Tag: County

Cobourg Council to Regulate Transition House

John Draper

As previously reported, Cobourg is negotiating with the County to establish what is allowed at the new Transition house location at 310 Division. The idea is to get an agreement similar to what was agreed in Whitby. But there is a “Plan B”.  If an agreement cannot be reached, then Council has voted to implement a By-Law that would require “Emergency Care Establishments” to be licensed with requirements similar to that agreed in the “Whitby” agreement. At the Council meeting on 28 February, Council passed the Licensing by-law to be in effect March 28 which is the day after the next Council meeting. The date is a month later than the timeline originally proposed so it can be repealed if… Read complete articleCobourg Council to Regulate Transition House

Move to get Agreement on Rules for Transition House

John Draper

On January 10, at the Community Services, Protection, and Economic Development Standing Committee meeting, Dr. Hillary Allen & Mr. Jeff Crowley asked Council to implement an agreement with Northumberland County and Transition House similar to the agreement made by Whitby and Durham concerning an “emergency shelter” similar to the Transition house planned for 310 Division St. If implemented, it’s expected to help Transition House’s successful “operation and integration into the community”. Such an agreement between Cobourg, the County and Transition house would be a commitment to a wide range of actions that would be a “response to numerous failed examples across Ontario” – that is, in my words, it would go a long way to resolving concerns on the new… Read complete articleMove to get Agreement on Rules for Transition House

Transition House moving

John Draper

No, not the building, but the location of the facility – it’s moving from 10 Chapel Street to 310 Division Street. Although announced, not all details are final and County Councillors and Northumberland residents are being asked for their input. The new building was previously Cobourg Retirement Residence but it closed in early 2023 and, in partnership with Transition House, the County has now purchased the property – although price and terms have not been finalized nor made public. The current Transition House building can accommodate a maximum of 22 individuals in four rooms with another 7 accommodated in local motels. Transition house is managed by a board with funding from multiple sources (see their web site in Resources) and is in partnership with… Read complete articleTransition House moving

County Budget 2024

John Draper

At a special Council meeting on December 6, the County Budget for 2024 to 2026 (and longer) will be presented.  Unlike Cobourg’s budget, there is a much greater emphasis on the big picture and less detail – e.g. no department line by line discussion.  The County seems to leave these details to staff and simply focus on increases in the overall levy and debt.  They also look much further into the future – there is budget information up to 2026 and  even a 10 year forecast.  But they do provide most information that residents are likely to want – like what do they do, where does their money come from, what are the significant changes this year and what will… Read complete articleCounty Budget 2024

Cobourg GO Bus Pilot to Continue

John Draper

For at least 18 years, there have been people wanting the GO Bus or train to extend service from Oshawa to Port Hope or Cobourg. Last year, the County started a pilot program with two interconnected bus routes – a “Durham” route from Cobourg to Oshawa and a “Northumberland” Route picking up in Campbellford, Brighton and Colborne. The idea was to test if there was in fact enough demand for it to be viable – 20% of operating cost would need to be recovered from fares. After one year of the pilot/trial service, the Northumberland route will be discontinued on November 30 since there were only 513 tickets sold for the approx. 3650 trips (10 trips per day for a year). The Durham route… Read complete articleCobourg GO Bus Pilot to Continue

County Releases Strategic Plan for 2023-2027

John Draper

I did not know the County had a strategic plan nor was I aware that they were producing a new one.  But there is a 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan on their web site as well as the new one. The document is 28 pages with about half devoted to describing the county and the second half to text describing goals. The goals are divided into 5 “pillars” or categories and although Key Performance Indicators are promised, it will be early 2024 before we know what they are and see progress reports using them. There are no specific cost goals or even goals with numbers  – I would use the term “Motherhood” to describe the goals.  (That is, feel good goals as… Read complete articleCounty Releases Strategic Plan for 2023-2027

County Acts to Evict Campers at 600 William

John Draper

At a special meeting on September 5, County Council heard detailed reports from Staff on the illegal encampment on the County property at 600 William street. The location is not a public park and houses several County departments, notably the paramedics and their ambulances.  Council heard reports from Staff that emphasized the negative impact on their staff and the work that was being done to offer services to the campers. One key point was made that the campers have a hierarchy – that is, one unnamed individual wants all communication to go through him and therefore makes it difficult to have direct communication with individuals needing help. In some cases, individuals have agreed to accept help but have then been persuaded to… Read complete articleCounty Acts to Evict Campers at 600 William

Council Acts on Encampments

John Draper

At the regular Council meeting on Monday 21 August, a last minute addition to the Agenda was debated.  Brent Larmer worked through his vacation to write a By-Law that modified the Parks By-Law (022-2016) to essentially do two things: 1) enhance the clauses about enforcement and 2) delegate primary responsibility for looking after the homeless to the County – specifically, the county will decide if a permit should be issued for camping on Parks (or Town land). (The West Beach encampment is on Town property). Such a permit (just one) will only be issued in an emergency – that is, because there is no suitable place for campers to go.  So the Town will now enforce their Bylaws and the… Read complete articleCouncil Acts on Encampments