Surprise! It’s a surprise meeting, and that means a surprise meeting recap! Following up the first big political controversy of 2026, a special city council meeting was called to figure out what was to be done about the sudden cancellation of the daytime shelter plan out of Royal City Mission and Stepping Stone. The details were mostly in-camera, but you will learn all about what came out of it in this recap of the meeting… Continue reading “The Week at Council: Two Hours In Camera”
It was a big meeting of the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee on Wednesday. With the final approval of the 2026 budget at hand, there was a who’s who of area social service agencies attending to make a case for spending a bit more to ensure that there’s funding for people who need rental supplements that will keep them housed and not make them another statistic. Did the committee for it? (Well, check out the spoiler in the headline.) Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Budget for Rent Supplements Boosted at JSSLAC; 20 New Household Per Month Will Be Covered”
Let us wrap up a very busy, and a very difficult 2025 in the council chambers. 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 with the thread below from BlueSky, or you can watch the whole meeting for yourself by watching it on the City’s website here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for January 13, 2026”
It seems as though the City of Guelph is feeling the heat following the sudden announcement on Thursday that a long-awaited daytime shelter program for the unhoused and precariously housed would not open as scheduled on Monday. A demonstration downtown on Saturday seems to have pushed Guelph’s mayor to pencil in a special council meeting this coming week while the City of Guelph is explaining itself in a surprise Sunday post. Continue reading “City Moves to Quell Concerns About Daytime Shelter Debacle”
After taking December off, we’re heading back to Wellington County’s administration building for the first Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting for 2026. At this meeting, there will be many, many special guests on hand who want to discuss the big item on the agenda, which is the 2026 social services budget. Also look out for some follow-up on new projects, new initiatives, and a letter from the attorney general. Here’s the preview… Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 14, 2025”
On Monday, a new daytime shelter service was supposed to begin out of the Royal City Mission, and while it was not going to offer the 12 hours of service per day that was originally intended last fall, it was, if nothing else, a start. But on Thursday there was a sudden turn in this story, separate announcements from both Stepping Stone and Royal City Mission that their collaboration on a new daytime shelter will not be going forward. Continue reading “Daytime Shelter Plans Fall Apart Four Days Before Opening”
Guelph City Council is taking an extended holiday (but not as extended at the Ontario government), so as we wait for their inevitable return, it seems fitting to pause here at the start of the year and to look back at all the action last fall in the council chambers. Before we unlock the future we must first find the keys to the past so join us in this search for the keys… Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #504 – The Rest of 2025 at Council (September-December)”
It was the last council meeting of the year, and it’s been a wild ride, but there were at least a couple of surprises left for civic policy nerds before Christmas Break. Yes, as expected, council discussed the final, final design for St. George’s Square as council sought the ever nebulous “wow” factor. In addition to that there was some push back from council about changes to conservation authorities and a twist ending for fans of bike lanes. For the last time in 2025, here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Squares, Downloading, and Bike Lanes End 2025”
Let us wrap up a very busy, and a very difficult 2025 in the council chambers. 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 with the thread below, or you can watch the whole meeting for yourself by watching it on the City’s website here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for December 16, 2025”
In the last planning meeting for 2025, there was indeed a lot of planning. No new projects were on the agenda, so no future additions to the housing stock, but maybe the fruits of this meeting will lead the way(?). In the first half, council talked about making it easier to get more ADUs built in the city, and in the second half they looked at doing more than four units as-of-right in low residential areas. Let’s get into the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: More ADUs, But Four Units is Enough?”
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