...Nothin' Lasts Forever, Even Cold November Rain
Also, it's only 54 days till Christmas. If you're into that.
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.
Guelph Politico got the chance to talk to Jennifer Juste, the Manager of Transportation Planning, about the mixed reviews of the dedicated bus lane, and what comes next with the preparation of the Transportation Master Plan.
Speaking of transportation, Toronto City Council endorsed the Government of Ontario’s plan to fund several key transit expansion projects, including the much criticized Ontario Line. The ball is now in the court of the Federal government in terms of whether they’ll follow up with their own portion of the funding.
Listen to this week’s Guelph Politicast to hear what Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner thinks of his first day back at Queen’s Park.
The latest edition of Mangez!, Politico’s dine safe guide, is now posted!
Also in the News…
The City of Guelph won the Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award after teaming up with the University of Guelph last fall to plan and deliver an agricultural media tour for Global Affairs Canada. The City got the award at the International Economic Development Council in Indianapolis, Indiana earlier this week.
The theatre troupe The Downtown Theatre Project has taken over stewardship of the annual Guelph Fringe Festival. The festival didn’t run in 2019, but the success of the DTP in just two years operating out of the Making-Box space proves there’s a lot of appetite in town for independent live theatre. DTP’s next show, Act of God, runs this weekend.
Phase 2 of Habitat for Humanity’s Affordable Housing Symposium takes place on November 21 from 1-4:30 pm at Community Living Guelph Wellington at 8 Royal Road. Learn more here.
The City of Guelph will be holding a number of workshops starting on November 21 to get feedback on the Zoning Bylaw Review. Find a workshop near you on Eventbrite.
The Guelph Sikh Society gave GuelphToday.com an update on the construction of their new temple on Clair Road, and despite delays and cost increases, it’s looking to open sometime in the new year.
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There will be lane reductions on Speedvale Avenue West just east of Silvercreek starting Monday so that AECON crews can work on installing underground cable for Limamar.
Canadian National Railways conductors, trainpersons and yardpersons could go on strike on November 19. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said on Monday that 99.2 per cent of its 3,000 members voted to strike last month, which could be a crimp in the plans of anyone taking the train. Workers have been without a contract since July 23.
The Owen Sound to Guelph bus system is back on after Owen Sound signed a 39-month contract with Voyago for just over $1 million plus another $200,000 in fuel costs. Each trip is expected to take about two hours and 15 minutes, and cost passengers between $20 to $24, according to the Owen Sound Sun Times. Service is expected to begin in January.
October 30 – Budget Meeting, Public Delegations for Non-tax Supported Operating Budget.
At the top of the meeting, council passed an increase in compensation for non-union employees to the tune of $839,000 or 1.9 per cent.
As to the budget, Samantha Lawson and Sonja Radoja of the Grand River Conservation Authority presented their budget to the council and outlined how they intent on dealing with program funding cuts from the Province. There will be no cuts to programs, but the GRCA is making it up with funding from reserves, a decrease in discretionary administrative and operating costs, and finding new sources of revenue. They will be no job cuts, but there may be some adjusting of roles and responsibilities through attrition.
Guelph’s municipal levy for the GRCA is going up 2.9 per cent for 2020, but conservation authorities are still waiting for the definition of “core services” from the provincial government.
Stormwater, Water, and Wastewater Services each took turns presenting their budget, but there wasn’t much in the way of controversy till the presentation of Parking Services.
Councillor Dan Gibson said during comments that this was a “great opportunity” to look at the big picture, and he called the subsidization of free, two-hour downtown parking a “non-essential service” that the City “doesn’t have to provide.” Gibson then said he wants to have a talk about parking on decision night on November 13, but he’s not yet sure what that will look like.
Fun fact: The City has to pay property taxes to itself for its own parkades.
As to other intentions, Mayor Cam Guthrie asked staff to outline how an increase in the stormwater fee by 40 cents for 2020 might affect the budget in terms of taking on more projects to update the infrastructure.
November 4 – Committee of the Whole.
You can find the full preview for the meeting on Politico here. The meeting will begin at 2 pm and so will the live blog, which you will be able to follow on Guelph Politico, or on Twitter @adamadonaldson.
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 see the full Politico preview here.
If you want to delegate on any of the items at City Council, you have until 10 am on Friday November 8 to get in touch with the Clerk’s Office. Here’s how.
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 get those details in the Politico preview here.
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 30 – Budget Meeting, Delegations for the Tax Supported Operating Budget.
Halloween isn’t over yet! The Two Rivers Neighbourhood Group will be hosting their Pumpkin Promenade on Friday at Tytler School starting at 6:30 pm. If you want to take part, you can drop off your carved pumpkin anytime after 11:30 on Friday.
The Guelph Film Festival begins today. Get schedule and ticket info here.
Guelph’s Urban Forest Friends will be talking about their efforts to increase Guelph’s Tree Canopy, and the work they plan on doing in 2020 and into the future. The presentation takes place at the Arboretum Centre on November 5 at 7:30 pm.
Ward 6 reps Mark MacKinnon and Dominique O’Rourke will be holding a budget town hall at the Clair Road Emergency Centre at 7 pm on Thursday November 7.
Don’t forget to get your tickers for the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG) sponsored first annual Transit Summit and Town Hall on November 9. Learn more here.
The full monthly Politico Calendar will be posted later today.
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.
Guelph Politico will be covering the Keep Your Friends Warm Rally this Saturday in Market Square at noon.
Robyn Doolitte is coming to Guelph on November 19 at eBar, and she’ll be talking about her new book Had it Coming, which is out now, with Jessica St. Peter of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. Details to come.
Daylight savings time ends this weekend (even though B.C.’s trying to stop it). Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday before bed!!!
When it happens, you’ll know.
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!