city council group pictureCity Council returns on Monday, with a rather light schedule.

They’ll hear presentations from the YMCA, NEO Kids and the Timmins Bear Committee.

There’s also a report on a gas study, and a land donation near Porcupine Lake.

Follow along our live blog for all the details, starting at 6:00pm.

(Keep refreshing the page as the night goes along for updates.)

We start off with a zoning amendment with Gilles Leduc.

This is to rezone an area on the corner of Shirley Street and St. Jean Street to build two four-plexes.

Barry H. Martin is one of the agents on this application, and there is no opposition to this.

This will come back.

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Next up is a presentation from NEO Kids.

Dan Lessard is up fro Sudbury’s Health Sciences North, along with Dr. Sean Murray.

This is to cover better out-patient health care for kids all across Northeastern Ontario, and build a new centre.

Right now, kids have to travel to either Ottawa, Toronto or London for advanced care that can’t be accessed in our local area.

Dr. Murray says at times, it feels like northerners are treated as second-class citizens when it comes to accessing health care.

View their full presentation with stats on chronic illnesses HERE.

Doody says the comments made really ring home to him, as someone who has had to travel for health care recently.

He says it would be nice for the Doctor to come to a NEOMA meeting in the future to further discuss his vision.

Bamford says this is worthy of all of council’s support.

He says whether a new location is built in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie or Thunder Bay, it’s a great investment.

Campbell asks the dollar value of the new building.  Dr. Murray says they’re looking between $35-40 million, and want to raise most of that cash through donations.

Dubeau mentions the success of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and while the drive to Sudbury isn’t the greatest, this needs to be supported.

Grzela says he hopes he never has to use one of those facilities with his children, but if he has to, a trip to Sudbury’s a lot easier than the trip further south.

Bamford says for a project of this size, a letter should go to the Ministry of Health.

Lessard says they’re not asking for a financial commitment right now, but to have it considered in future budget years.

He adds they want to make sure the numbers are accurate before going to the LHIN.

Black says he’d love for it to be built in Timmins, and we have plenty of land to do it.  He says having a hospital for sick kids closer to home is crucial, and thinks this needs to be rallied behind.

He adds even if they don’t build in Timmins, Sudbury is a better option than having to go to Ottawa, Toronto or London.

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Next is a presenation from the Timmins Family YMCA, and before I get into anything said here, I’m putting their presentation HERE for you to view.  It’s a very good read.

They recently held a Youth Forum, to give kids a chance to talk about what is (and isn’t) happening in Timmins.

Shannon Costello, Manager of the YMCA is here with two workers to discuss the matter further.

Among the positives discussed in the forum were the amount of parks, trails, camping and nice people.

Among the negatives is a lack of concerts, clothing stores like American Eagle, Garage and other named brands, road conditions, aging sports complexes and expensive attractions.

Again, this is all part of their presentation, which also includes how the city can improve on these same subjects.

Black mentions that there was a great discussion on mental health in the city.

He says they’re all great ideas, and something to consider.

Dubeau, as a member of the Hollinger Advisory Committee, he’d like to invite them to come in and bring ideas forward to use the land once the Hollinger project is complete.

Rinaldo says the presentation was really informative, and asks about the discussion on facilities they already have.

Michael Beda mentions things like the Summer Concert Series, and how some of the kids would complain about Iroquois Falls and Kirkland Lake getting big name acts.

Costello mentions how the Timmins Festival and Events Committee is doing work, and would be wise to look into helping out.

Black offers his thanks, and mentions a key is advertising events in the community more, including in schools.

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Next up is the final presentation, this from the Timmins Bear Committee.

Heading this up is Barbara Burkhardt, and Timmins Police Officer Mike McGinn.

Black sits on the board, and says this is about the city looking at options the city can do to help.  Although he mentions the province should invest more in programs like BEAR Wise.

The city’s come a long way in reducing bear occurrences.  There were over 1,400 in 2007 alone, reduced to around 300 in 2014.

To give you a better idea of their presentation, CLICK HERE.

One of their suggestions is putting in a by-law that prohibits the feeding of bears, and other wild animals.  As well, revisiting a by-law on garbage, and make it enforceable.

McGinn says he doesn’t feel the bear sighting levels are at where they want it, despite the numbers going down.

Doody says Sudbury is complaining more about the bear sightings as of late.

He makes mention about the bear shot in Newmarket earlier this year, and asks who makes the final call to put down a bear.

McGinn says they respond on a public safety standpoint, and that their first intent is to get the bear back in the woods.  He adds if the bear becomes a threat, they dispatch it.

Doody says he’d love them to sit down with by-law officer James Lefebvre and go over the by-law to work something out.

Bamford points out the implementation of the new garbage bins in 2013, and its relation to the drop in numbers.

Burkhardt says this is all about detracting wildlife of all kinds.

She later responds to a question by Rinaldo that there is a lot of false information out there.  One of which says that Timmins Police shoot every bear they encounter.

The by-law states right now that people can put out their garbage at 8pm the night before, and it’s up to council to change it.

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Rock Whissel is up with the Timmins Fall Fair and Porcupine Agricultural Association, looking for some funding for a large event tent and stage.

The Timmins Fall Fair goes September 10th to the 13th.

Rinaldo asks if there’s been a donation of a stage before, and Black says they’ve used it at things like the Relay for Life.

The stage and tent rentals cost $5,000, and this will come back in the special meeting later tonight.

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Next is the Community Schools Alliance.  Dubeau says this came to them in an email recently, and is a great idea to look at.

This is a partnership between schools, school boards and cities.  He says he’d be interested in being a part of it going forward.

Bamford is taking a different positions, as the members of the alliance are all in rural communities down south and are all very small.

He says the small schools start looking at multi-grade classes as the population declines, resulting in a decline of quality to education.

Bamford mentions how some communities will just close down schools, and send students to a larger facility in another nearby town.

“We’re not talking about schools 150 miles apart…they are schools in towns close together,” he said.

Marks says he doesn’t know how this would benefit the city.

Dubeau says the two of them identified some really good points he didn’t consider, and is withdrawing his support to this.

This will not come back.

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The CNIB is hosting an event on October 8th in honour of World Sight Day.

They are inviting council and the public to take part in the event, which sees people walk from City Hall to the Timmins Transit building using mobility devices such as an ID cane, mobility cane, wheelchair and walker, as well as simulator goggles to emulate eye conditions.

The walk would take place from 4-5pm on that day.

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The Timmins Fall Fair is back, and the Centre Culturel La Ronde wants to set up a beer tent on the Friday night, September 11th from 6pm to 1am.

They estimate an attendance of 500 people.

This will come back.

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Next up is the Small Communities Fund.

This has to do with the provincial and federal funding that was announced a couple months ago, which is going towards the Whitney-Tisdale Sanitary System construction.

It will see the province and the feds put in a total of $5.2-million to Phase 2 of the project.

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Next up is the German Landfill.

This is to award a services contract to B.W. Contracting for the next three years for the cost of between $64 and $68 million.

It’s unknown how many people use the site, which is across from Kettle Lakes Provincial Park.

The site is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays between May and October; Thursdays and Sundays from October to May.

This would be an extension, as B.W. is already the provider right now.

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Next is the purchase of a street sweeper.

This will cost just over $242,000 plus HST, and is coming from Joe Johnson Equipment.

Wawrzaszek asks what the prices were from the other three applicants, and Duval says he’ll get back to them.  He asks why they didn’t get a different model, as the Elgin model takes an hour to get from South Porcupine to Timmins at 30km/h and it’s speed can cut into productivity.

The last two Elgin models the city bought were purchased in 1998.

Campbell asks to get all the quotes from the other applicants.

After a lengthy discussion, this will come back.

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A new collection pond and a landfill gas collection system is now up for Deloro Landfill.

The contract is being recommended to go to AMEC Foster Wheeler for just over $89,000 plus HST.

Methane gas and carbon dioxide are major constituents in landfills and contribute to global warming.  Thus, this option is a requirement under Ontario regulations.

Duval says this would be a new asset to use in their portfolio.

Dubeau asks if it is a local company, but it is a company based in Sudbury.

Public Works says they’re looking at about 50-60 years of life left in the Deloro site.

This will come back.

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Tax extension agreement for 355 Ogden Avenue and vacant land on Ogden Avenue.

Not much to add to this, as this is just to allow the owner to retain possession.

Rinaldo asks why we’ve had two come up in the last number of weeks, when she hasn’t seen many in her five years on council.

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Lover’s Lane land donation

This is land that’s been in arrears since May, to the amount of $64.41 for each lot.

There’s no infrastructure on this land whatsoever.

Mark Jensen says they’ve done a few of these recently, and it’s pretty self-explanatory.

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Deeming by-laws on Wallingford Road and Young Street go without questions.

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The next is a resolution to appoint council members to the Committee of Adjustment.  Right now, there is no council representation, and Dubeau says it’s something they should consider.

CAO Joe Torlone says they have to set a hard start date, and need to work out how to terminate membership.

Grzela asks why there hasn’t been council members on the committee.  Torlone says he doesn’t really have an answer why.

Doody says when he was first on council in 1970, the planning board and decisions were all done by community members, not council members.

He says this committee only deals with minor variances.

Doody adds he has no issue changing this rule up if council is in agreement.

Campbell asks how the people get elected to the committee, which Black answers saying people apply and they elect.

Dubeau says there is a dollar value attached, but they’re not sure what the amount is.

It’s an eight member committee, and the budget for it is $3,000 to split annually among the members.

Dubeau says we can’t vote on this tonight, as more information is needed.

Bamford is still conflicted on what way to go on this issue, and his main issue is the definition of a “minor variance.”

Seems as if the majority of council is having this same issue, as a rather lengthy discussion has gone into this subject.

Torlone warns if passed, to look for the committee of adjustment to come to council at a later date asking why council needs to be on their committee.

This will come back.

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Dubeau back up to ask about getting council representation at meetings like AMO, OGRA and FONOM.

He says there should me as much participation as possible at these meetings.

He adds it allows a flow of different ideas going forward.

Rinaldo says she’s going to her first AMO meeting this year, and asks how the procedures work.

Black says they sometimes have meetings with ministers, they sometimes have meetings with representatives to the minister and continues to go through the process at meetings.

He says they have several meetings as representatives of FONOM, and from a Timmins perspective with the governing party and the opposition party.

Rinaldo says she’s comfortable with just Black and Torlone going, as the window to meet with people is short and doesn’t want to waste time on introductions of people.

Black says when he goes into meetings, Ministers expect the message he’s speaking on is supported by council.

Campbell says he doesn’t see an issue with having other councillors going.

Marks says the Mayor is the number one salesperson for a city, and won’t support this move.  However, he says if an opportunity comes up on certain issues, he’s all for having additional representation.

Dubeau is having issue, and asks Black to step down from the chair for this portion of the meeting.

Dubeau claims Black disrespected him and other councillors in the process.

Black has stepped down, but will speak on the issue.  Rinaldo is now in the Mayor chair.

Bamford says Black is the face of the community, and says council shouldn’t be personally involved in the meetings.

He says it’s a short period of time.

Dubeau says they should have one voice, and the people going down shouldn’t have to speak but are there to take in information.

Doody says he’s never gone to a Good Roads Association meeting in 32 years sitting on council or as Mayor.

He says if there’s a way of accommodating someone at future meetings to get the experience, he’s got no issue with it.

Dubeau says council had no input in meetings with ministers, although the Timmins Chamber and TEDC was there and active.

Black says Dubeau has been showing a lack of respect over the last six months, through emails and the multiple exchanges in council chambers.

“I’m the Mayor of Timmins, show some respect,” he said towards Dubeau.

He says he’s tired of having his time tied up answering email after email asking him what meetings he’s going to and with whom.

Dubeau responds by saying he’s put up point of orders and whatnot, and that he’s had a respectful debate on issues.  He says there are different roles of council, and he asks because he wants to be informed so he can be more effective as a councillor.

This will come back.

(Editors Note: Here are two audio clips from last night’s exchange.)

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Campbell now up for the sale of city-owned land.

He wants to obtain independent appraisals for all land sales, and should be included in all future land sales.

Campbell says he’ll defer this to a later date, once Mark Jensen circulates a document to get more information.

Bamford says he doesn’t want to change the by-law that’s very complex.  He says the resolution on the table is very simplistic.

Again, it’s being withdrawn for a later date, so that’s what will happen.

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Campbell continues for the next item, which has to do with the McIntyre Arena.

He say with the Timmins Rock arriving, there’s a lot of construction.  He says the referees room is being taken over by the Rock, and the loss of the room has resulted in the Schumacher Cubs having been asked to leave the Mac.

He says the deadlines aren’t close to being met.  He adds the refs would have to be next to the Timmins Majors room, and could cause some fireworks during games this year.

Another issue is showers, and modifications that need to be in place because as it stands, refs have no other showers available besides one that the Majors use.

He says the southwest corner has a room that could be ideal.

Black says as far as he knows, the teams are still playing at the Mac but are losing a dressing room.

He reiterates that the Schumacher Cubs are NOT being kicked out of the McIntyre Arena.

Bamford says to go forward to get the referees their own room and access to the ice surface.

“Let’s make this arena the best we can,” he said.

Jensen says they’re under quite a bit of pressure to get work done in time.

(Note: City of North Bay had a similar issue of construction when the Battalion went to town in terms of trying to get work done in time.)

Campbell asks if they’re in a position to get a resolution, and asks for a report if they’re in a position to have renos done in time.

Just to let you know, the first pre-season game at the McIntyre Arena is Saturday, August 22nd against Kirkland Lake.

They vote unanimously to get the referees their own room.

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Mayor Black up on a travel policy.

He’s asking to discuss travel expenses and current practices vs what’s in the best interest of the city.

Another part of his presentation is about putting in a requirement to provide feedback from sessions councillors go to at meetings and conferences to the rest of council.

He says he didn’t anticipate the flood of emails he’s gotten on the topic.

Black says this is in the core services review.

Rinaldo points out they should look at sharing costs and accommodations to cut costs.

The budget for travel is $65,000 yearly, and they have about $4,500 left after their upcoming AMO meeting.

Dubeau says it’s important to get educated as a council, and look at all options.

Black asks if council wants to continue, and go beyond the $65,000 budget while they choose to go to individual courses.  They vote to pass it.

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Black is up with a sign by-law for federal elections.

He says with an extended period of campaigning, they want to amend a by-law that would extend a period for signs to go up.  As it is now, signs can only go up 30 days before an election and it will leave it as such.

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Doody is up with a couple of topics.

First, he says he and other councillors went to a Lakeshore Gold reception last week.

He says they’ve been successful, all the while investing and spending millions of dollars.

Doody says the potential for gold in the west end can lead to a greater success story down the line.

He also says Marc Lauzier has been appointed Chair of the Ontario Mining Association.  Lauzier is the most recent GoldCorp Mine Manager, before Brendan Zuidema took over less than a year ago.

Doody says he, Campbell and Wawrzaszek went to the 35th Anniversary of Camp Bickell.

He also makes note of the death of Gus Mortson, an old friend of his and a former four-time Stanley Cup Champion.

He says Mortson developed a reputation of being the toughest defence man ever in the NHL.

Doody now mentioning his contribution to the Timmins community once he laced up his skates.

Wawrzaszek praises Camp Bickell.

Dubeau says he wants an amended resolution of a previous discussion to get council members to go to AMO.  He’s modified it to phrase it as “interested members.”

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Now to the special meeting, and the first is the Timmins Fall Fair beer garden.

It is passed.

Now to the amended resolution for getting councillors to go to provincial meetings.

Black says this goes for many meetings, and asks whose discretion it is at.

Dubeau says the resolution is pretty simple.

Dubeau, Campbell, Doody and Wawrzaszek vote in favour, while everyone else votes against it and it is defeated.

Now to by-laws!

Donation of land on Lover’s Lane is passed.

Deeming by-law for Wallingford Road is passed.

Deeming by-law for Young Street is passed.

Tax extension agreement for vacant land on Ogden Avenue is passed.

Tax extension agreement for 355 Ogden Avenue is passed.

Agreement for contracted services to B.W. Contracting to operate German Township Waste Disposal Site is passed.

Design for leachite collection pond and landfill gas collection system for Deloro Landfill is passed.

Agreement with Joe Johnson Equipment to buy a sweeper.

Wawrzaszek raises some concerns, and Dubeau asks if this gets deferred.

It is deferred.

Black says to prevent future deferrals, to get all the answers in the package.

Grzela says he was looking at the signage by-law, and that the 30-day rule doesn’t apply to the provincial or federal election.  He asks to get clarification on this.

Black says if Grzela is right, we could even see signs tomorrow if candidates choose.

and council is adjourned to in-camera!