Northumberland County council
A special meeting has been called for Northumberland County council to tackle warming room considerations next week.
This will mark the third time in October that the matter has been before council – an urgent meeting was called to tackle a homelessness programming and winter warming room update during a closed session of council on Oct. 8. This was the sole focus of the meeting, with no public announcements to follow.
Meanwhile, at council’s regular meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 15, staff penned an urgent report on potential options for a warming site, but the matter was ultimately deferred for another urgent meeting still to come after an in-camera session at the end of that day.
As previously reported, there is currently no warming hub operating in Northumberland, as has been the practice for several years. The first-floor hub at 310 Division St. in Cobourg shuttered its doors earlier this year following public outcry and amid a shift to a higher-barrier shelter model, translating to a focus on lower-to-moderate acuity people in need.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the county confirmed a special meeting was in the works for next Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. to tackle “warming centre considerations.”
However, the meeting is being held virtually as microphone system replacement work is currently underway in council chambers, said officials.
Residents will still be able to join in the meeting via Zoom if interested.
At press deadline, the agenda wasn’t online for the meeting; however, staff note that agendas are generally made available four business days prior to county meetings.
As reported last week, options for potential winter warming sites put forward in staff’s report included mobile construction trailers at county headquarters and/or council chambers; the boardroom or trailers at 600 William St. (county paramedic site); the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre in Colborne and Fenella Hall in Roseneath.
Staff’s nine-page report also detailed potential operational considerations such as transportation in rural settings, as well as anticipated costs, ranging from a minimum of $218,000 to $376,000 with some unknowns.
In that same report, staff said that the number of people accessing warming room services has been on the rise since 2020, with figures growing from hundreds to thousands of visits recorded.
Meanwhile, just before penning the report, officials noted that the shelter at 310 Division St. was at 94 per cent capacity (as of last Tuesday, Oct. 14.)
