Van Dyke Homes Development Plan

John Draper

Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting was long but included several key decisions.  The hottest and most contentious issue was whether to proceed with approving the development by Van Dyke Homes next to Canadian Tire but it wasn’t the only issue.  The others will be reported later this week – but given the intensity of feelings of neighbours on Carlisle Street and the quite long debate in Council, let’s try to understand the issue. Background The land in question is adjacent to Canadian Tire with a commercial frontage on Elgin Street.  The intent is to build 62 townhouse units and 10 semi-detached units with access via a loop accessed via a single road from Carlisle Street. The residences would… Read complete articleVan Dyke Homes Development Plan

Fewer Community Grant requests

John Draper

For several years now, the Town has followed a process for awarding grants to Community organizations.  Requests must be submitted by the end of October, an opportunity is provided to make a presentation to Council – basically to sell the idea – Council sets a budget total to be distributed, then the budget amount is allocated to lucky organizations. In 2018 there were 24 requests for community grants for $77K from the 2019 budget and 18 were approved for a total of $51K.  In 2019, 30 applicants asked for $143K with 26 awarded for $49.5K.  But in this Covid-19 era, only 10 applicants asked for $32K. All 10 applicants wanted to present to Council but at the last minute, one was… Read complete articleFewer Community Grant requests

Second Street Development on hold

John Draper

In 2017, when there was a lot of talk about vitalizing the downtown, it was proposed to spend $1.5M on a multi purpose square behind Victoria Hall.  Around the same time, a developer wanted to build “Live and Work” Condos on the “Quigley” lot across the road at 202 Second Street.  However, the square depended on Provincial or Federal money which was not forthcoming so it was put on hold. Then the Farmers’ Market moved across Albert Street to Rotary Park and the Condos were shelved (more details on these below). The owner tried to sell the lot for more than $2M and meanwhile the empty lot was leased to the Town on a month to month basis for $2500… Read complete articleSecond Street Development on hold

Major Harbour Repairs Required

John Draper

It’s not just the East Pier that needs fixing, it’s the whole harbour. Teresa Behan Deputy Director, Community Services, estimates that “repairs to all aspects of the waterfront area may be upwards of $12M including all fees (see table below). This does not include any ‘enhanced features’ and landscaping that will be proposed for the final design of the east pier project.”  Major Repairs are required for both the east and west breakwaters, the basin east and north walls and minor work on the centre pier. In addition, the estimate for rehabilitation of the East Pier has been revised upwards.  The project will also include assessments of the Fuel Dock and Coast Guard Wharf.  The amounts shown are still estimates… Read complete articleMajor Harbour Repairs Required

Woodlawn Re-Purposing Explained

John Draper

On Monday November 30, a public meeting was held to explain the re-zoning and re-purposing of the Woodlawn Inn as a drug and alcohol addiction re-habilitation Centre.  Ryan Guetter of Weston Consulting explained that Canadian Centre for Addictions is the new owner of the property and sees a need for their services in Cobourg.  They currently own and operate a similar facility in Port Hope.  But before the meeting got very far, three Councillors declared a conflict and dropped out of the meeting leaving a bare quorum of four.  Both Brian Darling and Emily Chorley said they owned properties within 120 metres and Aaron Burchat has done work at the related Port Hope facility.  Ryan made a presentation with details… Read complete articleWoodlawn Re-Purposing Explained

Third Quarter Budget Update

John Draper

At the next Committee of the Whole Council meeting on December 7, Treasurer Ian Davey will present a report on operating budget performance up to the end of the third quarter – September 30.  Since the budget is annual with no quarterly breakdown, Ian presents performance in terms of percent of the budget remaining.  If there were no seasonal factors, then the remaining budgets for both revenue and expenditures should be 25%.  There are of course seasonal factors so this measure is not much use.  Instead, Ian also provides last year’s report at the same point.  According to my analysis, there is a shortfall in revenue compared to 2019 of approx. $3.5M.  But expenditures have been reduced and Ian’s numbers… Read complete articleThird Quarter Budget Update

Provincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

John Draper

D’Arcy street was closed around noon on Friday while an announcement was made outside the Venture 13 facility.  The Provincial Government announced a grant of $200,000 to Cobourg Police to implement CCTV for their “Next Generation Community Safety Strategy”.  The grant covers 50% of the cost of the project which will integrate CCTV cameras installed by the Town and private businesses plus some new ones.  The location of some of the new ones will not be disclosed.  The idea is to improve public safety since if criminals know they will be caught, they are less likely to offend.  The announcement was made by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones with supporting remarks by Mayor John Henderson, MPP David Piccini, Police Services Board… Read complete articleProvincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

Fire Hall Renovations to Accommodate Female Firefighter

John Draper

As Cobourg resident Ken Strauss pointed out in his critical “Letter to the Editor”, at the Committee of the Whole Council COW) Meeting on November 16, Fire Chief Mike Vilneff asked for budget pre-approval of $240K for renovations to Cobourg’s Firehall.  He said that this was required because these renovations were needed to accommodate a female firefighter who had been hired earlier in the year. Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin said that early approval was not needed since regular budget sessions were imminent. When asked, the chief was not able to provide a detailed breakdown as to what exactly was needed to accommodate the female firefighter versus other included items. So after considerable discussion, the original motion to approve the full… Read complete articleFire Hall Renovations to Accommodate Female Firefighter