The long awaited “Waterfront User Needs Assessment and Detailed Design Study Report” will be presented to Council on Monday June 4 at the Council’s Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) meeting starting at 4:00 pm. It was initially planned to have an earlier meeting at 1:00 pm but that was cancelled in favour of including the release in the C.O.W. meeting. The reason given was to have the meeting at a time better for public participation. Another difference between a “public meeting” and a C.O.W. meeting is that at a public meeting, anyone can speak without advance notification. As it happens, 12 people have given notification and are on the agenda to speak on the subject. They will be speaking before the presentation by the Consultants so will rely on the written report available for download via links in the agenda (see Links below).
The report to be presented will be virtually unchanged from that presented to the Parks and Recreation Committee on May 16. For highlights of the report, see the post on that in the links below. Also below are links to download the full report.
The 12 speakers
- Jeremy Fowlie, Head Coach of Cobourg Dragon Boat and Canoe Club
- Nancy Marshall, Past President of the Survivor Thrivers Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Team
- Margaret Bain, Willow Beach Field Naturalists
- John Geale, Past President, Northumberland Land Trust
- Lydia Smith, President, Cobourg Taxpayers Association (CTA)
- Mike Hubicki, Commodore, Cobourg Yacht Club, regarding support of the continuing evolution of Cobourg’s Waterfront and working waterfront within the Cobourg Harbour.
- Dora Body, Chair, Cobourg Ecology Garden (CEG) Committee, regarding a request that Council defer the adoption of the Waterfront User Needs Assessment and Detailed Design Plan pending a public meeting where interested parties can provide feedback.
- Dennis Nabieszko, Secretary, Cobourg Taxpayers Association
- Gavin McGuire, Environmental Intern and Gudrun Ludorf-Weaver President of Sustainable Cobourg, re Climate Change impact with Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Sequestering.
- Bob Fler, Director Learn to Sail Program, regarding support of the growth of Cobourg’s Harbour
- Vivian Vandenhazel, Cobourg Resident
- Harold Wontorra, Cobourg Resident
Many will be critical – especially about the recommended expansion of the Marina into the West Harbour, although some are in favour of that. A report on what they say will be in a future blog post. No matter the outcome, there is no money in the 2018 budget to implement significant changes so implementation will be 2019 or later which will be in the term of a new council.
Links
- Council Agenda for Committee of the Whole meeting on June 4. – includes links to download consultant’s presentation and full report in 2 parts. – No longer available since Town took Civic web offline
- First Look at Waterfront Study report – 17 May 2018 – includes highlights of report
Downloads
(from Cobourg Internet – copied from Town site June 2, 2018)
- Consultant’s Presentation (2.8MB)
- Full Final Report – Part 2 without Appendices (5.6MB – compressed significantly compared to original – no change in content)
- Appendices to report (28MB – compressed significantly compared to original – no change in content)
Print Article:
After watching the proceedings, I am left wondering why the issue was even on Monday’s agenda, and who made the decision to include it so quickly after the report’s release, seemingly in contravention of proper procedure?
As numerous delegations and Councillors themselves noted, they had only received the final 600 plus page report the previous Friday. Debra McCarthy noted that by their own rules they are supposed to have documents 10 days in advance of a meeting to allow the public and council time to read the reports. As many people noted, there is no hurry due to an upcoming municipal election and it’s a 25 year plan. So why the hurry?
Does anyone know how much that 600+ page report cost the tax payers of Cobourg?
$74,925.00
Personally, I think presenter “Vivian” made a lot of sense and next time they should just ask her what to do.
🙂
Lol!
Only two speakers from the Cobourg Taxpayers Association?
Maybe not enough speakers to represent adequately the massive response to their survey on the Waterfront Study at their recent Open House.
I forget – were there 26 or 30 respondents?
But at least the responses were 99% against stuff on the Waterfront.
Even North Korea couldn’t do better than that.
https://www.cobourgblog.com/news-2018/cta-open-house/
21 watched it on line. Approx 40 people in council chambers.
Oh ya you can bet on it “Another difference between a “public meeting” and a C.O.W. meeting is that at a public meeting, anyone can speak without advance notification.” Yep I’m absolutely positive that a start time of 4 p.m. vs 1 p.m. will influence volume of public participation (NOT). And Frenchy, what about your claim that the Yacht Club is not “clamoring” for the lift. Whom does the Marina represent? Its all about the yachts, without them no boat lift required. Once again we go into the spin of What is in and What is out. With this Staff and Council in tandem they appear unable to make/keep a decision and certainly unable to keep the faith with the Citizens. I’m with Tim, fix the failing infrastructure (i.e. pier), leave the toys for much later. Also with Dubious, we’ve been continually lied to by the leadership (Council and / or Staff) of this Town.
” Whom does the Marina represent?” The Marina represents itself and the Town. The Yacht Club represents the Yacht Club. The Marina and the Yacht Club are two entirely separate entities.
I’m sure some of the Yacht Club Members would use the service of the boat lift as some use the service of the crane now. But, it is the Marina Management or Town Staff that continually bring this boat lift proposal forward, not the yacht Club.
“No matter the outcome, there is no money in the 2018 budget to implement significant changes so implementation will be 2019 or later which will be in the term of a new council.”
This begs the question as to why the town, which stated that the expansion was dead for this council’s term initiated this proposal instead of leaving it to the new council to initiate it or not .
Pre-loading is pre-loading but the main unanswered question still is if the present council didn’t initiate it ,that leaves the town CAO and staff who must have.
Perhaps that question could be asked /answered at today’s meeting.?
I’m sure the public would appreciate getting the true story behind this recurring proposal.
I certainly would.
I really like the part that deals with the East Pier. Everything else
should be placed on ice, say for 25 years. What our waterfront really needs is some paint and maintainence, and general freshening up. Victoria Park, the waterfront and harbour are all fine the way they are. Oh yeah, where is the part about fishing areas?
It’s not the Yacht Club clamoring for the boat lift, it’s the Marina/Town of Cobourg.
I stand corrected. And I apologise for conflating the two.
You haven’t proved to me that the this study and this waterfront Redevelopment will do anything
for the Residents ,Tax payers or assist in the Downtown rejuvenation .
Council need to consider its Full Time Residents First — Their wants and needs for a Cobourg Lifestyle and Home
and less about the Short Season Tourists that love us and leave us with the
congestion ,garbage , noise , parking issues , and the Costs to attract them and entertain them
When my mother was a student in Toronto in the early 70’s she told me she was listening to the radio one morning when she heard the word “Cobourg”. She immediately turned up the radio to listen to news of her home town. Cobourg was in the news because they had for years been dumping raw sewage into the harbour — the harbour where generations of teenagers in town went to swim, the more adventurous diving into the water from the roof of the old boat house. Of course, anything is an improvement on that, but it is just another illustration of how this town has been plagued, generation after generation, with Town Councils that refuse to deal with essential problems and instead waste time and money on sheer nonsense, like this unnecessary, expensive waterfront study. Before another dime is squandered on the waterfront, we have a crumbling pier that needs to be fixed.
Back in those days it was an industrial harbour. More dangerous than the boathouse diving, was the climbing and diving from the ferry dock ribs, which had partially collapsed. We teens would climb up, under and over this structure. I still have pics of hippies posing on that wreck of a deck.
Consecutive councils reflect the generations of citizens that elected them. It was the citizens that “refused to deal with essential problems.”
Every elected member of the current Council ran on a platform of no expansion into the west harbour. Don’t blame the residents for this waste of money to do something that is unwanted. We were lied to!
Who elected the liars?
“Every elected member of the current Council ran on a platform of no expansion into the west harbour.”
Not True. https://youtu.be/iJkGwq021Oc
My comprehension skills are failing me again. I had to wait through that video twice to make sure I got it, but I count 7 for 7 of those councilors, deputy mayor and mayor as NOT to be in favour of expansion.
Where does the “Not True” come in? Which one(s)?
“The only harbor plan that I will support is one that respects the needs of all the user groups and the public. I will NOT support a plan that restricts or compromises the current user groups.” Mayor Brocanier.
Conditional. He is a seasoned politician. He will support a plan to put slips on the west side of the centre pier if it does not restrict or compromise. He left it open. Some other Councillors made their notions conditional. They left it open to possibly approve expansion if certain conditions are met. If anyone thinks the Mayor clearly stated his unequivocal opposition to any expansion into the west harbour, then they are more gullible than a culvert.
Cobourg’s Councils of the past and to current day have spent enormous amounts of money to fix that problem Tim and now Cobourg has one of the most modern, technologically and environmentally-sound sewage treatment systems around…however Toronto is still grappling with the issue of combined storm and sanitary sewers and to this day still sends tonnes of raw sewage into our rivers and lakes whenever it rains!
I think you’ve either missed the point or you’re obtuse. I’m not complaining about the present-day sewage system in Cobourg. I simply used my mother’s recollection to point to the fact that this town has a history of electing Town Councils that refuse to prioritize essential problems like infrastructure.
“this town has been plagued, generation after generation, with Town Councils that refuse to deal with essential problems and instead waste time and money on sheer nonsense,”
Town Councils evaporated the coal piles and oil drums, opened up the harbour for small craft, established a marina, established a boardwalk, established a walkpath across the waterfront. Lots and lots have been done by Town Councils since the days of jumping off a boat house or centre pier ribs. I am sure you can make your point without maligning with a broad brush against former Town Councils.
“I am sure you can make your point without maligning with a broad brush against former Town Councils.”
Yeah Tim, don’t use a broad brush to malign former councils. Use a big roller like this guy did.
“Historically, Cobourg politicians, have been culturally illiterate. The only reason Cobourg has a Birthplace of Marie Dressler is because of the work of a private individual. Is there a Marie Dressler Street? Council after Council after Council of cultural illiterates preferred naming streets after themselves as politicians/businessmen/administrators. That is what passes as hand-me-down culture by the good ole boys of Cobourg Councils. Old codgers marking turf, making a lasting impression; their stains are a public display of mediocrity on most street corners in Cobourg.”
“In Cobourg, the good ole boys don’t know culture from a Philistine sinkhole.”
Yep, cultural illiterates, much like several pseudonyms that comment on this blog.
And then spreading falsehoods such as ““Every elected member of the current Council ran on a platform of no expansion into the west harbour.”
Wally, have you ever used a pseudonym?
Yep.