Quinte West set to spend more to demolish three notable structures
The City of Quinte West will spend more than expected to demolish three notable structures.
They include the old fire hall, College Street School and the water tower on Mount Pelion.
Council decided to package all three projects together when the tender for a contractor went out and 12 bids came back, with the lowest coming in about $300,000 over the projected budget.
The city’s capital reserve fund is still projected to have close to $4 million at the end of the year, so staff say taking the extra $300,000 from it won’t have a significant impact moving forward.
On Monday, councillors agreed with staff that taking the extra money from the city’s capital reserve would be a cheaper option than splitting the projects up, or taking them to tender again.
There’s no word yet on a timeline for when those buildings will come down.
Council asked to increase support for gardening group
A local gardening group is hoping to get more support from the City of Quinte West.
Quinte West Gardens-Growing Community started as an overgrown three acre space on Guelph Street and now features 39 vegetable beds which are grown and maintained by volunteers and school groups.
Everything grown is donated to local food banks and charities, with more than 2,800 pounds of food donated in 2018.
The group received funding through the community grant program this year and is asking the city to add it to the 2020 budget as a line item, to receive annual funding moving forward.
The request will be put forward to the city’s finance committee for consideration.
You can click here to learn more about Quinte West Gardens-Growing Community.
Members of Quinte West Gardens-Growing Community address city council, on August 12, 2019. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)
Quinte West going gold in September
Quinte West Council is again supporting local kids with cancer by declaring September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Evelyn Wilson of the local group Tears Mean Love gave an impassioned speech Monday night about the need to support kids with cancer, since childhood cancer research gets substantially less funding than adult cancers.
Tears Mean Love helps to raise money for the families of local kids with cancer so they can afford treatment, travel and other costs associated with battling the disease.
Councillor Terry Cassidy suggested that along with the proclamation, council should also push upper levels of government to commit more funding to childhood cancer research in the future.
You can learn more about Tears Mean Love by clicking here to visit their Facebook Page.
Evelyn Wilson of Tears Mean Love speaks to Quinte West Council on August 12, 2019. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)
