MEETING PREVIEW: County Social Services Meeting for October 11, 2023

At October’s Social Services Committee meeting of Wellington County things will be relatively more laid back than September’s packed agenda. This month there will be mostly discussions about spending and the funding of programs, plus there will be a visit from the gang that runs the local health van who are on the look out for some funding of their own. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: County Social Services Meeting for October 11, 2023”

POLICE NOTES: The Sleeping Thief, Vintage Car Taken, and Attempted Robbers Wanted

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: The Sleeping Thief, Vintage Car Taken, and Attempted Robbers Wanted”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 17 Special Meeting?

The first entry in a packed day at City Hall (which also includes an Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting and the planning meeting of city council) is all about housing. Following up on other recent meetings about the subject, city council will offer some further and firmer direction on how to combat the local housing crisis. Will Guelph City Council be finally able to make an impact? Let’s see what the plan is… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 17 Special Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 17 Planning Meeting?

Slightly delayed because of the Thanksgiving holiday, this month’s planning meeting of city council is about the size of two planning meetings, maybe three given the agenda. There are decisions that need to be made, new applications to hear, and some direction to be received on matters from heritage designations to development charges. Bring your sleeping bag and some snacks for this one… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 17 Planning Meeting?”

RECAP: Cobey Tells Board Why His Members Need More (Budget) Help

It was a stacked meeting of the Guelph Police Services Board, slightly delayed by two weeks due to scheduling issues. The big item at this meeting was the budget. Some big changes have been made since the police budget was first presented in July, at least on the capital side, but the police are still asking for an increase next year on the operating side. How much? You should check out the recap below for all the details… Continue reading “RECAP: Cobey Tells Board Why His Members Need More (Budget) Help”

MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for October 5, 2023

Two months after the last Guelph Police Services Board meeting, and two weeks later than it was supposed to take place, we finally gather to talk about the biggest part of police board business and the source of much controversy: the police budget. The numbers will be laid out for everyone at this meeting, and that means both the future budget and the status of the current one. In other news, we’ll find out how things are going downtown? Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for October 5, 2023”

GUELPH POLITICAST #391 – A National Park (If We Can Keep It)

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)”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for October 3, 2023

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”

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for September 16-30, 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 Week at Council: The Wall and the Race to Zero

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”