Brian is a retired Fire Department Captain. Johnny is relying on Facebook and his “Meet and Greet” sessions while Brian’s campaign is more traditional.  There’s not a lot of information available on what Johnny would do as a councillor while Brian is letting us know what his “Areas of Focus” are – see summary below.  Like other candidates, Brian stresses being fiscally responsible and engaging with the… Read complete articleJohnny Percolides and Brian Darling

Candidates Mark Mills and Sara Gardinier

John Draper

Two lesser known Candidates have added their names to those wanting to be elected as Councillor: Mark Mills and Sara Gardinier.  Mark is Manager Transportation Services, City of Toronto and previously had a similar job at the County.  Sara is a homecare PSW.  As you might expect, Mark has a strong interest in active transportation and Sara wants to change the struggles the elderly and the disabled experience in our town.  Mark’s web site records his meetings with key people in the Town and appreciates their support.  Sara does not have a web site but seems to be relying on Facebook where she is quite active and says “change is needed”, “You can count on her to be 100% transparent.”… Read complete articleCandidates Mark Mills and Sara Gardinier

Community Improvement Plan – Awards from 2021 Budget

John Draper

It seems that Council believes that affordable housing requires that the Town provide subsidies by way of grants, loans and waiving fees.  The way to do this is to create a “Community Improvement Plan” directed at affordable housing.  After a consultant’s study and public meetings, such a plan was approved in November 2020 (see Resources below).  The process to implement it was then approved in June of 2021 and inputs were requested from developers to obtain the 2021 budget of $250,000.  An ad hoc committee was created to review the applications and at the CoW on 6 September, 2022 one recipient was finally approved:  Balder Corporation was awarded $248K in grants and loans.  This was ratified at the Regular Council… Read complete articleCommunity Improvement Plan – Awards from 2021 Budget

Northumberland County Pilot Bus Service

John Draper

After a lot of lobbying and much political wrangling, a bus service taking Northumberland County residents to other Towns and to the Go Train in Oshawa is now in service for a one year trial. Called “Commuter Connect” you first must register then you must buy tickets online or by phone.  The service operates two routes (lines) connecting at Northumberland Mall and there are four return trips per day – Monday to Friday.  Tickets start at $3.00 one way within a community (but there’s only one stop in each community – so huh?); $9 for Multi Zone one way (Travel to other Northumberland communities) and $13 one way for the Durham line which connects to the Go Train in Oshawa… Read complete articleNorthumberland County Pilot Bus Service

Bryan Lambert – Delegation to Council

John Draper

Many citizens of Cobourg criticize Councillors but few actually make a delegation to Council and let them know what – in their opinion – they are doing wrong. At Monday’s regular Council meeting, Bryan Lambert made a delegation to Council saying that for multiple reasons, hiring yet another consultant was the wrong thing to do.  The consultant in this case would review all the user fees paid to the Town to see if they could be increased and to provide a formula for an annual review.  Bryan also pointed to the unusual adjustment of the contract price to keep it below the limit imposed by the fact that the Council was now in a Lame Duck period.  This award was the… Read complete articleBryan Lambert – Delegation to Council

Ashley Bouman and Randy Barber

John Draper

Candidates for the upcoming Municipal election include gay activist Ashley Bouman and Community “activist” Randy Barber.  Quite different Candidates but both have worked hard in the community.  This is their first try at getting elected but both are reasonably well known in Cobourg.  Although their platforms have now been published, neither have provided a whole lot of detail although Ashley continues to add information to her web site.  Both have considerable experience leading organizations with Randy’s experience including six years on Markham Council.  If you are looking for “new blood”, these would appear to be prime candidates.  Below are summaries of their campaigns although it’s always best to go to their web sites and facebook pages – see links in… Read complete articleAshley Bouman and Randy Barber

Competing to be Cobourg’s Mayor

John Draper

At the 2018 election, John Henderson was acclaimed – he became Mayor with no-one running against him. This time, voters can choose John or local entrepreneur Lucas Cleveland. Six years ago, Lucas visited Cobourg and fell in love with it. He and his wife opened Market and Smor and it has proved successful. It is now run by managers so Lucas can devote all his time to being a mayor. In his early forties, with no political experience, he is a very different candidate to John Henderson who is a retired school principal. Lucas has now published his web site and campaign so we can get more detail of what he offers. The difference between the campaigns of John and Lucas as gleaned from their web… Read complete articleCompeting to be Cobourg’s Mayor

Consultant for User Fee Study Approved

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on August 15, Council voted to award a contract to Watson & Associates for a Comprehensive User Fee Study for a total cost of $91,288.90.  This despite it being more than the budget allocation of $35,000 and that a second bid closer to the budget was also received.  Cobourg News Blog reported on this under the heading “Does Cobourg Use Too Many Consultants” (see Resources below).  But because Council is now in a “Lame Duck period”, the additional amount of over $50K is not allowed so the matter came back to Council.  The contract was re-negotiated to a lesser amount ($83,500) by assigning some of the work to Staff so the amount… Read complete articleConsultant for User Fee Study Approved