Adam A. Donaldson

This Week at Council: Official Plan Decision Debate Takes Over Planning Meeting

Published on May 14, 2023May 12, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

This month’s planning meeting was probably always going to be a controversial affair, but, as it turned out, making a decision about a 23-storey tower at the corner of Wyndham and Wellington is something council didn’t have to worry about… for now. Instead, council had to find a new source of friction and boy was it delivered thanks to a staff report about the Ontario government’s decision on the latest Official Amendment. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Official Plan Decision Debate Takes Over Planning Meeting” →

CITY PAGES: New Logo, Special Olympics Return, and Lots of Events

Published on May 13, 2023May 13, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

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…? Continue reading “CITY PAGES: New Logo, Special Olympics Return, and Lots of Events” →

POLICE NOTES: Baseball Bat Attack, Distraction Theft, and a Rusty Trailer

Published on May 13, 2023May 12, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There are 145,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot going on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Baseball Bat Attack, Distraction Theft, and a Rusty Trailer” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for May 18, 2023

Published on May 12, 2023May 15, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

This month’s Transit Advisory Meeting will catch up on some recent transit developments outside the committee room and then talk about what’s next. Since last month’s TAC meeting, city council formally passed the transit fare review so what happens now? In other matters, transit staff will talk about future plans, rider concerns, schedule changes, and, naturally, what’s going on with the electric bus. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for May 18, 2023” →

RECAP: Committee of Adjustment Hands Out Minor Variances and Talks Bylaw

Published on May 11, 2023May 18, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

As compared to April’s marathon Committee of Adjustment meeting, the May meeting was a breeze. There were just four applications on the agenda, but there wasn’t a lot to fight about, and after that, staff gave a presentation about recent changes to two big committee-adjacent matters: the Ontario government’s decision about the latest Official Plan update, and the newly approved Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw. Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of Adjustment Hands Out Minor Variances and Talks Bylaw” →

RECAP: Social Services Committee Reviews Housing and Childcare Changes Are Coming

Published on May 10, 2023May 11, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There wasn’t much to do for the Wellington County Social Services committee at the May meeting, but there was a hint of some changes to come. Ontario Works was able to take the month off, but there was some interesting new developments to discuss around childcare in the region, at least in terms of future funding. Also, it was the Housing Division’s turn to tell committee what they do and how they do it. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Social Services Committee Reviews Housing and Childcare Changes Are Coming” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #372 – When Lunch Attacks

Published on May 10, 2023May 9, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There are about 1,700 food-based businesses across the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph region, and they all get regularly inspected, but sometimes accidents happen, just like it did last month at a luncheon for International Women’s Day at an Orangeville hotel and conference centre. We’ve made it through the COVID-19 health emergency, but what happens when the health crisis is something we ate? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #372 – When Lunch Attacks” →

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 9, 2023

Published on May 9, 2023May 10, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

City council is proud to present this month’s planning meeting. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 9, 2023” →

This Week at Council: Money and Scooters

Published on May 7, 2023May 4, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

The month of May started a day late at city council with a two topic Committee of the Whole meeting that focused on last year’s money matters, and then looked to the more immediate future with a new bylaw. In this meeting, there was a rather substantial budget variance to dispatch, and then there was a bylaw for the use of escooters that has to come back to council in less than two months. Let us recap the meeting… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Money and Scooters” →

Pomp, Circumstance, and a 21 Gun Salute for the New King

Published on May 6, 2023May 7, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Guelph. It’s right there in the name, the “Royal City.” So naturally, on the day that Charles III was crowned the new King of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, not to mention becoming Canada’s own head of state, Guelph would not be left out of the festivities. To mark the occasion they got out the big guns. Literally. And they also got out a full military parade to welcome the official start of a new royal’s reign. Continue reading “Pomp, Circumstance, and a 21 Gun Salute for the New King” →