By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
At the end of Wednesday’s meeting of Cobourg council, two notices of motion from Mayor Lucas Cleveland designed to address the harsh winter of 2026 and the unknown winter of 2027 will be up for council approval.
Cleveland actually announced the 2026 one last week, when he told fellow members of Northumberland County council of his plans to get approval for a daytime warming room, to complement the one the county has set up at 555 Courthouse Rd.
Though he announced hours and even a transportation service between the two hubs, and spoke of work with partner agencies to ensure that there is staffing, the motion only instructs staff “to immediately begin the process of establishing a Cobourg Warming Room and Respite Centre.” This process will include buying or leasing space to be determined – though the motion did suggest the former D’Arcy Place Building 19 just south of the Cobourg Community Centre.
Staff are also directed “to explore the feasibility of a co-ordinated bus pick-up and drop-off arrangement” between the two sites.
The budget for this project is $30,000, not including reallocated security contracts. To augment this sum, staff are directed “to establish a municipal charitable account at Victoria Hall to immediately begin accepting donations and issuing charitable tax receipts for contributions” in support of the initiative.
The final paragraph provides “that staff report back to council with updates on implementation progress, operating costs, partnership opportunities and any further council approvals required.” This may entail special council meetings, as this meeting takes place Jan. 28 and the next council meeting is Feb. 25 – and the special temporary license the county holds for its overnight warming room is only good through the end of March.
Looking ahead, Cleveland’s second motion is in response to “numerous complaints each winter regarding limited availability and affordability of private snow removal operators” by directing staff “to draft and implement a Snow Removal Assistance Pilot Project” for next winter for the benefit of seniors and residents with accessibility challenges “as identified and recommended by the town’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.”
A report will be expected in June on the proposed program “indicating a defined number of program spaces and with details related to how the program will be administered, level of service expectations and an estimate of costs for additional staff and equipment needs.”
