Northumberland Players Wants to Upgrade the Firehall Theatre.

John Draper

One of Cobourg’s Cultural success stories is Northumberland Players. They are an amateur group who have been operating in Cobourg since 1976.  Each year they stage plays in Victoria Hall, produce dinner theatre at the Best Western, stage a musical in Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre and stage smaller scale productions in the Firehall Theatre.  They have significant economic impact with an annual spending of over $360,000 each year. The Firehall theatre productions usually sell out so expansion makes sense.  It could also do with a decent lobby, improved washroom facilities, an elevator and a new greener HVAC system.  With this in mind, and sensitive to Heritage considerations, Northumberland Players hired ERA Architects to provide preliminary design ideas. They presented their ideas to… Read complete articleNorthumberland Players Wants to Upgrade the Firehall Theatre.

Update on Brookside

John Draper

As reported earlier, James Bisson gave a presentation at the Community protection and Economic Development Standing Committee on September 4.  He pointed to the fact that there was no County plan for what to do when Brookside was sold – or not.  He asked the Town to address a number of items and he succeeded in getting Council to ask for a report from Staff on these issues (more below).  In the discussion, Mayor Cleveland commented that there has been a lot of talk about what to do about the symptoms (homelessness, increased crime, addictions, overdoses etc.) but there should instead be a focus on the “sickness” – that is, the County’s performance.  He said that Cobourg should be thinking… Read complete articleUpdate on Brookside

Council Tweaks Governance

John Draper

Over the past several weeks, staff have talked to each Councillor about Council meeting procedures (governance) and incorporated some of their changes into a revised by-law (050-2024). The new by-law was presented at the “Strategic Priorities and Policy Standing Committee” on September 3 – this is the only Standing Committee that all Councillors attend (although Deputy Mayor Beatty was absent during this discussion). Councillor Miriam Mutton asked many detailed questions and questioned the understanding of quorum rules. She also moved to include more changes. But in the end, and although Mayor Cleveland expressed appreciation for her attention to detail, she was outvoted. But the discussion was useful – it was clear that other Councillors did not want drastic change –… Read complete articleCouncil Tweaks Governance

Will Encampment Move to a Cobourg Park?

John Draper

With talk of a sale of the Brookside property, people are assuming that the campers will be evicted but are wondering where they will go.  James Bisson will bring this question to the Community Services, Protection, and Economic Development Standing Committee at their meeting on September 4.  Some will no doubt go to the new Transition House due to open in September but others will look for new locations for their tents.  The latest version of Cobourg’s Parks bylaw (022-2016 – see links below) bans tents in Parks with an exception that allows the County CAO to “permit such individuals [in need of shelter] to erect and be within temporary structures, on municipal lands without a permit”. James will be… Read complete articleWill Encampment Move to a Cobourg Park?

Mayor Cleveland Cleared of Breach of Code of Conduct

John Draper

Last November, someone complained to Cobourg’s Integrity commissioner (who knew we had one?) that Mayor Cleveland had violated the Code of Conduct by harassing her.  The “complainant’s”; name is not provided but it’s probably someone active in the Town.  Anyway, the Commissioner, Lawyer Tony E. Fleming of “Cunningham Swan”, found no breach of the Code – the complaint was not proved.  The episode will no doubt cost taxpayers for the Lawyer’s time and if you read the report, you can decide for yourself what to think.  The commissioner sent his report to Brent and Brent is making it public at the Strategic Priorities and Policy Standing Committee on September 3.  One of the requirements of the governing Municipal Act is… Read complete articleMayor Cleveland Cleared of Breach of Code of Conduct

Cobourg Master Plans

John Draper

The Town of Cobourg has many “Master Plans” detailing what should be done on various assets and areas.  I count eleven multi-year Master plans that describe what to do about Downtown, Heritage, Culture, the Tannery Property, Transportation (including Transit), Parks, Tree coverage (Urban Forest), the Waterfront, Downtown parking, Fire and Accessibility.  The plans include goals and timelines intended to guide staff over multiple years but in general, there are no regular reports on whether the goals are being met or indeed if there is any progress.  The Operational Plan recently established includes reports on KPIs but there seem to be few if any references to Master Plans.  I have made a list of the plans and where they can be… Read complete articleCobourg Master Plans

County Annual Report 2023

John Draper

What exactly does the County do?  And where do they get their money?  Each year, the County issues an annual report which explains how they are organized, what each department has done in the year, how much was spent and where did the money come from.  The report for 2023 has now been released. Included are detailed financial reports but unless you are an accountant, summaries are easier to understand.  The budget at $213 million is much bigger than Cobourg’s ($42 million); breaking this down: operating cost is $128 million, $9.2 million is for “future strategic and infrastructure needs” and $75.6 million is for “capital and critical infrastructure”.  Taxes bring in $68 million, $60.2 million comes from grants and subsidies… Read complete articleCounty Annual Report 2023

Should Cobourg Encourage Tourists?

John Draper

In the middle of summer, when Council is taking a break, Cobourg resident Ted Williams sent a letter to Council asking about the transient slip policy at the Cobourg Marina. Ted believes that currently 50 slips are reserved for visitors (transients) and that some residents are unable to get a slip because of this. The marina map shows a total of 216 slips so 50 is 23% of the total.  Reserving slips for transients indicates that the Town is encouraging visitors and raises the question of what is the harbour for.  Is it for residents or is it a tourist attraction?  And in either case, do we care enough about it to spend around $20M to fix it?  Before Covid,… Read complete articleShould Cobourg Encourage Tourists?

Town Asks for Budget Input

John Draper

With a goal of ultimately approving a budget before the start of the budget year, the first step is to ask citizens what they want. At the recent Council meeting, a timetable was approved (full details in special Cobourg internet page – see Resources below) and today (August 1), the first item has been implemented – an online survey. The survey starts by asking demographic information (how long have you lived in Cobourg, age, income, etc.) then moves to the importance of various issues. But we are told that if current services are maintained, the budget must go up by the amount of inflation (3%) or services must be cut. So the next set of questions asks which services should… Read complete articleTown Asks for Budget Input