Compared to last week, council business this week was light and breezy, but still really on the serious side. This week, it was all about what you, the people, think about the proposed 2024-2027 multiyear budget, and boy were there a wide variety of thoughts. From concerns about cuts to concerns about cost to requests for some changes, there was a lot of new information to cover for the members of council. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Budget Feedback”
It was a very busy 30 hours at council this week with three meetings. First up, there was Committee of the Whole with one item main item about governance. Next, a special meeting of council that determined the fate of one development, it was a big development but it was still just about the one. And then, speaking of big items, we dug into the 2024-2027 multiyear budget and it’s big tax levy increase. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Mad Money, Madder Residents”
Nothing really scary at this pre-Halloween council meeting, unless you’re devoid of compassion. Council revisited the Parks and Recreation Master Plan from Committee of the Whole with a wider accessibility lens this time, and then there was a special motion from one councillor about encouraging the creation of a Guaranteed Livable Income. There was also one last word about the Culture Plan, so let’s see all about it in this meeting recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Livable Income; Accessible Playgrounds!”
It’s tough to summarize a nine-hour council meeting, but it kind of helps that this one came in two parts. In the first half, council tried its best to use the limited tool kit they have to generate some housing solutions amidst the crisis, and then, in the second half, it was the usual monthly planning meeting with some big new applications, big decisions, and some big heritage designations. Here’s the (lengthier than normal) recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Housing, Heritage and Hesitancy in Double Header”
It’s still about a month before the budget process really gets underway, but there’s already a warning that things are going to be tricky for council if they have a hope of balancing all that they want to do while making it affordable of the people of Guelph. Bill 23 has dug us a deep hole and the crises of affordability and housing are making that hole even more difficult to fill, but is all hope lost? Perhaps there’s an answer in this council workshop… Continue reading “This Week at Council: The Crunchier Than Normal Budget Crunch”
The October Committee of the Whole meeting was, in part, about a bell, and the bell tolled for more participation around Guelph’s cultural and recreation activities. There was also a real bell, the old city hall bell that now has a home in the courtyard of the present city hall (pictured above). A lot of plans and master plans came home for committee approval this month, and here’s how it all went down. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Master Plans and Bells”
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”
It was one of those weeks at city council, and by “one of those weeks”, we mean that it just wasn’t that busy. Perhaps it was meant to be a refreshing break from the last few weeks of very long meetings. In any event, this month’s planning meeting came down to three simple items, and while one of them tried hard to generate some controversy, business was managed in a relatively smooth manner. Continue reading “This Week at Council: It’s a Sign!”
After several weeks of hype, Guelph City Council held a meeting meant to rake out most of their concerns about housing, homelessness, social services, addictions and mental health. A substantial agenda requires a commensurate meeting length, and council tackled seven hours worth of facts, figures and insights into all those issues to find the gaps, and hopefully start to find some solutions. Here’s the recap from this week’s council meeting… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Housing is Exactly as Complicated as You Think”
This week, council came back to do the council’s business with an agenda that included Indigenous relations, but the Downtown Parking Master Plan that was the source of the most controversy. How much should maximums be minimized was the primary source of friction, but that might still have to be worked out at the end of the month. Meanwhile, there was a lengthy closed session we know nothing about. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week in Council: Downtown Parking Gets Racked Out”
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