Key Conversatons: Barrie City Council, February 8th

It was the definition of a slow night here at virtual city hall. No lively discussions or debate -- but A great chance to honour some of Barrie's historic buildings, and a suite of motions from general committee passed into existence. 

Here’s what you missed:

First up was heritage awards -- awarding buildings in Barrie heritage status for their contribution to the cityscape and history of our town. 

First recognized was 62 William Street -- a historic home with a rich history. 

Next up, 113 Collier St. -- a beautiful, gothic-styled house with a special connection to Mayor Lehman: it was his father's business until 12 years ago. 

And lastly, Trinity Anglican Church, a downtown landmark that was built in 1864 and used by Barrie’s Anglican community ever since.  

Next, council voted to approve a Curbside pilot program temporarily changes to the curbside pick-up pilot project: downtown Barrie will get four more spots until Barrie hits the Orange zone of COVID-19 restrictions, or when patio season starts up again. 

There were No presentations tonight -- here are some announcements and questions staff brought forward. 

Councillor Kungl mentioned a change to the patios everywhere program, here’s that exchange. 

And some upcoming community consultations: 

And Councillor Aylwin mentioned that a vigil for those who have passed due to toxic opioids is set for February 15th -- Barrie Community Media spoke to the organizers, stay tuned for that interview. 

Mayor Lehman mentioned some special news about the recent Dunlop St. redevelopment: it won a provincial award for excellence in urban design. 

He also spoke a bit about a wastewater analysis program -- that’s used to detect the COVID-19 virus and variants of that as well. 

Mayor Lehman also mentioned the recent incident involving police and a 20-year-old man on Dunlop St, and how the investigation will go forward: it will be independently investigated by the OPP. 

And that’s pretty much it! It was uneventful, and council wont be meeting next week. 

For the full video of council, visit Barrie City Hall on Youtube.