Author: Adam A. Donaldson

When he’s not the main/only contributor to Guelph Politico, Adam A. Donaldson also contributes to GuelphToday.com as their city hall columnist and co-hosts a political and current affairs show on CFRU 93.3 fm called “Open Sources Guelph" as well as the movie review show "End Credits."

RECAP: Accessibility Committee Completes December Agenda, Talks Playgrounds and Elections

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Back in December, the Accessibility Advisory Committee got an early jump on most of the City’s local boards and advisory committees by holding a pre-Christmas meeting that ended up going past the two hours set aside for the meeting. So instead of waiting until February to finish the agenda, the executive decision was made to hold a special meeting in January, and here’s how it all unfolded! Continue reading “RECAP: Accessibility Committee Completes December Agenda, Talks Playgrounds and Elections” →

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for January 1-15, 2023

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Every month, Guelph Politico posts the latest inspection results from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit inspection of local restaurants, hotels, cafes, grocery stores and other businesses that handle food. We call it “Mangez!”, and this column highlights the latest inspections done by WDGPH, and the results they’ve posted. Continue reading “MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for January 1-15, 2023” →

This Week at Council: Strategic Plan Workshop and Committee Business

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This past week, 2023 really started, at least in terms of council business. In the first two meetings of the year this past Tuesday, the new council discussed the intricacies of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan as a way to set up council’s future debates about the new version of the plan. After that, the horseshoe dispatched a relatively brief Committee of the Whole agenda, the first one they’ve dealt with in a while. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Strategic Plan Workshop and Committee Business” →

POLICE NOTES: Fraud Stopped, Ballroom Blitz, and New Year’s Drugs

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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: Fraud Stopped, Ballroom Blitz, and New Year’s Drugs” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for January 19, 2023

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Are you ready to talk transit? You better be because the time has come for the first meeting of Guelph Transit Advisory Committee for this term, and this year! After sorting out the usual business of starting a new term at committee, the new and old members will dig in to the business of new changes to Transit coming up later this year (budget affirmation pending) and some updates about other transit business. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for January 19, 2023” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 23, 2023

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With the new year, Heritage Guelph is now officially under the proverbial gun thanks to changes in Bill 23 and the ongoing efforts to preserve the Ontario Reformatory Lands in the east end. Both of these items will be front and centre at this month’s Heritage Guelph committee meeting as the people in charge of protecting Guelph’s old places face some new challenges. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 23, 2023” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 25 Meeting?

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Get your pencils and calculators ready because it’s time for some hardcore accounting. In this special council meeting, which begins at a special time, Guelph City Council will review the approved 2023 budget, consider some of the potential changes and then reaffirm. At stake is the $508.6 million cost of running the City of Guelph, and there are a lot of considerations for council to sift through before they get to the final vote. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 25 Meeting?” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 24 Workshop Meeting?

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It’s a moment all the local policy wonks have been waiting for… the initiation of the process to come up with the next version of the Strategic Plan. As discussed this week, a lot (and we do mean A LOT) has changed since the previous version of the Strategic Plan was hacked out by council in 2019, so this is probably going to be an even more interesting process than before. Shall we begin… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 24 Workshop Meeting?” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 24 Meeting?

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Not much to see for this regular meeting of city council, at least not much that you haven’t already seen. Council will revisit the new appoints they approved to Committee of the Whole, decide whether to let one of their colleagues ascend to a higher body (if elected), and will also have an in-camera conversation about the CAO’s performance objectives for the year. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 24 Meeting?” →

RECAP: Social Services Gets A Look at the Future of 65 Delhi Street

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January’s Social Service committee meeting at the County of Wellington covered a lot of ground, but the most ground was saved for a sneak peak at the redevelopment of 65 Delhi Street into Guelph’s latest transition and supportive housing project. Along with that, the committee also heard about the paramedic response to last month’s winter storm, changes coming in the 2023 budget, and childcare user fees! Continue reading “RECAP: Social Services Gets A Look at the Future of 65 Delhi Street” →