RECAP: Guthrie Finds Praise and Friction in Final Budget Town Hall

Sure, it was Friday night, but it seemed like one of the hottest ticket in town (not that there were tickets) was the final budget town hall with Mayor Cam Guthrie. The mayor wanted to share some positive feedback about his efforts in a Waterloo Region newspaper, but there were a lot of people in attendance who still have concerns about the budget from transit, to homelessness, to accessibility and oversight. For the last time this cycle, let’s dig into the recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Finds Praise and Friction in Final Budget Town Hall”

RECAP: Guthrie Gets Tough Qs About Birthday and Planning at Breezy

It was probably going to be his toughest crowd going into Shine Brunch and Dinner for the Breezy Breakfast crowd, but Mayor Cam Guthrie and the executive team walked into the proverbial lion’s breakfast nook. Some of the usuals had some very pointed questions about active transportation and the city’s bicentennial especially, but some of the other area of interests like the Guelph Tool Library were cover too. Here’s the (breezy) recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Gets Tough Qs About Birthday and Planning at Breezy”

RECAP: Budget Town Hall #2 Tackles Transit Concerns and Board Budgets

For the second time this week, Mayor Cam Guthrie gathered a group of Guelphites and answered questions about the 2025 municipal budget. The difference this night is that there was a screen between the mayor and his constituents as this round went all virtual though Facebook Live. There were some already familiar questions about some common areas of interest, and there were some pointed comments about transit too. Here’s the recap…
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RECAP: Guthrie Grilled on Budget, Homelessness and Notwithstanding Clause

The first of four town halls this week took place in the south end Monday night at the Salvation Army Citadel on Gordon. It was the first chance for Mayor Cam Guthrie to hear feedback from the people, and it was the first opportunity for the people to ask questions and, in some cases, share strong opinions. What did the mayor hear? Good news, you get to hear it too with this recap of the town hall, which you can check out below…
Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Grilled on Budget, Homelessness and Notwithstanding Clause”

RECAP: Ward 5 Have Concerns About Fourplexes, Budget Cuts

Not affiliated with any of the planned budget town halls coming soon, Ward 5 Councillors Leanne Caron and Cathy Downer held their own town hall on Thursday night at Harcourt United Church that focused on planning issues. The City of Guelph’s general manager of planning and building services Krista Walkey was on hand to provide some technical information, and to help the councillors answer a tonne of questions. If you missed it though, here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 5 Have Concerns About Fourplexes, Budget Cuts”

RECAP: Constituents Push Schreiner to Fix… Ontario at Town Hall

Now less than a week before the end of the Ontario Legislature’s 20-week “summer” break, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner held a town hall with a small group of constituents to hear about their priorities. It turns out though that everything is on the front burner. From housing to affordability, from healthcare to community living, and from hospitals to national urban parks, see what Mike had to say about these issues below… Continue reading “RECAP: Constituents Push Schreiner to Fix… Ontario at Town Hall”

RECAP: Ward 6 Town Hall Starts With Construction, Ends With Housing

It was a hot time in the council chambers, and city council wasn’t even in session. About a dozen very active Ward 6 residents headed north to city hall for a town hall with their councillors, Dominique O’Rourke and Ken Yee Chew. At issue was upcoming road construction on Gordon Street, plus other major infrastructure projects now ongoing or coming soon to the south end. So let’s get into the recap of this latest town hall! Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 6 Town Hall Starts With Construction, Ends With Housing”

RECAP: Town Hall Gives City Feedback on Downtown Parking Plan

In progress is the Downtown Guelph Parking Master Plan, which will guide how much, what kind, and the various costs of parking downtown in the next 10 years. The consultants engaged to develop the plan held a virtual meeting on Wednesday night to show the work they’ve done so far and get feedback on the work they have left to do before it’s presented to Committee of the Whole in September. Here’s what happened….

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Downtown Town Hall Shares Good News, Shows Divisions

A town hall meeting for downtown businesses and building owners at Guelph City Hall on Monday was meant to highlight a rapid pace of change in the city’s centre since the new board of the Downtown Guelph Business Association took over last December. While that was informative, the members themselves still had a lot of concerns, from safety to the current status of the organization itself, and sometimes it got testy. Continue reading “Downtown Town Hall Shares Good News, Shows Divisions”

RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Talks Trees and Answers Housing Questions

There was an experiment in pre-post-pandemic constituent engagement with a hybrid town hall hosted by Ward 5 Councillors Leanne Caron and Cathy Downer. Much of the town hall was focused on the Private Tree Bylaw Review and the ways we can encourage the development of Guelph’s tree canopy. There was also some talk about housing issues around the University of Guelph and the appeal of a high-rise on Gordon Street. Let’s dig into the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Talks Trees and Answers Housing Questions”