Cobourg may grant an ECE exemption to allow a warming room, with certain conditions

Northumberland County Building-Courtesy of Northumberland County.

By: Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News

With Northumberland County having voted to seek an exemption to Cobourg's Emergency Care Establishment bylaw so they can set up a warming room this winter, Cobourg council voted this week to direct staff to start work on what such an exemption might look like – the results to get presented at a special meeting Nov. 12.

Conditions of the motion passed at Cobourg council include that the granting of the license only be considered based on the Durham Warming Program Guidelines being submitted to staff as part of the application process, and that the licensing fee be waived. The license would only come into effect on Dec. 1, 2025, and would expire March 31, 2026.

The conditions were the result of a motion by Mayor Lucas Cleveland, who had attended the county council meeting the previous day, at which he had urged adherence to Durham guidelines and argued that few other such warming rooms open earlier than Dec. 1 (though county council had hoped to have one open Nov. 1 through April 30).

Jordan Stevenson, Executive Director of Integrated Homelessness and Addictions Response Centre, spoke prior to the debate, commenting on the 120-plus pieces of correspondence that had been added to the agenda – forwarded from the Northumberland County council agenda from their special meeting the day before to settle on a location for the warming room. The eventual location was determined to be in council chambers at the county building at 555 Courthouse Rd.

Stevenson called it “a lightning bolt of an issue,” saying the correspondence included “a number of opinions and perspectives.”

The important thing, he said, is to ensure the events of last winter are not repeated. At that time, the ground floor of the county shelter at 310 Division St. was a 24/7 drop-in warming/cooling hub. Complaints from surrounding residents and businesses led to this use of the ground floor being abolished as of July 4.

And even since county council made its decision yesterday, Stevenson said, he has talked with businesses in the vicinity of the county building and is hearing their fears that history will be repeated – just in a different part of the town.

Taking an active part in setting the conditions for the hub to be at the county building is important, Stevenson said – his own suggestion is to staff it with outreach workers as well as security personnel.

Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer noted that town staff and county staff have already met on this issue.

“We believe we can work with them to get a license out within these timelines,” Larmer said.