Cornwall City Council has proclaimed the month of June 2023 as Seniors Month in the City of Cornwall.
At the June 12 meeting, Cornwall City Council approved the following temporary street closures for the Cornwall Triathlon:
- Bergeron Lane, Race Street, Cotton Mill Street and Harbour Road on Saturday, August 26, 2023, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
- Montreal Road (from Marlborough to Boundary Road), Marlborough Street (from Montreal Road to Harbour Road), Harbour Road, Cotton Mill Street, McConnell Avenue (from Montreal Road to Cotton Mill Street) on Sunday, August 27, 2023, from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Council referred the petition opposing the installation of a sidewalk on the north side of Queen Street to Administration for a report.
Vacant Land Use – 504 Fourth Street East
Cornwall City Council went forward with approving the use of Alexander Park for Phase 1 of the proposed Cornwall Youth Space. Counsellors Dupelle and Njundo were the only ones who opposed the motion.
“I still go back to listening to what we heard at the town hall and, yes, I know we heard from one of the youths that said Alexander Park is a beginning … but I really think that we have heard loud and clear that the Bob Turner site was the site for it,” said Dupelle, “We were looking at [504 Fourth Street East] for affordable housing and you know, we heard people saying don’t disturb the athletic fields because it’s got history, it has everything there. If we’re going to go with what’s before us this evening, I’m not sure what we’re listening to the public.”
Council ultimately deferred the approval of the former Bob Turner/Joe St. Denis field site for an affordable housing development for the time being given that there are many moving parts including the relocation of the football field, Phase 2 of the Cornwall Youth Space, and potential remediation of the former Bob Turner site to consider.
Administration shared that they plan to hire a consultant in the near future to create a ten-year development plan for new affordable housing developments, at which point 504 Fourth Street East would need to be approved for potential affordable housing to be included in that consultation.
Calendar of Community Events
Counsellor Sarah Good (seconded by counsellor Carilyne Hebert) put forth a resolution for the City of Cornwall to create a centralized calendar of community events to ‘increase awareness of events happening in Cornwall and promote community involvement.’ The calendar would include a form for community members to submit information about their events.
“This came about naturally as it has been a question that has been repeatedly asked of me both by residents and nonresidents … and unfortunately, there isn’t a centralized location at this point,” said Good.
Other members of council pointed out that there are existing calendars for different kinds of community events, including one by Your Arts Council, the library, EOTB, Cogeco, and Seaway News. Counsellor Good stated would be an additional calendar for events that fall through the cracks and could potentially link to other calendars rather than duplicate their efforts.
Counsellor Denis Sabourin suggested a friendly amendment (seconded by Counsellor Hollingsworth) requesting a report from administration to give better parameters on how the proposed calendar would be managed. The amendment was accepted by Counsellor Good.
All voted in favor of receiving a report from administration before going ahead with the creation of a city-run calendar of Community Events.
Your Arts Council Funding
At the May 8 meeting of council, Your Arts Council Executive Director Richard Salem requested that the City of Cornwall provide $25,000 in a multi-year commitment to YAC. Administration came back looking for direction from council. Counsellor Sarah Good suggested a Memorandum of Understanding that would provide $25,000 in funding yearly to YAC for a period of five years.
Counsellor Dean Hollingsworth voiced his opinion against the motion, stating that YAC has received municipal grants funding that is supposed to act as ‘seed’ funding to get good ideas off the ground and allow them time to become self-sufficient. He noted that YAC charges no membership fees to keep themselves afloat, and that the counties who also benefit from the activities of YAC have only provided $1,500 in funding – much less than the $25,000 requested from the City of Cornwall. Hollingsworth suggested that it is unfair to residents of Cornwall to foot the bill for this, however he would consider supporting individual events that benefit the City of Cornwall.
Carilyne Hebert countered stating, “I think that we need to realize that this is more than just membership based, [YAC offers] public events for all,” referring to things such as the Cornwall Art Walk which is free for citizens to attend and arts in the park.
Ultimately, council approved two years of funding at $25,000 until an Arts Center Coordinator is hired for the Cornwall Arts Center planned for Pitt Street. The request for financial support was passed but counsellors Dupelle, Hollingsworth, Sabourin, and MacDonald were opposed.
