Tag: City Council

GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)

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It’s been over 10 years since Karen Farbridge left office, technically defeated in the 2014 election by then one-term City Councillor Cam Guthrie. It ended up being an end to her days in elected office, but Farbridge isn’t gone, and she certainly isn’t forgotten, and in the last few weeks she’s been the one doing the remembering with a new series of Substack newsletters about lessons she learned from her career in politics. But what more can she tell us? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #495 – Civic Advocacy Still Works! (feat. Ken Thompson & Susan Watson)

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If there’s a reason that Guelph City Council opted to proceed with a vacant home tax a few weeks ago, at least some of that credits goes to Get Involved Guelph who have been raising concerns for years about the number of houses in the Royal City staying empty, especially in the midst of a housing crisis.  Well, the City of Guelph finally agreed that it’s time to act, so what does Get Involved Guelph do for an encore? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #495 – Civic Advocacy Still Works! (feat. Ken Thompson & Susan Watson)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)

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It was about this time two years ago that former Guelph CAO Scott Stewart told city council in an open meeting that there needed to be a new deal for Ontario municipalities; that they were trying to solve 21st century problems with 19th century rules. As Guelph tackles another difficult budget season, one regional councillor is putting this issue in stark terms: Ontario’s councils are “on the verge of life support”! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)” →

This Week at Council: No Salt Added at Regular Meeting

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If you thought last week at Guelph City Council was busy you won’t believe how straightforward everything was this week! At the regular council meeting for September there were some new committee appointments, and there was some appreciation for Guelphites doing great things, but the biggest item had to do with salt, the variety that you use on the road in winter. For all the details, check out the recap below. Continue reading “This Week at Council: No Salt Added at Regular Meeting” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #486 – The Year at Council So Far: Part 2 (May-July 2025)

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School kids and teachers aren’t the only ones that get a summer vacation. City council, and those that cover them, also get a summer break, at least when it comes to the monthly meeting schedule. We now have a couple of weeks of meetings under our belt since August ended, but for this week’s podcast we’re going back in time to business at council before summer vacation. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #486 – The Year at Council So Far: Part 2 (May-July 2025)” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 16, 2025

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Council has the regular meeting a couple of weeks early! 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 16, 2025” →

This Week at Council: Big Nights for Big Projects

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It was a packed night, or make that a couple of nights, at Guelph City Council. Two nights, two big planning projects, one in the south end and one in the east end. Both have been hotly anticipated (dreaded?), at least one for many, many years, and while one is still at least theoretical, the other is now moving on to the next phase of development. For all the details, let’s get right into this week’s recap of council business… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Big Nights for Big Projects” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #485 – Hauser History (feat. Katherine Hauser)

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Out of 27 perspective candidates for Ward 6 city councillor it came down between Katherine Hauser and Rebecca Adam, and after a show of hands vote ended in a tie, Hauser got the gig in a literal luck of the draw. It was her name that came out of that big orange box, and it’s now up to Hauser to make as big an impact she can before council rises one year from now for the next municipal election. What does she do now? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #485 – Hauser History (feat. Katherine Hauser)” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 9, 2025

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Plans are made, and plans are made to be approved. 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 9, 2025” →

This Week at Council: Back to Business, and a Rerun

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After a real August recess this year, city council – now whole again – returned to the council chambers for more hijinks starting with something we thought we had already done in July. After an impromptu planning meeting, council took part in the Committee of the Whole meeting where they covered I.T., WHMIS, and stuff that does have initials like the growing scourge of graffiti. Get all the details in this week’s recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Back to Business, and a Rerun” →