Cobourg’s Entertainment Scene – 2020

John Draper

There are many events in Cobourg that could be described as entertainment – from stage shows to movies to speakers to “parties”. Most are produced by not-for-profit volunteer organizations but a few are promotional events for bars, restaurants etc and one (Rainbow Theatre) is commercial.  Cobourg has only three venues that are primarily for entertainment: The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall, the Cobourg Loft and of course the Rainbow.  The Park Theatre is still derelict with nothing happening to restore it – at the rate it’s going, it will likely get demolished by neglect.  It’s hard to see how a large theatre like the Park would be viable given the apparently thriving Capitol just down the road.  However, there could… Read complete articleCobourg’s Entertainment Scene – 2020

Civic Awards for 2020 delayed

John Draper

Last September, Council agreed on a Procedure Manual for the Civic Awards program and agreed that the Civic Awards committee should be set up the same way as other Advisory committees.  This meant that 6 citizens should be nominated again from scratch and that process is currently under way. If you would like to be nominated, forms can be obtained from the Mayor’s admin assistant Toni Galea at [email protected] .  John Henderson hopes to have the committee in place in March.  The next step is to decide on the process and John wants that changed too although a decision will be up to the committee.  Up until now, the selection from nominations from the public was made by the committee… Read complete articleCivic Awards for 2020 delayed

Cobourg Online

John Draper

A Google search will find answers to questions that you know to ask but doesn’t work well if you don’t know what to ask.  Would you think to ask “when did a plane land in Cobourg?” Or “what activities are there in Cobourg?” And some questions don’t get complete answers – like “what shows are on this weekend?”  What you need are web sites that you go to that provide those answers – but how do you find those web sites? Well, read on. You already know how to get Cobourg News – it’s right here plus I have provided links to other news sites in Cobourg (see menu at the top of the page).  But it’s not always obvious… Read complete articleCobourg Online

MPP David Piccini briefs Cobourg Council

John Draper

At the regular Council meeting on Monday, MPP David Piccini reported on what was happening with a number of Provincial programs and how they affected Cobourg.  As shown on the recently approved budget, the Province provides close to $1M of Cobourg’s revenue – much of that is jointly with the Federal Government which provides another $1.6M.  The big items are Cobourg’s request for funding for Harbour repairs plus the ongoing hope of funding for the Victoria Square Project which has been on hold for a few years pending such funding.  David also reported on a number of smaller grants plus he spoke briefly about the Provincial Project to improve MPAC which provides all property assessments in the Province – these… Read complete articleMPP David Piccini briefs Cobourg Council

Council approves 2020 budget

John Draper

The target for the tax increase was 1.9% but it looked like it was going to be 2.7% because of a couple of last minute additions.  The biggest addition of $105K was because Brian Darling wanted higher wages for the Town’s non-union employees and he won support for that (see links below) but there were also other items for a total of $200K more than the target.  But after Deputy mayor Suzanne Séguin discussed  this with Treasurer Ian Davey, it was decided that there were enough funds in the Holdco reserve to allocate another $200K to the 2020 budget.  This means that, in the end, the target for an increase of taxes of 1.9% has been met. To help explain… Read complete articleCouncil approves 2020 budget

Adult Fitness Park Gets Council Support

John Draper

Since November 2016, Keith Oliver has been coming before Council to campaign for an adult Fitness Park and in May 2018, the Waterfront study included Outdoor Adult Fitness as one of its goals.  Since this was approved by council, Town support seems to be mandated.  Last June, Keith won Council support for help in applying to the Federal Government for a grant and also spoke of success in fundraising from the Cobourg Community.  He was not so successful in getting support in recent budget sessions but at the Committee of the Whole Meeting on 27 January 2020, he tried again and said that Council support was needed before other donors (such as Rotary) would contribute.  This time he succeeded in… Read complete articleAdult Fitness Park Gets Council Support

Local Health Teams are Prepared for “Corona Virus” Threat

John Draper

The public health scare from the virus originating in Wuhan has caused health teams across the world to make sure they are ready to cope if it arrives in their area.  Although it’s an International Health Emergency, so far there are no cases in Northumberland.  However,  the HKPR Health Partners have issued a statement saying that “we have heightened our communication to ensure we continue to share the information and resources needed to protect the public’s health”.  The statement describes what the virus is, what is involved with being prepared, where to get daily updates, the connection with common flu, and what to do if you have recently travelled to Hubei province in China and have symptoms  (Wuhan is the… Read complete articleLocal Health Teams are Prepared for “Corona Virus” Threat

Can Uber replace Transit in Cobourg?

John Draper

In reviewing Taxi ByLaws, Town Clerk Brent Larmer expanded his report to Council to include a short review of what the Town of Innisfil was doing with Uber to substitute for a Town Transit System.  Innisfil didn’t have a Transit system but citizens wanted something cheaper than a taxi to get around.  Typically, Towns do this by subsidizing a Transit system with fixed route buses but Innisfil decided to look into teaming up with Uber to provide transport between designated spots in the Town for a price of $4 – $6 with the balance of the cost paid by the Town. They can also go anywhere in the Town door-to-door with a $5 discount over the Uber fee. The Town saves on… Read complete articleCan Uber replace Transit in Cobourg?