This undated historic photograph of 1400 Monaghan Highway was included within the property’s heritage designation temporary.
You’re studying the September 24, 2024 version of the Peterborough Currents e mail e-newsletter. To obtain our e mail newsletters straight to your inbox, enroll right here.
Good morning, and welcome to the Peterborough Currents e-newsletter, the place we share our newest tales and catch you up on native information.
Peterborough’s Chief of Police Stuart Betts made his case for one more huge finances improve final week at a city corridor assembly — and lots of the residents current responded with frustration.
Additionally this week:
A stately house on Monaghan Highway has been shielded from demolition, thwarting a developer’s plans to tear it down
Councillors voted a remaining time to increase the Wolfe Road modular housing initiative
Parkhill Highway reopens to via visitors
However earlier than we get to the information, I need to say THANK YOU to the 60 neighborhood members who signed up as supporters of Peterborough Currents throughout our marketing campaign final week. You helped us attain our aim, and you then helped us shoot proper previous it! (My apologies to those that acquired a number of “thank you” emails … that was a technical error that we’ve fastened.)
Due to your help, the way forward for Peterborough Currents feels rather less precarious. Now, we’ll get again to work producing the perfect journalism we will and striving to reside as much as the religion you’ve put in us.
Police finances sparks anger at public assembly
Neighborhood members had many questions for Chief Betts at a current city corridor assembly in regards to the 2025 police finances. (Picture: Will Pearson)
Peterborough’s Chief of Police Stuart Betts was the goal of complaints and criticisms at a public assembly on Thursday the place he shared that the pressure will ask taxpayers for one more huge finances improve in 2025.
The pressure wants at the least $2.7 million extra subsequent 12 months to keep up its established order operations, in accordance with Betts. That might equate to a 7.7 p.c police finances improve, however Betts signalled the police would possibly ask for much more.
Betts introduced information that confirmed Peterborough’s police service receives much less funding, per capita, than different comparable cities in Ontario. And he mentioned that the Peterborough Police Service is in a “catch-up” part after “more than a decade of some fairly austere years of budgeting here in the city with regard to police.”
Neighborhood members appeared to develop weary of Betts’ ready remarks earlier than he completed talking. “No one cares about your presentation!” one viewers member asserted as residents began interrupting to precise frustrations with the native police pressure.
The opinions shared on the assembly weren’t all homogenous. Some residents mentioned tax {dollars} ought to be invested in social providers as a criminal offense prevention measure as a substitute of being spent on policing. Others mentioned the police ought to crackdown extra closely on individuals who use medication in public, drive recklessly, and commit thefts. However regardless of these variations, residents expressed a standard sense of frustration at being requested for one more huge finances improve.
Final 12 months’s police finances improve was 15.3 p.c and added over $100 to the 2024 municipal tax invoice for the median-assessed property. Peterborough’s Police Companies Board has but to formally make its 2025 finances request to metropolis council. After it does, councillors will take into account the request throughout municipal finances talks in November.
I attended final week’s public assembly and wrote a extra detailed story about what occurred, which we revealed yesterday on the Currents web site.
Parkhill reopens after 15 months of building
The ultimate “closed” indicators have been faraway from Parkhill Highway because it reopened to via visitors between Reid and George streets on Friday. The undertaking, which began in June 2023, value $7.25 million and concerned “replacing storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and a watermain as well as substantial grading and road reconstruction,” in accordance with town.
“We’re stuck”: Council approves modular housing timeline extension
Metropolis council voted for a second and remaining time final night time to increase the timeline of the Wolfe Road modular housing initiative, which offers sleeping cabins and help providers to dozens of individuals experiencing homelessness. The placement on Wolfe Road was initially supposed to be momentary, with an expiration date of November 2025 on the newest. Now, the plan is to maintain the modular houses on the Wolfe Road web site past that date, so long as the provincial authorities continues to fund the working bills of this system.
Coun. Lesley Parnell voted in favour of the timeline extension, however mentioned she struggled with the choice due to the affect the modular housing neighborhood has had on the encircling neighbourhood. “I am very sorry to the people around Wolfe Street and Dalhousie,” she mentioned.
Whereas workers have recognized various websites for the modular houses, none of them are superb, Parnell mentioned. And town lacks extra everlasting housing choices for the individuals residing within the sleeping cabins to maneuver to. “We’re stuck,” Parnell mentioned. “We really are stuck.”
In the meantime, Coun. Alex Bierk mentioned the modular houses have introduced stability to the neighbourhood, declaring that police calls to the world have dropped dramatically for the reason that modular housing was put in to switch a big tent encampment.
“There’s incredible stories of people becoming stabilized at that site,” Bierk mentioned. “We’d like to see that they continue to be stable there while we look into addressing the rest of the community’s needs, including finding transitional housing, permanent housing, for the people that are currently at Wolfe Street.”
The timeline extension handed by a vote of 7-4, with councillors Beamer, Haacke, Lachica, and Vassiliadis voting towards it.
Heritage designation for 1400 Monaghan
Additionally final night time, councillors voted to confer heritage designation on 1400 Monaghan Highway, a stately house on the nook of Monaghan and Homewood. The constructing, which dates to 1931, will be shielded from demolition consequently.
The heritage designation, which handed by a margin of 6-5, went towards the desire of the proprietor of the property. John Cooper informed councillors that the inside of the home is badly broken and he desires to tear it down so his firm can construct flats on the property.
I hope you appreciated this week’s e-newsletter!
Thanks once more to everybody who signed up as a supporter final week throughout our marketing campaign. It was so heartening to learn all of your feedback, as nicely! As all the time, be at liberty to succeed in out in case you have any questions or suggestions. It’s nice to listen to from our readers.
(Right here’s the place you may signal as much as help us, in case you missed your probability final week.)
Will Pearson
Writer-Editor
Peterborough Currents
Thanks for studying the Peterborough Currents e mail e-newsletter! Right here’s the place you may signal as much as have these despatched straight to your inbox.
