Tag: County

Pilot of Bus connection to Go station to end

John Draper

For about 20 years, residents of Cobourg and nearby have been asking for a Go Bus service to Toronto.  In 2020, Northumberland County decided to advocate for this and hired AECOM to carry out a business case study. At the time, MPP David Piccini lobbied Metrolinx but they said “that given the length of the route and the relatively low densities, none of the options perform well from a Revenue/Cost ratio stand point. They are modelling around 20% revenue coverage of costs, which puts these options in the lowest performing GO bus route revenue categories.” Then in April 2022 the Province and County announced a trial service – the Durham line – connecting Cobourg and Port Hope to Oshawa Go… Read complete articlePilot of Bus connection to Go station to end

Town and County have 310 Division agreement ready for approval

John Draper

An announcement by the County on Tuesday, June 18, provides details of a proposed agreement between the Town and the County on how the new Transition House at 310 Division should be managed.  There are some significant changes (outlined below) but the Town does not appear to be backing down on the requirements set out in their by-law on the issue.  Also announced was an update on renovations at the facility. However, some will be disappointed that Transition House WILL be relocating to 310 Division and that there is no explicit recognition of community concerns that although there is general sympathy for the homeless, the potential residents of Transition House include drug addicts and others who do not get community… Read complete articleTown and County have 310 Division agreement ready for approval

Statement by Warden Brian Ostrander about recent online commentary

John Draper

In the interest of reporting all sides of a news story, I am reporting on a statement issued by the Warden of Northumberland County about the encampment. It’s good to get an update from the County – the following text is provided unedited from Warden Ostrander’s statement issued at 1:18 pm on June 14. Northumberland continues to face the significant challenge of rising homelessness. Today, like communities across the province, we are witnessing the convergence of multiple crises – an opioid addiction crisis, a housing affordability crisis, and the residual effects of a global pandemic, including a dramatic rise in the overall cost of living. These issues have been building for years, and people have been hard hit. This reality… Read complete articleStatement by Warden Brian Ostrander about recent online commentary

County Report on Homelessness

John Draper

The annual “Housing and Homelessness report” was presented today (June 5) at the Social Services Committee meeting. The report provides details on the number of people looking for affordable housing plus what the County is doing about that.  The report states that “the waitlist for social housing continues to be 10 years in some communities and has grown more than 300% in the last 10 years, with over 1,100 households on the waitlist. In 2023, the average vacancy rate in Northumberland was 1.3%. This vacancy rate is close to the 2023 provincial average of 1.7%.”  The report lists the new housing being built and lists buying 310 Division as an accomplishment but does not mention the encampment.  It’s as if… Read complete articleCounty Report on Homelessness

First Look at County Police Review

John Draper

The consultant reviewing policing in Northumberland County will make their first report to County Council at their meeting on 17 April. The report describes what they plan to do and gives a final report date of “the second half of 2024”.  The project was initiated in January 2023 when Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander moved to include $75,000 in the budget to “update the 2007 Policing Study Final Report for Northumberland County.”  He was supported by Mayor Lucas Cleveland, Port Hope’s Mayor Olena Hankivsky and Alnwick/Haldimand Township Mayor John Logel.  The presentation by the consultant, StrategyCorp, points to options to be considered and criteria to be evaluated including “what next steps could be considered to support effective public safety services as… Read complete articleFirst Look at County Police Review

Provincial Grant for Transition House.

John Draper

At a special County Council meeting to authorize acceptance of a Provincial grant for $2,469,500, Warden and Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander asked if the money was to be used to clean people out of the encampment. The answer is NO. The money is for capital costs to support conversion of the 310 Division property: that is, for upgrades and renovations. It is not to be used for purchase of the property – this was funded by County reserves. In any case, clearing the encampment is outside County jurisdiction. However, Rebecca Carman, Associate Director of Housing & Homelessness said that it is hoped that the 310 Division Street project would (this is my paraphrasing) be more attractive to folks currently unhoused… Read complete articleProvincial Grant for Transition House.

Are the Town and County using KPIs?

John Draper

A KPI is a Key Performance Indicator and some commenters on this blog have questioned whether they are being used by Town and County staff.  As management guru Peter Drucker said: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” But it seems that, scientist Lord Kelvin beat him to the punch and called out a similar principle even earlier: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. So KPIs are clearly important. Certainly in the last year or two, there is evidence that both the County and Town Staff are using KPIs. Further, the County has put a “KPI Performance Dashboard” online with 22 KPIs that measure performance. Of course measuring is just the first step – but from the measurement,… Read complete articleAre the Town and County using KPIs?

County decides to negotiate re 310 Division

John Draper

In a letter to Cobourg’s Mayor, Northumberland County has requested their staff to “negotiate an Emergency Shelter Agreement” and to delay the March 28 implementation of the ECE bylaw.  At the County meeting on March 6, County Councillors expressed concern that if the bylaw were enforced as it stands, then the future of both Cornerstone and Transition house could be in jeopardy.  Mayor Cleveland said that an exemption would cover the concern re Cornerstone but the requirement for board members to be responsible for the behaviour of residents within a 500 metre radius – plus other requirements of the bylaw – could cause Transition house to not be viable.  The decision to negotiate appears to be what the Mayor was… Read complete articleCounty decides to negotiate re 310 Division