Last night’s We Are Cobourg Open Mic/Petition meeting was cancelled by the weather, but we caught up with organizer James Bisson who told us what he’d hoped to achieve with this second meeting.
Bisson told us he’d planned to provide a open forum for everyone to be heard last night.
He believes that the County is pushing 310 Division Street through and that the process, in his words, was a “slam dunk” for Transition House.
He feels that different interest groups and business owners are not being heard and organized this meeting for that purpose.
According to James, last night was about giving everyone a voice.
James shared his concerns on the County’s process.
Bisson summed up his hopes for a future meeting.
James says, the big question is how do we get there. He believes that the path forward involves discussion that will lead to consensus, something he says is not happening. Bisson said that only a fraction of the 90,000 residents in Northumberland County have been represented through the surveys he’s reviewed from the County.
James said that the County’s online meeting and particularly the Open House have been about what Transition House might become, but not about addressing the crime residents and businesses are facing downtown or the issues raised by Cobourg being the focal point of the County’s efforts to deal with homelessness in Northumberland County.
Bisson told us what motivated him to organize the meeting is not an impending run for council, but concern for his home and community.
According to Bisson, he’s looking for a solution that is more than just moving the problem to someone else’s neighbourhood.
310 Division Street is anticipated to open this spring according to the County.
(Written by Joseph Goden)
