This Week at Council: Strong Mayor Blowback

What was supposed to be a rather unexceptional week at council turned out to be very busy indeed, and it really had nothing to do with what city council was working on. Upset about the Ontario government’s decision to grant Strong Mayor powers to most heads of council in the province’s biggest cities, several delegates came out to let council know it, but it turned out even staff have problems with the implementation. Here’s the recap. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Strong Mayor Blowback”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meetings for June 27, 2023

It’s the last meeting of the month! 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: City Council Meetings for June 27, 2023”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on June 27?

It’s the end of June, and this agenda certainly feels like it’s the last day of classes before summer vacation. Granted, there are still a bunch of meetings coming in July, but you’re looking for something new and exciting on this agenda, it appears that all you have is the stuff already talked about at Committee of the Whole. Can we find new controversy to exploit, or will this meeting be brief? Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on June 27?”

This Week at Council: Non-Stop Governance and Downtown’s Future

It was a long afternoon and evening in June at Committee of the Whole. After a couple of months with some shorter agendas, it seemed like everything came home to roost this month with a massive agenda under the Governance service area including procedural updates, the Strategic Plan annual report and the last (?) you’ll hear from the Smart Cities Office. Also, there’s a lot of work coming soon in Downtown Guelph. Let’s recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Non-Stop Governance and Downtown’s Future”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for June 6, 2023

It’s going to be a long 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 June 6, 2023”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 6 Meeting?

It’s June! The weather is nice, and there are lots of outdoor activities to take part in, so naturally this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda is one of the longest in some time. In terms of long-term issues it’s going to cover all the bases including social services, community engagement, council governance, water, Smart Cities, strategic planning and downtown renewal. All that, and a lot of staff members need to be honoured too. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 6 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #363 – The Future of Our Food Future

It was about this time back in 2019 that Guelph and Wellington County were announced as the winners of the Smart Cities Challenge. The challenge was to develop a circular food economy that was going to reduce food waste, promote sustainable food development, and increase access to nutritious food and produce. By many metrics, the project has been a success, so what happens when the funds run out this year? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #363 – The Future of Our Food Future”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for February 28, 2023

Last day of the month, last meeting of the month. A busy one too. 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: City Council Meeting for February 28, 2023”

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

You might almost consider them some last minute decisions for this February, the last meeting on the last night of the month. Naturally, this means that there are some big moves to make along with the ratification of this month’s committee agenda, which itself had some pretty big decisions. Long-term care, housing, the integrity commissioner and more are all on this agenda to close out the second month of 2023! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the February 28 Meeting?”

This Week at Council: CAO Plan, Campus Update, and LTC Workshop

February for city council began with a stacked agenda at Committee of the Whole and loads of new information about the Chief Administrative Officer’s 2023 plan, the future of Our Food Future, and the newest iteration of the Operations campus. We also kicked off “Workshop Wednesdays” with a meeting to look at the City’s relationship with long-term care. Continue reading “This Week at Council: CAO Plan, Campus Update, and LTC Workshop”