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

In the third meeting of a three-meeting night, council will consider the most packed agenda of all. Council must revisit a couple of complicated agenda items from Committee of the Whole including the fate of the Drill Hall and the expansion of reusable containers in lieu of single-use plastics. Also, are the City’s 2023 financials really as good as we were lead to believe. KPMG will have the answer… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 25 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 12 Meeting?

What’s the point of establishing a work plan if you’re not going to give yourself a report card? Every year, city council hears from staff about how things are progressing with the Strategic Plan goals that they’ve set for themselves, and once again the time has come to see if City Hall gets an A, B, C, D, or F for their various efforts across the pre-set categories. So how did the City of Guelph do this year? Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 12 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 11 Meeting?

This planning meeting of Guelph City Council will focus for the most part on heritage matters. For the last several months, Heritage Guelph has been banking new designations for council to finally sign off on and the horseshoe will take a look at five of them. But that’s not the end of the agenda, there will also be a request to extend a deadline, a request to send a letter, and a request to build some new student accommodations. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 11 Meeting?”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 4, 2024 Meeting?

June at Committee of the Whole brings a little bit of almost everything. Members of the committee will chew on more changes to single-use plastics policy, an updated look at the City of Guelph’s asset management work, and a report coming from a direction last fall at the budget meeting. If that’s not enough for you, the fate of a certain heritage building downtown is back on the front burner. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 4, 2024 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 29 Meeting?

Another meeting of city council where city council isn’t being city council. In another instance where our favourite local government has to exercise their semi-legal powers to hear a case of accidentally assigned development charges, did the developer pay too much and whose fuzzy math is the fuzziest? Council will be the ultimate arbitrator in another edition of The Price is Right, Guelph real estate division!
Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 29 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 28 Meeting?

Once again, we’ve come to the end of the month after a very busy slate of meetings. At this regular meeting, council will be asked to have a last word about internet voting, the 2023 financials, the plan to send the tiny home community concept to Wellington County’s Joint Social Service Committee, and a couple of other administrative items. And, in new business, new board appointments for civilians and councillors! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 28 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on May 22?

Been a while since we’ve had a workshop… So what’s the focus of this one? The future! More specifically though the future of downtown. Guelph’s main drag in the core will be getting some work done in the next decade, and if we’re working on all the stuff under the road, we can take the time to work on some stuff on top of the road, you know, give Wyndham Street a face lift. But what will it’s new face look like? Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on May 22?”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 15, 2024 Meeting?

We’ve already scheduled one Committee of the Whole meeting, but what about a second Committee of the Whole meeting? This unusual move is coming to you from the financial office and Strong Mayor Powers as committee will sit to review the City’s 2023 financials, and to review Mayor Cam Guthrie’s request to have staff look at the creation of a temporary structured encampment. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 15, 2024 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 14 Meeting?

This month’s planning meeting is all about heritage, or rather it’s all about getting rid of heritage. One of the two applications at least has the endorsement of staff, but if you’re concerned about the fate of an historic farmhouse and its accompanying barn in the south end, you might want to perk up because being told that they have to live with protecting that heritage on their land is not sitting well with the property owner. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 14 Meeting?”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 7, 2024 Meeting?

Committee of the Whole this May will have what’s expected to be one of the spiciest debates of the term, and it’s all about how the next city council will be elected. The staff from the clerks’ office will be presenting the options for voting in the 2026 municipal election, and one of them is *not* internet voting, which is where the results of a year-long debate at one of our provincially-mandated advisory groups come in. Let’s get into it…! Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 7, 2024 Meeting?”