council group pictureA number of key presentations highlight city council’s agenda Monday night.

Council will hear from a concerned resident regarding the Mountjoy-Vimy intersection, a recap of the LED light project and a report on the proposed closing of the Connaught Fire Hall.

Goldcorp will also be there for their quarterly update.

The council live blog will have all the details, starting at 6:00pm.

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

We start with a moment of silence for the two ex-Roland Michener teachers who passed away in Mexico last week, Sue Drummond and Steve Eley.

And we go into presentations, the first is from Jean-Yves Vezeau, to further discuss the Mountjoy-Vimy intersection from last week.

Vezeau wasn’t present last week.

Vezeau suggests that the intersection not only be a 3-way stop, and turn the area into a Community Safety Zone so the fines are doubled in the area.

Rinaldo points out the petition, which Vezeau says was left at the nearby Chez Nous store on the aforementioned corner.

Vezeau says there are “a couple hundred” signatures on the petition.

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We turn to the quarterly update from Goldcorp with Mine Manager Brendan Zuidema and Open Pit Manager Don Burke.

CLICK HERE to see the full presentation.

There are 173 employees and 42 contractors involved in the operation at this point.

The pit is blasting more often.  127 blasts were conducted between October and December 2015, stark contrast from the 90 from July to September 2015.

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Vezeau is back up for one more point on his presentation, to say the initiative is to make it safer for pedestrians as well.

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Now to a presentation on the LED light project from last summer.

CLICK HERE for that full presentation.

38 fixtures are left to install, ones that couldn’t get done due to things like weather conditions and some fixtures haven’t arrived in town to install yet.

Director of Public Works Luc Duval says the city’s lighting bills are already starting to decrease.

Councillor Dubeau has some concerns over the lighting on some streets, like Maple North.  As well, there are general concerns over the spacing between lights, with Dubeau calling it “inconsistent.”

Campbell says the north/south streets in Schumacher should be looked at as well.

Black says people generally like the lights, but there are some critics, mostly because those people are seeing the dark spots in their neighbourhood.

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We go to a request for a PET Scanner in Sudbury.

CLICK HERE to see the request.

Doody suggests someone from Sudbury comes up for a presentation, but the idea looks like it’s well received by council.

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Another correspondence from the town of Burpee and Mills for tax-incentive programs.

CLICK HERE for the request.

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Request for a noise exemption with Parkfest.

It is passed.

Parkfest runs June 24-25 at Hollinger Park.

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Next is a letter from AMO, regarding broader investment powers.

Council passes this.

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Summerfest road closures are passed by council.

Summerfest runs in South Porcupine the weekend of July 16-17.

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Next is a manpower request at the water filtration plant.

It is carried.

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We skip ahead to a request for the Connaught Fire Hall.

The investigation is complete, and the city is deciding to keep the station open upon council’s approval.

Bamford says there was no serious thought into this recommendation from the core services review for several reasons.

Grzela points out a story on an unnamed resident that had a heart attack, and was saved by the quick response by the fire fighters.

This item from the review was in-camera for quite some time.

Council passes this recommendation.

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Donation request for the community powwow.

Dubeau asks about who is hosting this, and there’s clarification that the school board is hosting.

Dubeau says the board has a lot of dollars, but the event is run for the most part by students and volunteers and attended by hundreds of people.

Black says it’s a great event in the community, and is a small ask.

The request is for $5,250, which is for the tent that the city owns.

Dubeau would like to cut the ask in half.

Black says if this was a school event, he’d be all for the amendment but that it’s a community event and will not support the amendment.

The amended “cut-in-half” resolution is defeated, and Dubeau and Wawrzaszek votes against the original resolution so it’s passed for the full $5,250 fee to be waived. (Marks declared a conflict of interest.)

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We turn to a donation request for the Welcome to Timmins Night.

This is for the $2,022.70 rental fee for the McIntyre Curling Club.

Black, Grzela, Marks, Rinaldo, Doody and Bamford vote in favour, and it’s passed.

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The third donation request is for the Timmins Ringette Association.

Dubeau says the feedback from last weekend’s tournament was phenomenal.  He points out the association has been asked to host again in future years.

Doody says sports tourism can be a huge thing for the community.

Sam Jacks, the son of the inventor of ringette, was in town for the tournament as well.

The motion for the request ($3,200 for the arena usage) is passed.

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Council remuneration for 2015 is passed.

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Next is what to do with that surplus from 2015.

As you can recall, it was just over $324,000 and council wants to put it into a reserve for tax stabilization.

They also want to transfer $159,066 that was a 2016 ask from the local DSSAB to the same fund to not affect the 2016 expenditure budget.

It is passed.

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Water financial plan for 2016 to 2021 is passed.

So is the resolution to officially bring Canada Day celebrations to Hollinger Park, with the fireworks coming from the Hollinger berm (Goldcorp approved).

To rural road policy.

The change to the policy is to have council approve any ownership change of roads or spending money to upgrade the road.

It’s deferred until later this summer.

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Amended landfill hours is passed.

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To a resolution for Deni Poulin Holdings on developing a new subdivision.

It is carried.

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To the volunteer fire honoraria.

This is to retain the current system, of points for each volunteer.

Fire Chief Mike Pintar says the system is well-received by the volunteers, and want to keep it the same.

It is passed unanimously.

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Resolution to stop discussion on amalgamating the Whitney and Tisdale volunteer fire halls.

This goes back to discussion a while back when it comes to building a new facility in South Porcupine, partnering with Northern College and EMS services.

It is passed unanimously.

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The firefighters association is looking for $559.35 to rent out the Sportsplex for a charity hockey game.

Black has concerns, saying he doesn’t feel comfortable passing it because everyone will start asking for free ice rentals.

The event is April 10th, and is in support of two families with loved ones fighting disease down south.

It is passed.

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Next is a housekeeping item.

Wawrzaszek to be appointed to the Non-Profit Housing Corporation Board, and Campbell to the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee.

It is passed.

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Hiring of municipal law enforcement officers.

It’s for 2 full-time two-year contracted positions.

It is passed.

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To two resolutions on handy transit, first is Black’s.

Black wants to have a report prepared to investigate options to provide service to rural non-serviced areas and staff examine legal ramifications.

Campbell is unhappy in the order of this and his resolution on extending the handy transit pilot project discussed last week to Phase 2.

“These are two very different resolutions,” he says.

Black’s resolution suggests extending Phase 1 until the report is completed.

This has spurned discussion around the table on making decisions with their heads and not hearts.

“We’re a small population with a huge geography,” says Bamford, adding not everyone can get the service because it would be too expensive.

Rinaldo would like this all deferred until MAAC meets this week.

Black says his report would be getting input from MAAC.  Campbell, fresh off getting named to the MAAC, says he has no issue deferring it to get further input.

Marks points out the pilot project saw no takers, and suggests this 45-minute conversation means nothing.

Deferral is passed.

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BY-LAW TIME!

Zoning amendment for 201-203 Balsam Street South is passed.

Agreement with AECOM on Phase 1 of Connecting Link design is next.

Grzela talks about having a better traffic light cycle, with Dubeau adding sole-sourcing this to AECOM puts the city in a bad position.

More discussion ensues around the table, on the process of an RFP and what the city is doing in this situation.

Black, Grzela, Marks, Rinaldo, Doody and Bamford votes in favour and it’s passed.

Agreement to purchase two handy-transit buses is passed.

Agreement to purchase one low-floor bus is passed.

and right before we eclipse four hours, Marks is advertising for the Evening of Applause to top off the meeting.

Marks notes that today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

and COUNCIL IS ADJORNED!