Since it closed in 2000, the Ontario Reformatory, and the 108 hectares that surround it, have been the source of much conversation, optimism and fantasy. We got the Guelph Innovation District Secondary Plan, we’ve got a Heritage Conservation District Study, and now we’ve got a project to turn the area into a national park. Is creating a national park the end game for the OR Lands we’ve been looking for? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #391 – A National Park (If We Can Keep It)”
The month at council begins with – Surprise! – a Committee of the Whole 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: Committee of the Whole Meeting for October 3, 2023”
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 September 16-30, 2023”
This month’s regular meeting of city council brought to an end the great zero parking minimums debate for new residential developments downtown. That was the big item of the meeting, but there was one item of new business to take care of first, the matter of a certain wall that’s been making getting a lot of press in the last several weeks. So there’s all that, plus a new Indigenous territorial acknowledgement on this week’s council recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: The Wall and the Race to Zero”
Long time local labour activist Janice Folk-Dawson was acclaimed as a federal election candidate by the NDP riding association at a nomination meeting on Friday night at the Guelph Youth Music Centre. The president of CUPE local 1334 and executive vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Labour is making a play to fill the new and open seat in Guelph, and getting ahead of the other area parties to do it. Continue reading “Folk-Dawson Acclaimed as First Guelph Candidate for Next Federal Election”
The Accessibility Advisory Committee usually meets every other month, but in October we’re getting two different AAC meetings. Why are we so lucky? Well, this meeting is exclusively about potential voting options for the next municipal election in 2026. Members of the committee will workshop the various options, give their expert feedback and then leave it staff to come back with… Well, why ruin the surprise? Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for October 2, 2023”
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: Homecoming Results, Stolen Pokemon Cards and Another Fake Gun”
After stuffing yourself with turkey, get up the next day and stuff yourself with heritage appreciation with this month’s Heritage Guelph meeting. On the agenda for the October meeting are a triad of new potential heritage designations: one you’ve seen twice before, one that’s brand new to this committee, and a third that has something of a deadline for completion. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for October 10, 2023”
October’s Committee of Adjustment meeting will be relatively low key in terms of volume. Eight applications is still a lot, but things are definitely slowing down from the highs of a dozen or more in the summer months. As winter approaches, October brings us requests to make a triplex, some changes to a townhouse subdivision, a new location for a daycare, some renovations to a self-store and an industrial land severance. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Committee of Adjustment Meeting for October 12, 2023”
At this special meeting of Guelph City Council, they will give thanks for having a knowledgeable and adaptable finance staff. Members of council will stuff themselves with facts and figures about the budget mechanics, the pressures on the budget for the next four years and some of the challenges on the part of the City as we enter the next budget cycle. It’s time to get smarter, and that’s not talking turkey! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on October 11?”
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