Tag: Waterfront

RFP Issued for Waterfront Changes

John Draper

Cobourg’s Waterfront Plan recommended a large number of changes to the Harbour, the Marina, the Trailer Park (now called  the Campground), the west headland and the west beach.  A Request for Proposals (RFP) has now been issued asking for more details and cost estimates.  Closing date is October 27 and after four public meetings, the schedule calls for completion by the summer of 2021. Tenders for implementation are to be issued by Fall 2021 and construction will start Spring/summer 2022 – although these last two dates are tentative. However, even awarding of this preliminary work is yet to be confirmed pending Council’s review of the 2021 budget.  The scope is in two parts: the Campground and the area from the… Read complete articleRFP Issued for Waterfront Changes

Waterfront Operations Review – 2020

John Draper

At Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, while the sound was off, Director of Community Services Dean Hustwick presented an update to Councillors for his Waterfront Operations Department.  Although what he said is lost, his slides (see link below) tell the story of how the Harbour, Marina and Campground adapted to the pandemic.  Topics covered included Staffing, Covid-19 measures taken, Harbour and Marina issues, Transient and guest boaters, Seasonal Boater survey, Stakeholder Key Performance indicators, Dredging operations and the Campground.  More detail is provided below – or download his full report from the Link below.  He also introduced Marketing and Events Manager Kara Euale who reviewed 2020 events, both past and future – but that will be in a separate… Read complete articleWaterfront Operations Review – 2020

New Coast Guard Building Approved

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday night, the development agreement for the new Coast Guard building on the east pier was approved. That means that work can start soon: two months are needed to award contracts then demolition of the existing buildings would be done in November/December. Construction of the new building would be done over the winter so that the new facility would be ready for the boating season. Weather permitting, this would be April/May but could stretch into summer. Directors Glenn McGlashon and Dean Hustwick said that this work would not clash with other work on the east Pier.  Dean clarified that East Pier work would be in two parts – repairs and enhancements –… Read complete articleNew Coast Guard Building Approved

East Pier – Public Meeting (Virtual)

John Draper

The next step in Cobourg’s plan to re-vitalize the waterfront is to fix and enhance the East Pier.  This requires extensive public consultation and this started last year (see links below) and now there is another consultation although this time it’s virtual and hosted on Engage Cobourg. This includes a presentation in two versions – a pdf and/or a video – a survey with the first question “have you watched the presentation?” and a forum for free form comments.  The presentation starts with some background information then divides the area into zones and discusses options.  Then the discussion moves into three “design approaches” then finally talks about design palettes  – Contemporary, Heritage or hybrid.  The survey opened Sept 4 and… Read complete articleEast Pier – Public Meeting (Virtual)

Beach Re-opening and Beach Crowds

John Draper

There were three delegations about the beach at Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting – and later in the meeting Council decided how and when to re-open the beach. Adam White wanted more input from residents, and both Paul Pagnuelo and Brenda Quinn wanted a task force to deal with usage of Cobourg’s beaches by non-residents. And when it came to a decision on re-opening the beach, Council included a response to the often repeated request to look into how to manage the summer crowds usually experienced. Many residents have commented that we pay the taxes but visitors pay nothing and yet get to enjoy the beach. If nothing changed, the beach would reopen on September 1 but staff presented Council with four… Read complete articleBeach Re-opening and Beach Crowds

Council to Consider Extending Beach Closure

John Draper

Earlier in the summer, and after a lot of discussion, Cobourg Council closed the main beach until 31 August.  But that date is coming up soon and at their Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on 24 August, an Agenda item asks Council whether they want to extend that date or not.  Four options are offered by staff: 1) Extend closure to 17 October; 2) Keep beach closed only on weekends to 17 October; 3) extend closure only until after Labour Day and re-open 8 September OR 4) another option determined by Council.  In each case, there will be no lifeguards and washrooms will remain closed but port-o-potties will be available.  I’d be surprised if there are no citizen delegations on… Read complete articleCouncil to Consider Extending Beach Closure

A Quiet Day on Cobourg’s Waterfront

John Draper

The Saturday of the first weekend in August is usually Cobourg’s busiest day of the year – especially if it’s hot.  Well this year, the weather was hot but the main beach was closed and there was no Sandcastle Festival.  There is usually also a Sidewalk sale on the same weekend but this year there was just a closed main street with no entertainment and much smaller crowds.  See the Links below to see what the Festival was like in 2019 and 2018.  The water level was not unusually high like it was in 2017 and 2019 but this just made the beach more inviting albeit empty. I visited the West Beach, the West Harbour, the Marina and the Main Beach… Read complete articleA Quiet Day on Cobourg’s Waterfront

Aquatic Safety – Take 3

John Draper

On September 23, 2019, a report was presented to Council called an “Aquatic Safety Audit” Report.  It was conducted by the Life Saving Society (LSS) at the request of the Community Services Division but immediately created concerns for Harbour users.  Several harbour users made presentations to Council with strong objections to parts of the “audit”; they basically said that the requirements were onerous and not necessary.   Council asked Director Dean Hustwick to write a detailed report responding to the concerns and he delivered that on 11 May 2020 – see links below for copies of the presentation and reports on the related Council meetings.  As a result, Council decided to refer the whole matter to the Parks and Recreation Advisory… Read complete articleAquatic Safety – Take 3