Council Reviews Town’s Finances

John Draper

At a special Council meeting on Thursday, Interim CAO /Treasurer Ian Davey presented his report on the Status of the Town’s Finances as impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.  It was not intended to be an exercise to revise the budget – the budget is unchanged – but instead was a report on what steps staff are taking to avoid a deficit.  However, some Councillors saw it as an opportunity to give direction to staff on what should NOT be spent given the shortfall in revenue of $1,561,000.  The charge was led by Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin and Councillor Emily Chorley but the remaining Councillors outvoted most of their proposals.  Ian Davey repeatedly said that the budget was approved and would… Read complete articleCouncil Reviews Town’s Finances

Many Events Cancelled up to September First

John Draper

At Tuesday’s regular Council meeting, Council debated what to do about events that are handled through the “Community Events Process” – and the list is long, see link below.  Some of the events have already been cancelled but a notable exception was the Sand Castle Festival.  The motion originally proposed provided for staff to decide what to do and specifically cancelled the Sand Castle Festival.  But Adam Bureau modified this to make it clear that all community events up to 1 September 2020 would be cancelled and then require that all new events from September 1st to December 31st must be approved by Council instead of being only approved by Staff.  In discussion it was made clear that this affected… Read complete articleMany Events Cancelled up to September First

Cobourg Community Comes Together Online

John Draper

Local Media Producer Graham Beer organized an online event on Saturday night that he called “Cobourg Together at Home – Community Special”.  The “show” was a mix of entertainment, tributes and information featuring an all-local cast.  It was professionally produced (by Graham) and broadcast on Facebook. It was co-hosted by Graham and Councillor Nicole Beatty.  The video has since been posted on You-Tube and is embedded below.  The focus was on good news and of course a significant coverage of what is happening locally to cope with the Covid-19 virus crisis.  The video finished with two performances:  1) a song by Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore – the Good Lovelies and 2) a fun group sing-along of Hey Jude… Read complete articleCobourg Community Comes Together Online

No Large Crowd on the Beach

John Draper

This weekend was intended as a test of whether a fence was needed to close the Victoria Park Beach.  It’s too early for hot weather but the sun was out and being on the beach was pleasant – at least when I visited around 1:10 pm on Saturday.  There were not the hundreds that were reported on an earlier warm weekend and most – but not all – were following the rules.  Most groups appeared to be families although one group of young people that I saw were obviously not family.  Most were just walking through but some were letting children play in the sand or having a picnic.  When I arrived, two officers were leaving – one regular and… Read complete articleNo Large Crowd on the Beach

Harbour Safety Audit reviewed – Take 2

John Draper

In 2018 and 2019, the Lifesaving Society (LSS) conducted an audit of the safety of recreational activities in the Harbour and in September 2019 a report was presented to Council (see links below).  Some of the recommendations in the report were unacceptable to both the Dragon Boat and Canoe Club and the Cobourg Yacht Club and caused a stir in Council.  After considerable debate, a motion was passed that the report be referred to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to get feedback from all user groups and that by the first COW meeting in March 2020, staff will provide a report to Council inclusive of the feedback from all user groups.  Dean Hustwick, Director of community Services, provided this… Read complete articleHarbour Safety Audit reviewed – Take 2

Council Debates Fencing the Beach

John Draper

The Beach is closed for most activities but not fully closed.  So when there are crowds, it’s difficult to enforce Covid-19 social distancing, “park” rules and generally keeping everyone safe. On a recent warm weekend, there were reportedly hundreds on the beach. It doesn’t help that there are few signs – I saw a small one at the main entrance at the bottom of Division St – see photo below.  So at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) Council meeting, staff suggested that fencing the beach would be useful.  It was thought that most people would then stay off the beach and the few who jumped the fence could be warned or even arrested for trespassing. But Councillors worried that… Read complete articleCouncil Debates Fencing the Beach

Farmers Market Hopes to Open May 16

John Draper

But “open” means something different than previously – the idea is that they will simply be there to provide pickup of orders made online – the Town calls it an “E-Commerce/Curb Side Pickup Service Delivery Model”.  Only food vendors will be allowed and a number of other restrictions will be required – see below.  The details will be presented to council at their Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) meeting on Monday May 11.  Any resolution passed requires ratification at a regular Council meeting and the next one scheduled is on May 19 – after the Victoria Day weekend.  So to expedite approval, immediately after the COW meeting on Monday, a special meeting has been called to pass the required by-law…. Read complete articleFarmers Market Hopes to Open May 16

Cobourg Commercial Properties – May 2020

John Draper

Although houses and commercial properties are being  bought and sold, the number of buyers and sellers has dropped and certainly in the case of commercial Properties, the number of listings has dropped.  My source of information is MLS listings for Cobourg – previously there was also a listing by the Town’s Economic Development department but that is currently off-line.  Looking at the list below, there are few surprises.  The Woodlawn is still on the market, the Dutch Oven is still listed although if you ask Lauren she says it’s not for sale. New ones are Hannah’s at five corners (King and William), the A1 Taxi property on Densmore and Dimitri’s restaurant on William. And of course the Cannabis operation is… Read complete articleCobourg Commercial Properties – May 2020