Mayor's Awards, Dead Bodies and Curry Killed

Want to see a dead body?

So I was minding my own business last week, stopping by Ed Video Media Arts Centre to run an errand when I ran into the Guelph Mercury’s Scott Tracey in the lobby of 40 Baker Street. He was trying to snap a picture of some city workers doing road work on Baker, filling a sinkhole at the side of the road. Or so it seemed. Because what began as a simple picture of road work turned into one of those stories.

The worker we talked to was quite frank about what brought him there. The sinkhole in question could have been from a body. Not a fresh body, mind you, but one that was buried there before the existence of Baker Street at the turn of the 20th century. There was no confirmation at press time, that the woe of the Baker Street sinkhole is, in fact, the body of some poor soul left behind when the occupants of the former cemetery behind Knox on Quebec St were moved to Woodlawn, but we’re left to wonder. More news as it develops.

Deadline for Mayor’s Award Noms Soon

Know somebody that deserves an award of such prominence it’s named in honour of the highest political office in our land? Well, your opportunity to shower them in adulation is soon closing. The deadline to nominate someone for the 2010 Mayor’s Awards is Friday April 23. The criterion for nomination is simple: making a difference in our city. This can mean any number of positive actions, including volunteering, fundraising, coaching, or showing leadership in our community. Know someone that fits that bill? Send an e-mail with a letter describing your nominee’s contributions, along with contact information for yourself and your nominee, to mayor@guelph.ca. Winners will be announced at the Guelph Awards of Excellence gala on June 24.

Road construction kills Curry

If you’re a fan of the downtown institution Curry in a Hurry, then tomorrow is your last chance to partake its delicious curry goodness. The restaurant will be closing on Friday April 16 because, you guessed it sports fans, revenue is down after last summer’s construction along Norfolk. Between road repairs being conducted by the city and Bell Canada fibre optic upgrades that necessitated further road construction, Curry in a Hurry spent about eight months last year being difficult to access for customers. “I had people call and then wouldn’t pick up their order because they couldn’t find their way into the restaurant,” said owner Sarah Dewbury. “Unfortunately, we often have to dig when we do work of this nature,” Bell Canada spokesperson Julie Smithers said in a Mercury article. “We always look to minimize any impact on local businesses.” Mission: failed. Dewbury says that there’s a possibility that she may continue to be a distributor of fine curry dishes as a delivery-based business, but she’s still unsure. RIP: Curry in a Hurry, 1997-2010

Money for DT Businesses to improve externals

Ten downtown business owners are going to get a $10,000 bonus from the city to improve their external appearance of their buildings downtown, so long as they kick in a matching $10,000 for the enterprise. The decision was approved by council last week, and included another $25,000 for up to five feasibility studies to estimate how much it might cost to restore other buildings in the core to their former glory. The plan is similar to one enacted in Kitchener in an effort to revitalize that city’s downtown area. However, not all were impressed with the plan. "I think the downtown has more problems than a lack of awnings," said Coun. Christine Billings. She was one of three councillors to vote against the plan. Results of the projects are expected to be delivered to council by year’s end.

Mitchell's Back, Project Chilled, and Communications Breakdown

Ray Mitchell’s Back in Business

Ray Mitchell, formally the owner and operator of the Family Thrift Store, is back in business downtown with a new store on Wyndham St. The store, called Dis-A-Ray Antiques and Collectibles, is located next to The Cornerstone and opened in a low key fashion on October 17th with cake, and the news of the move has quickly spread to Mitchell’s loyal clientele. “It’s ostensibly an antique store, but it’s an antique store for kids,” says Mitchell who adds that by his reckoning roughly half of his customers are under the age of 30. “It’s going to be all the best of the Thrift Store with none of the bad.”

There are a couple of big differences though. First, due to space restrictions, the new store won’t be carrying much in the way furniture (although today, you can get a pair of old roller coaster cars that are sitting in the window). Mitchell’s also disappointed that that he won’t be able to help students and people on welfare in the same way he used to, and while he can’t be the patron of the arts he was by offering a venue, Mitchell says that he’ll continue to be a supporter in whatever way he can. “I’ll let them use the window, and may be the occasion acoustical concert, that kind of thing […] But you’re going to see me somewhere down the road with some kind of musical component.” In the meantime, Mitchell invites all his old customers, from far and wide, to come by his new store and say hi.

City Chills on Big Projects

In irony news, just as Mitchell’s getting his retail life back in order, the City is shelving certain capital projects from the five year capital budget forecast, including the new public library that was to be built at the north end of Wyndham. Avid fans of The G-Beat will remember Echo’s cover story this past spring about the project, which would effectively shut down every business between Cowboy Bar and the old post office. Unless they moved somewhere else to do business like Wyndham Arts last fall.

But tough times, economically speaking, have meant that certain big ticket capital projects are getting mothballed until the city can see its way out of recession footing. Chief among those projects is the new Main Branch of the public library, which was to be the linchpin of the entire Baker Street redevelopment project. Other projects on that list include a new south end rec centre and the Wilson Street parking garage, which, if remaining in a state of development limbo, will have a pronounced negative impact on business development downtown. With a second Co-operators office moving downtown and the arrival of Go trains next year, those parking spaces are seriously needed.

All hope is not lost though. Treasurer Margaret Neubauer told he Guelph Mercury that “There probably is some capacity later in the forecast to get started” later on, but still the city is looking at being unable to fulfill on promised parking needs and leaving several buildings vacant in a development limbo for, potentially, years.

Communication Dysfunction

In more irony news, a city initiative to answer a note of concern in 2008’s Citizen Satisfaction Survey identifying 'communication with residents' as a key issue, three community communication sessions on October 22nd and 26th were cancelled due to lack of interest. The City cancelled the sessions last week due to low registration, and will instead issue a survey, both online and by hard copy, for area residents to comment on pertinent issues facing the city. The City of Guelph's Corporate Communications Plan is intended to foster effective, two-way communications that encourage public involvement for the purposes of government decision-making, and professional, consistent, open communications between the City and its stakeholders, according to a City press release.