Northumberland Hills Hospital Fun Evening

John Draper

Who said NHH Staff and Volunteers couldn’t have fun? No-one! On Thursday evening, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the grassed area East of the NHH Parking lot, staff that were not working and NHH Volunteers and their families let their hair down with the first annual “NHH’s got Talent” variety show.  The MC was Doctor Andrew Stratford and apart from a big thank you by CEO Susan Walsh, there were no speeches. It was also notable for the absence of politicians.  Several Doctors strummed guitars and sang, with one of them demonstrating that he could be a professional Opera singer.  Others danced and one group demonstrated Tae Kwon Do – truly a variety show. I lost count but… Read complete articleNorthumberland Hills Hospital Fun Evening

By-Law Statistics

John Draper

One of the new managers hired this year is Kevin Feagan – he is Manager By-Law Enforcement and Licensing.  On Monday, he provided a list of complaints to Councillor Aaron Burchat which Aaron read out at the Regular Council meeting as part of his Coordinator report. Aaron and other Councillors are taking literally that this part of the Council meeting should be about their Coordinator role but Mayor Henderson seems to have forgotten this and uses the time to mostly talk about what he has been doing – for the record, his Coordinator role is Economic Development (see Resources below for more on this).  But Kevin’s numbers are interesting – although it’s strange that Aaron omitted reading out the item… Read complete articleBy-Law Statistics

Some Surprises in Council Nominations

John Draper

Nominations closed Friday at 2:00 pm and there were some surprises.  Councillor Emily Chorley will not be running again; Nicole Beatty and Suzanne Séguin will be competing for the Deputy Mayor position so one of them will not be on Council; and there will be competition for the Mayor’s position so he won’t be acclaimed this time. There are ten candidates competing for five spots on Council – including current councillors Adam Bureau, Aaron Burchat and Brian Darling. So far, only Mayor Henderson and Michael Sprayson have published any campaign material but then there are 56 days until the first day you can vote – October 14.  The official voting date is October 24 but advance voting is possible earlier…. Read complete articleSome Surprises in Council Nominations

Accessible Washroom in Victoria Hall

John Draper

At Monday’s Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee recommended that the Accessible Washroom in Victoria Hall be left open.  Currently, it is locked but a key is available upon request.  It seems the EDI committee felt that it was asking a lot of potential users to go ask for the key.  Brent Larmer explained that it was locked to minimize an abuse of it – there have been cases where someone would lock themselves in and stay for an excessive amount of time thereby denying access to others.  Since it has been locked, usage has actually increased. However, despite this, Councillor Beatty moved that the EDI Committee’s recommendation be followed and that the… Read complete articleAccessible Washroom in Victoria Hall

Does Cobourg Use Too Many Consultants?

John Draper

In 2020 Council hired a consultant to review “Service Delivery” and shortly after (in 2021) also used a consultant to review the Town’s organization. But at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting, the Agenda included approval of a consultant (Watson and Associates) for $91K to review user fees as recommended in the Service Delivery review. Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin thought that this knowledge was available from Staff and that the cost was excessive so she moved that the work be done by Staff instead. The rationale for the consultant was that there were not enough Staff resources or expertise and that the report would provide a justification for charges. In addition “it is also expected that the methodology developed… Read complete articleDoes Cobourg Use Too Many Consultants?

Council Policy on Body Worn Cameras

John Draper

Over the past year, Cobourg Police have implemented a program for Police Officers to wear Body Worn Cameras (BWCs).  The Town separately employs By-Law enforcement officers and the Police agreed to provide 3 BWCs to the town for use by these officers.  The cost to the Town will be $3,907 per year.  These cameras are intended to protect both the Public and Officers when there is public interaction and they are not turned on 100% of the time.  In fact officers must advise the public when they are operating.  The Police have a web page that explains Police usage and at the next Committee of the Whole Meeting on 15 August, Council will be asked to approve a comprehensive 11… Read complete articleCouncil Policy on Body Worn Cameras

Restoring St Peter’s Church

John Draper

One of Cobourg’s significant Historic Buildings is St. Peter’s Anglican Church.  Like Cobourg’s Victoria Hall it was designed by architect Kivas Tully and like Victoria Hall (in the 1950’s) it now needs major restoration.  It’s not quite the same situation since it’s a Church and not owned by the Town but the Church is hoping citizens who are not Anglicans or even Church-goers will be supportive of restoring this property.  The oldest parts of the building are already temporarily closed and its bells stopped ringing last year. The total cost is estimated at $2.7M and of this, $1.35M still needs to be raised (more below).  The Church has recruited a committee led by Peter Delanty and have launched a fund-raising… Read complete articleRestoring St Peter’s Church

La Jeunesse Choirs  Re-starting

John Draper

La Jeunesse Choirs was shut down because of Covid but they are now holding auditions – they are currently looking for youth ages 7-18 to audition for their 2022-2023 season. Auditions are being held at Cobourg’s United Church with the next audition day coming up: Saturday, August 13th!  See Resources below for signup link.  Rehearsals start September 13, 2022. Their schedule includes two concerts (one around Christmas) plus a Musical Theatre event in 2023 at Victoria Hall: Disney’s Descendants on May 19th and 20th. Tickets will be available for these events at Victoria Hall’s box office. La Jeunesse Choirs is a dedicated and respected charitable organization whose mission is to support, share and celebrate the diverse musical talents of Northumberland… Read complete articleLa Jeunesse Choirs  Re-starting