The City of Guelph, and it’s various partners and agencies, put out a lot of information on a weekly basis, and while it all ends up on the City’s website somewhere, wouldn’t it be easier to just scroll through it all on one easy-to-read article on Guelph Politico here…?

EV Chargers for Guelph Courtesy of the Feds!

Along with a separate announcement this week about funding for West End Community Centre HVAC upgrades, and a study for the City’s new wayfinding system, the Federal government announced funding for 1,857 new chargers for electric vehicles in Guelph on Thursday.

In all, 852 Level 2 chargers will go to properties owned by Guelph-based real estate developer Skyline in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and British Columbia; 905 Level 2 and 72 Level 3 EV chargers will go to Alectra facilities across Ontario; and for 24 Level 2 and four Level 3 chargers will be installed on City of Guelph properties.

A total of 87 chargers will be installed in Guelph thanks to funding through Natural Resources Canada, and the City-owned chargers will be installed at various locations including City Hall, Public Works, the Waste Resource Innovation Centre, and Guelph Transit on Watson Road according to a separate City of Guelph press release.

“The funding provided by the federal government through the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program will help Guelph move forward with our Race to Zero goal to become a net-zero carbon community by 2050 or earlier by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie in a statement.

Stultz Will Lead 2023 United Way Campaign

After rolls with KidsAbility, the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington, The Grove, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, and Guelph Grizzlies Volleyball, Ray Stultz is now adding campaign chair for the 2023 United Way campaign to his impressive LinkedIn profile. The United Way’s annual campaign will start in September in what the agency is calling a “critical” year as non-profits continue to fight post-pandemic challenges. The campaign last year raised $1.6 million from 90,000 residents across Guelph, Wellington and Dufferin.

“Being involved and giving back to my community has been a passion of mine for the past 25 years,” Stultz said in a statement. “When I was approached to take on this role, I knew it was a fabulous combination of that passion for community and my professional experience in the financial services industry, where I help businesses grow. Helping everyone to make our community better will be exciting.”

“We are thrilled to have Ray join the team this year,” added Glenna Banda, executive director of United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin. “Having worked with Ray before, I know his proven passion for our community and his energy will have a positive impact on the Campaign. Ray’s knowledge of our community as a whole will be a tremendous asset, and we look forward to learning from him as well.”

LGBTQ+ Stories at Wellington Museum

Starting this weekend, you can see “Our Small Town PRIDE: A Celebration of 2SLGBTQI+ Stories and History” at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. Arriving just ahead of Pride Month, the display invites visitors to learn more about Wellington County’s Pride history and add their own story to the Revelation Rainbow – a colourful, empowering, sometimes sad, and often humourous collection of anecdotes. The collection was produced in collaboration with Minto Pride and it will run at the WCMA until February 4, 2024.

“The Minto Pride Committee is very grateful for the opportunity to showcase our community and our story,” says Rosie Krul, treasurer/communications co-ordinator, Minto Pride Committee in a statement. “Minto Pride is a relatively new organization, but the history of Pride is not, and it deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated. We are honoured to have our voices amplified, and to be involved in this project by helping amplify the voices of others.”

“I am grateful to be part of this project,” added Amy Dunlop, assistant curator. “It is a pleasure to work collaboratively with the Minto Pride Committee to continue to add diversity and inclusion to our collections and the stories we share at WCMA.”

Summer at the Library

With the first day of June on Thursday, and with school about to be let our for summer in just a few weeks, the Guelph Public Library has announced their Summer Reading programs for children, teens and adults, which will roll out on Monday June 12.

“Our summer reading programs are a great way to keep children engaged and enthusiastic about reading while school is out, helping to avoid the summer slide,” said Meg Forestell-Page, the Library’s supervisor of community engagement in a statement. “By joining these programs as a family, you can lead by example and help to build your child’s confidence in and excitement about reading. It’s all about having fun while reading.”

Also, for your information, here are the summer hours for the Guelph Public Library.

Additional Notes

The Public Works Week open house is today from 10 am to 2 pm at 45 and 50 Municipal Street.

The River Run Centre will launch their 2023/2024 season with an event at the studio theatre on Wednesday May 31 at 3 pm.

The City of Guelph will be hosting a volunteer matching event for the local tourism industry on June 1 from 4-6 pm at Cornerstone downtown.

The Guelph Hiking Trail Club will be holding a ribbon-cutting for the new Crane Park community bridge on Saturday June 3 at 11 am.

Local and emergency traffic will have limited access to Marylin Drive from Friday June 9 to Sunday June 11 from the Guelph and District Multicultural Festival.

The date of for Wellington County’s Economic Development Committee meeting has been changed from June 20 to Tuesday June 27 at 10 am.

World-renowned pianist Valerie Tryon will be playing a recital to benefit the Guelph Youth Music Centre on Wednesday June 28 at 7:30 pm.

Current “Have Your Say” Opportunities:

Race to Zero, Silvercreek Parkway North Reconstruction, and Guelph’s Bicentennial.

Transit Detours

Route 11 Silvercreek is on detour after 7 pm tonight to accommodate the paving of Speedvale between Silvercreek and Dawson.

Carden Street and Macdonell will be closed between Wyndham and Wilson all-day on Sunday June 4 for the Downtown Guelph Exotic Car Show.

New and Upcoming Construction

Teal Drive will be closed at Milson Crescent for 10 days starting on June 5 for the installation of sewer and water pipes to support a development at 55 Teal Drive.

There will be lane reductions on Wyndham Street between Carden and Farquhar for three weeks starting on June 15. New conduits are being installed on the underside of the Wyndham Street Bridge.