New Governance Approved by Cobourg Council

John Draper

At a special meeting on Monday, Council made a number of key decisions on Governance and then approved the change.  The current system using coordinators and several advisory committees was not seriously discussed; instead details of the new system proposed by staff were thrashed out.  I counted five significant decisions but there were more, albeit minor ones.  Mayor Cleveland was in good form and did a good job organizing the debate.  He started by asking councillors in turn to say what they wanted to change from the staff proposal.  Then after debate, there was a motion and vote for each “change”.  Described briefly, the new system changes the way Councillors and Council meetings are organized to be more like how… Read complete articleNew Governance Approved by Cobourg Council

Police Canvass Community re Safety Concerns

John Draper

Cobourg Police say that “concerns raised online about community safety and crime … do not align with the reports we have been receiving” so they conducted a community canvass in the east end of Cobourg. They wanted to “hear directly from residents about their community safety concerns, learn about any unreported crime, and look at how we can address concerns or bring issues to the appropriate community partner to be able to address the issue.” The problem is that people feel unsafe but it seems that this is not reflected in crime reports – so it’s good to see Police being proactive and trying to understand the concerns. Police have not yet said specifically how they will react to information learned except that… Read complete articlePolice Canvass Community re Safety Concerns

Mayor announces Town Hall Meeting

John Draper

As Mayor Lucas Cleveland said at Monday’s Council meeting, people only want to hear about one issue: the encampment.  It’s all consuming. “No-one is paying attention to other good things being done by Council.”  However, Lucas responded to this and spoke about what is happening on the encampment.  He said that the community seems to think that Councillors are burying their head in the sand but “that is not at all what is happening”.  Further, “this council is working with every single member of the community involved: Police, County, Province, MPP and MP”.  “It’s not a simple problem.”  But “Council cannot come forward with information that’s being discussed in closed sessions.” “Council has to follow certain rules and regulations and… Read complete articleMayor announces Town Hall Meeting

Town proposes joint DBIA program for Homeless

John Draper

In 2023 budget deliberations, Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty moved that staff be directed to use funds allocated to address the Opioid crisis ($35k) to “explore options for outreach support service towards the Town’s Homeless response.” At the DBIA management meeting on 6 November, Brent Larmer presented a “Welcoming Streets and Neighborhoods Pilot program” to respond to this direction. Not everyone is happy with this plan. Basically, it would require hiring someone to patrol downtown and look after problems “that do not require police intervention, with a longer-term vision to achieve an increased sense of safety and inclusion in the downtown core.” The intent is to improve the relationship between Business Owners and “community members experiencing homelessness or facing mental health and/or addiction challenges”. Brent… Read complete articleTown proposes joint DBIA program for Homeless

Mayor Cleveland Updates on Encampment via Cogeco Interview

John Draper

The encampment at Brookside continues to be the single biggest concern of Cobourg’s residents.  Many people look for leadership from Mayor Lucas Cleveland and also want more communication from him.  About a week ago, he said “time for a message” to the public but the Town’s communication “news” page did not provide anything.  However, Lucas did communicate via Cogeco’s “Municipal Matters” shown on channel HD700.  These are interviews of Port Hope and Cobourg’s Mayors and politicians with several repeat date/times for viewing.   A link to the Cogeco schedule is below.  There are a couple of problems with this:  1. Not everyone gets their TV via Cogeco and  2. Not everyone views these programs.  However, Cogeco does put extracts from their… Read complete articleMayor Cleveland Updates on Encampment via Cogeco Interview

NHH Announcements

John Draper

There is so much negative news these days that some positive – or at least not negative news – is welcome. Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) is celebrating its 20th anniversary – the first patient was accepted on 22 October 2003.  Some of the celebration was interrupted by a Covid breakout but that is now over – although a tour of the Hospital was postponed.  Over the past several months, two initiatives were worked on: 1) a new branding – a fresh look for their web site, Facebook page, Twitter, Linked-in and letterhead and 2) a partnership with Northumberland County Archives and Museum (NCAM).  Both of these were announced in a Press Release on November 8 – plus on the web… Read complete articleNHH Announcements

Community Comments on Strategic Plan

John Draper

In June 2023, Council drafted a new Strategic Plan and then in October decided to ask citizens to comment.  Now at the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on November 6, Council will be asked to approve the final plan. Before that vote, staff will report on what was learned from the citizen survey.  Although 257 residents looked at the survey page, only 64 actually completed the survey – that’s a small sample of the 3,337 registered users on EngageCobourg.ca.  Seems few people care about the Strategic plan.  See resources below for the full report by Kara Euale, Communications Manager.  But few responses or not, they will guide Council and Staff on priorities.  However, the good news is that CAO… Read complete articleCommunity Comments on Strategic Plan

Disappointing Town Hall on Encampment

John Draper

It turned out that the “Town Hall” meeting on Wednesday at the Best Western did not have any audience participation – it was just an information session.  The event was organized by James Bisson and he spent two hours providing information on the encampment at Brookside with the hope that it would stir up action by citizens. James made it clear that it was a County and Provincial matter and not a Town responsibility although the only acknowledged political representation at the meeting was from Councillor Adam Bureau and Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty.  Although James provided a good amount of factual information, he placed most of the blame for the encampment on drug addiction. He believes that all that’s needed… Read complete articleDisappointing Town Hall on Encampment