Northumberland County council has authorized county staff to spend up to $40,000 on hotel rooms to house people in Northumberland County who are unsheltered.
As a result of a February 2024 bylaw in Cobourg regulating emergency care establishments (ECE), Northumberland County council heard Tuesday (October 29) that Transition House on Chapel Street in Cobourg would either have to close its doors to additional clients, or significantly reduce the number of people it accommodates pending the outcome of a meeting with the town’s fire department around occupancy and fire codes.
While Transition House and the county are working together to move shelter services to a new and larger space at 310 Division St., council heard that, due to licensing and construction, the new space would not be fully ready until November or December.
The county is currently not meeting four of the requirements of Cobourg’s ECE bylaw. County staff told council it has worked through and resolved about 20 requirements.
Northumberland County CAO Jennifer Moore said staff has requested a meeting with Cobourg staff, but that meeting has not happened to date.
With meeting the bylaw issues outstanding, council ultimately asked county staff to request a meeting with Town of Cobourg staff aimed at resolving the remaining four issues.
Some of the unmet requirements of the Cobourg bylaw include compliance around issues of security, garbage, and liability.
During the council meeting, which resulted in five-plus hours of discussion and several delegations, council asked staff to request that the meeting with Cobourg occur within the next five business days.
It also approved making money available, up to $40,000, for the purpose of purchasing hotel rooms for those in need of shelter while staff from both levels of government determine the next steps.
Council’s direction to staff is to look at ways to comply with the Town of Cobourg’s bylaw, with the aim of being able to get 310 Division St. open and people out of the cold and accessing services as quickly as possible. The motion was moved by county councillor Bob Crate, seconded by warden Brian Ostrander, and passed by council.
This is a developing story.
