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

Council returns to regular order for the first time in months, and the first regular meeting of council looks to have something for everybody. From the final ratification to the latest stage in Clair-Maltby planning, to year-end budget considerations, to water issues and solid waste, it’s going to be a policy wonk’s delight again at council. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 25 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #221 – Old Marcolongo’s Farm

The detailed Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan was going to be one of the biggest issues before city council this year, and it still might be, but in the almost literal centre of the debate is the Marcolongo Farm property. With council returning to some kind of regular order in the next few weeks, look for the planning of Clair-Maltby to pick-up again, and there is almost no one that has as much invested in that plan both personally and professionally than Mike Marcolongo. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #221 – Old Marcolongo’s Farm”

Community Gardens Set to Reopen on Friday

Late last month, the Ontario government gave the province the thumbs up to re-open community gardens, which acknowledges their place in the local food economy, not to mention a means of community engagement. With the long weekend coming, and nice weather becoming somewhat more regular, people are ready to get growing, and the City of Guelph has guidelines now for how to do that safely. Continue reading “Community Gardens Set to Reopen on Friday”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 11, 2020

Council tries to get back to some kind of regular order starting today. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here (and here for the update) 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 May 11, 2020”

Mayor’s Task Force Looking for Help While the City of Guelph Looks Ahead

For nearly two months, like every other community in much of the world, Guelph has been battling the effects of COVID-19. As the pandemic lockdown continues to roll on, the City of Guelph is trying to ensure its people that everything that can be done, is being done, and they are looking at how the regular business of the City will change as the pandemic remains with us. Continue reading “Mayor’s Task Force Looking for Help While the City of Guelph Looks Ahead”

Council Preview Update: What Else is on the Agenda for the May 11 Meeting?

Guelph city council will meeting again for the first time in nearly a month on Monday, and there be many things to discuss. Many of those details were not a part of the original agenda released for the meeting last week, but they were part of the amended agenda released Friday afternoon, and there are a lot of new details to go over. Continue reading “Council Preview Update: What Else is on the Agenda for the May 11 Meeting?”

CITY PAGES: No Fires, Road Construction, and Landscaping

The City of Guelph puts out a lot of information on a weekly basis, and while it all ends up on the City’s website somewhere, wouldn’t it be easier to just scroll through it all on one easy-to-read article on Guelph Politico here…? Continue reading “CITY PAGES: No Fires, Road Construction, and Landscaping”

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

For the first time in nearly a month, Guelph’s city council will once again meet digitally, and it will likely come with the promise of more frequent meetings in the weeks to come. For this meeting though, we’ve got COVID updates, a deferred vote, and a motion to create more active transportation in town, at least on a temporary basis. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 11 Meeting?”

The Month at Council: Mostly COVID-19 Stuff, and Only One Meeting

For the second time in the COVID-19 era, city council sat for what is now being called a special meeting. The mayor and senior staff were socially distant in the council chambers while the members of council called in from home in what was the one and only council meeting for the month of April on Thursday April 16. Continue reading “The Month at Council: Mostly COVID-19 Stuff, and Only One Meeting”

LUMCO Looks for Help to Cover COVID-19 Costs

It’s a well-known secret that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing all kinds of complications on the bottom line of businesses and individuals, but it’s also causing streams of red ink for Canada’s cities too. The mayor’s of Ontario’s 29 biggest cities, the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO), are raising the alarm after a meeting today that they need higher levels of government to give them extra help to manage the fiscal blow from coronavirus. Continue reading “LUMCO Looks for Help to Cover COVID-19 Costs”