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…?

City of Guelph’s Credit Rating is Still AAA

Despite the City of Guelph’s fiscal restraint, or perhaps because of it, the vaunted AAA crediting rating from S&P has been achieved for the third straight year. “A strong economy and liquidity position and an extremely predictable and supportive institutional framework remain credit strengths,” the report said, but it did come with a warning. “The City of Guelph’s after-capital performance will come under pressure in 2024-2026 due to a large capital plan, which will also increase the city’s reliance on debt in the medium term. Nevertheless, we expect the city’s capital expenditures will be more manageable after 2026.”

“Like many municipalities, Guelph is facing increased financial pressure to address housing supply and infrastructure demands, and the planned use of debt in the capital budget and forecast for these priorities does exceed S&P’s target threshold beyond this review’s forecast period of 2026,” said City Treasurer and GM of Finance Tara Baker in a statement. “We are pleased that the City’s sound financial strategies and carefully considered fiscal planning have positioned the City so strongly, as we work to achieve the ambitious and necessary capital plan ahead needed to help the City meet our Future Guelph strategic goals.”

GRCA Sends Alert About Blue-Green Algae

The presence of a small blue-green algae bloom has been observed near the boat launch at Belwood Lake reservoir, but the Grand River Conservation Authority is sending out warnings for all area reservoirs: Belwood, Woolwich, Conestogo, and Guelph. When an algal bloom starts to grow, a noticeable green or brown scum will form on the surface of water bodies and the water look like green or bluish-green pea soup. Once blue-green algae are in full bloom, it may look like spilled ‘paint’ along the shoreline. A new blue-green algal bloom often smells like fresh cut grass, while an older bloom can smell like rotting garbage.

If you see algae, the GRCA asks you to keep children and pets away, avoid contact, don’t eat fish from the lake, don’t use the water for drinking or any other purpose, and while you shouldn’t swim in areas where you see scum, or where it’s accumulating along the shoreline, boating is still permitted. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit have been notified.

Arts Mentorship Program Revived!

Guelph Arts Council, with the support of the School of Fine Art and Music at the University of Guelph, is relaunching the Guelph Emerging Artist Mentorship Project (GEAMP) this fall. This project supports emerging artists as they start making their transition to their professional lives though mentorship sessions with established professionals, which culminates in in a group exhibition that they plan, promote, and install with support from the GAC team.

Guelph visual and media artists, musicians and cultural managers can apply now until Sunday, September 15 at 11:59 pm online here. For more information about the Guelph Emerging Artist Mentorship Project, visit the Guelph Arts Council website, or contact geam [at] guelpharts.ca or programs [at] guelpharts.ca.

The Labour Day Picnic is Back!

Additional Notes

Robert Munsch will be making a special appearance with the Guelph Storytelling Guild at Ribfest today at 10 am!

There are schedule and route changes coming to GO bus routes starting on Saturday August 31, including some routes to, from and through Guelph!

The pool at the Victoria Road Recreation Centre will be closed between September 2 and 22 for maintenance. The rest of the centre will remain open and operate as usual.

Registration for fall recreation programs starts on September 11 at 7:30 am. Fall schedules are now live on RecEnroll, so you can plan your programs before registration opens, and then register on Wednesday September 11 either online, by phone at 519-837-5699, or in person at the West End Community Centre or Victoria Road Recreation Centre.

The United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin will be holing their campaign kick-0ff on Thursday September 12 at 12 pm, at the Shelldale Community Centre in the gymnasium.

Bookmark for later: Here are the holiday weekend hours for the City of Guelph, and the Guelph Public Library.

Current “Have Your Say” Opportunities:

• Disc Golf in Margret Greene Park
• Downtown Infrastructure Renewal
• Finding Your Way
• Guelph’s Bicentennial
• Scottsdale Drive Bike Lanes.

Transit News & Detours

Reminder #1: The detours along the #4 York have changed and will remain in effect till December 20.

Reminder #2: The transfer point at the University Centre will be moved to the Movati Athletic south parking lot on Friday August 30 and Saturday August 31 for Move-In Weekend at the University of Guelph. The #1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 15, 17, 18 and 99 will all be affected those days.

The #11 Silvercreek and #99 Mainline will be detoured up Wyndham Street to Woolwich from Monday August 26 to Friday August 30 for construction.

See the full list of stops affected by detours here.

New and Upcoming Construction

There will be sidewalk construction along Water Street and Denver Road for four weeks starting on Monday August 26.

There will be lane reductions outside 78 Starwood Drive for four weeks starting on Wednesday August 28 for the installation of a new centre median.

There will be narrow two-lane traffic and possible delays on Woolwich Street between Powell and Clark for two days starting on Wednesday August 28 for the decommissioning of existing water services at 423 Woolwich Street and the repaving of the road surface.

Testing is being done on the Logan Test Well. The test will pump potable drinking water to the stormwater management system at a catch basin on Eastview Road and Norton Drive, and discharge to a storm pond at the north east corner of Watson Parkway and Grange Road. The test will take up to four to five weeks to complete.