This Week at Council: Money Talks, Tiny Homes Walk… to the County

This week at city council, two was the magic number. There were two different meetings, we had the month’s second Committee of the Whole meeting, there were two heritage-related motions, and there were two major presents. Two was also reflective of the impact, because there are two different local governments and different powers between then, and that made the idea of proceeding with our own Better Tent City (see above) more difficult. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Money Talks, Tiny Homes Walk… to the County”

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

Once again, we’ve come to the end of the month after a very busy slate of meetings. At this regular meeting, council will be asked to have a last word about internet voting, the 2023 financials, the plan to send the tiny home community concept to Wellington County’s Joint Social Service Committee, and a couple of other administrative items. And, in new business, new board appointments for civilians and councillors! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 28 Meeting?”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 15, 2024

Two committee of the wholes this month?! You know you want it! 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 May 15, 2024”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 15, 2024 Meeting?

We’ve already scheduled one Committee of the Whole meeting, but what about a second Committee of the Whole meeting? This unusual move is coming to you from the financial office and Strong Mayor Powers as committee will sit to review the City’s 2023 financials, and to review Mayor Cam Guthrie’s request to have staff look at the creation of a temporary structured encampment. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 15, 2024 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #414 – Tiny Homes, Big Impacts

We’ve heard a lot about tiny homes lately as the housing crisis has gotten worse, but they’ve been a thing for a while. Somehow, it’s both a niche real estate trend, and a new innovation in accommodating Canada’s unhoused population, but it’s the latter that we’re interested in today because we’re going to talk about one of Guelph’s two tiny home projects meant to tackle homelessness. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #414 – Tiny Homes, Big Impacts”

GUELPH POLITICAST #408 – Greg Dorval Has Things to Say

One of the problems covering issues of homelessness in the media is that it’s hard to find people to be the face of those issues. You see this in just about every news story, “person X is experiencing issue A”; it’s a way of personalizing the issue and making it relatable to the audience, and it’s one of the reasons why the homelessness crisis is so unrelatable. That’s where Greg Dorval entered the picture a few weeks ago. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #408 – Greg Dorval Has Things to Say”

This Week at Council: Planning, Tribunal and Encampments Form the Trifecta

There are busy weeks at council, and then there’s spending nearly half of a 28-hour period in the council chambers. That was the time frame this week at 1 Carden Street, and in that period there was a planning meeting, a meeting where council sat as tribunal on a matter of misapplied Development Charges, and, the big one, a marathon meeting about a Public Spaces Use bylaw. To see how it all turned out, consult this week’s recap below… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Planning, Tribunal and Encampments Form the Trifecta”

LIVE BLOG: First City Council Meeting for February 14, 2024

In what’s sure to be one of the most controversial meeting of the year, the public spaces use bylaw. You can click here for the amended agendas 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: First City Council Meeting for February 14, 2024”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the First February 14 Meeting?

Just a day after a two-day meeting between representatives from Guelph and Wellington County, and about two weeks after it was first proposed in closed session at city council, staff have generated what’s sure to be the most controversial policy of the year. The growing visibility of encampments, especially in downtown Guelph, prompted the creation of a new bylaw, and it will be debated at this meeting! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the First February 14 Meeting?”

Top 10 Guelph News Stories of 2023

In these waning days of 2023, we know what you all need: Another end of the year list! It was another busy year in the news business here in Guelph, a lot of meetings, and issues, and debates, and announcements, and groundbreakings… How do you make sense of it all? With a Top 10 list! So let’s look at the year in Guelph from great progress to big protests, and all the issues that we mulled over, and will likely mull over some more in 2024. Continue reading “Top 10 Guelph News Stories of 2023”