Let it Snow(?) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sure it's early, but Christmas commercials have already been on for a week.
Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a twice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Tuesdays and Fridays.
First, I offer apologies because I wasn’t able to make it to the Ward 6 town hall last night. It was for a good cause though, because I got the chance to interview a Holocaust survivor, which, you know, doesn’t happen every day. Stay tuned next newsletter for when you’ll see it.
The Tax Supported Operating Budget and Local Boards Budget were both released yesterday. The Politico preview isn’t written yet, but the too long; didn’t read version is that the 2020 levy features an increase of 3.88 per cent over 2019 with much of that being carried by a 2.02 per cent increase in the local boards and shared services budget, and a 1.74 per cent increase in capital financing. All the budget deets are here.
Guelph Police descended on the Smart Centre at Woodlawn and Woolwich on Thursday afternoon when a suspicious package turned up. People we’re encouraged to leave the area of the parking lot by the Walmart as a precaution, but about 30 minutes after the alert went out, the whole thing was called off as a false alarm.
Also in the News…
Guelph Police are asking local businesses to be on the lookout for fake $100 bills. Three fake bills were used at Stone Road Mall stores, and were not discovered until the cash was deposited in the bank.
Metrolinx is coming to town! On Wednesday November 20 Metrolinx will host a public meeting at the Guelph Civic Museum at 5 pm to talk about the Environmental Assessment being carried out to study the electrification of the rail corridor from Georgetown to Kitchener.
The Guelph Salvation Army will launch their kettle campaign on Wednesday at the Citadel with Christmas carols, hot chocolate and fun. Too soon? Well, the Santa Claus Parade is a week from Sunday.
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It’s Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, and the City of Guelph is trying to improve health and safety with some handy tips.
The 2019 Research Infosource Inc. ranking of Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities has dubbed the U of G number two for the fifth time in five years for post-secondary institutions without a medical school, and 16th overall. “Once again, we rank first in research intensity and the amount of research income we attract from the private sector. These results demonstrate the importance we place on research and innovation partnerships and the real-world impact of our singular focus on improving life,” said Malcolm Campbell, the U of G’s vice-president (research).
Over 11,000 scientists signed a letter that said the world’s population will face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless we radically change course. “The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected. It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity,” said the scientists.
More bad news: Prof. Lawrence Goodridge of the Department of Food Safety told the CBC that the effects of climate change will result in more food-borne illnesses, including an increase in dangerous bacteria from flooding and evasive species.
November 12 – Planning Meeting.
Council will revisit the decision on 1533-1557 Gordon Street and 34 Lowes Road West to see if it can break the tie in October. People will still be able to delegate on the issue, and four people already have. The other two main items are the statutory public meeting for a six-storey apartment development on College and an eight-storey apartment development with commercial use on Gordon.
You can find the full preview for the meeting on Politico here. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and so will the live blog, which you will be able to follow on Guelph Politico, or on Twitter @adamadonaldson.
November 13 – Deliberations on the 2020 Capital Budget and 10-Year Forecast, and Non-tax Supported Operating Budget.
At this meeting, council will pass these two budgets. The agenda package includes a memo from staff about the cost breakdown on the Operations Campus for 2020.
You can find the full preview for the meeting on Politico here. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and so will the live blog, which you will be able to follow on Guelph Politico, or on Twitter @adamadonaldson.
Also coming up at City Council:
November 18 – Budget Meeting, Tax Supported Operating Budget.
November 20 – Budget Meeting, Presentation of Local Boards and Shared Services Budget.
November 25 – Regular Meeting of Council.
November 27* – Budget Meeting, Delegations for the Tax Supported Operating Budget, Local Boards and Shared Services Budget. (*This meeting was incorrectly dated for November 30 in the previous newsletter.)
December 2 – Committee of the Whole.
December 3 – Deliberations on the Tax Supported Operating Budget, Local Boards and Shared Services Budget.
***Upcoming Town Halls***
-A Ward 5 town hall with Cathy Downer and Leanne Piper at Mary Phelan Catholic School takes place at 7 pm on November 21
-A Ward 2 town hall with Rodrigo Goller and James Gordon at the Evergreen Seniors Centre takes place at 1 pm on November 23
-A Ward 4 town hall with Christine Billings and Mike Salisbury at the West End Rec Centre takes place at 7 pm on November 26
There will be a number of commemorations of Remembrance Day in Guelph on Monday. Doors open at the Sleeman Centre service at 9 am, the ceremony will begin at McCrae House at 9:30, and the University of Guelph observance at War Memorial Hall begins at 10:45.
CFRU’s Nicky Dread will be celebrating 40 years of community radio broadcasting later this month with a live-to-air show at eBar. Celebrations begin at 9 pm on November 23! Ticket are $15 and all proceeds will be donated to the Guelph Black Heritage Society. More here.
If you missed any of this weeks shows, you can listen to them all, right now or any time, by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
Scotty Hertz and I will be making an appearance in an upcoming edition of GuelphToday.com’s “Helpers” series for our work on Open Sources Guelph. You should be able to see it in the next couple of weeks.
The Transit Summit and Town Hall hosted by TAAG is this weekend, and Guelph Politico will be there after a nutritious birthday breakfast for my sister’s 38th! (You didn’t need to know that.)
The City of Guelph reminds us that if you have something important to say, say it with a dank meme.
Don’t try this at home:
And finally, feel free to reach out to be by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!