County looks at warming room changes at special meeting Friday

Photo courtesy of Northumberland County

By Cecilia Nasmith

At a special meeting Friday morning, Northumberland County council will vote on a change to warming-room hours as discussed at last week's regular meeting – open 24 hours on weekends, and open 4:30 p,m, to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, as opposed to the current hours of 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

The agenda is on the county website now, complete with the proposed motion and a report from staff outlining additional costs estimated to total $20,000 through the March 31 date on which the warming room must close as per Cobourg's Emergency Care Establishment bylaws.

The report does note that “county staff have met with the Town of Cobourg bylaw officials, who have indicated that the ECE bylaw will allow for the extension of hours as proposed in this report,” and that the Cobourg Fire Department has amended the Fire Safety Plan to reflect the change.

The proposed $20,000 increase (which the proposed motion notes should come from reserves, if necessary) includes $8,000 for two additional security personnel, $2,400 for additional cleaning, $3,000 for unforeseen costs and an estimated $6,000 that comes under the heading of programming. This includes such incidentals as hand warmers, gloves, snacks, light meals and hot beverages.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in council chambers.