In just his second State of the City address, Timmins Mayor Steve Black reiterated a message heard around the community all year.

And it was clear: the city needs to invest in itself to grow.

Black’s so committed to that message, he’s opened up his own pocketbook…but we’ll get to that.

The Mayor stood in front of a packed Porcupine Dante Club to talk the city’s wins and losses throughout the last 12 months.

(CLICK HERE to view his full script.)

Many of those items have been hot button topics like the ongoing Connecting Link project, the proposed Aquatic Centre and the $3.5-million dollar Canada Day celebrations in 2017.

One highlight of the speech was Black pulling out a cheque for $1,000 of his own money.  The money is the start of a fund for the Aquatic Centre, and is asking businesses to match the money.

Black says while he’s planning to formally launch a fundraising campaign in January, any business looking to contribute to the cause can do so immediately.

If there’s any part of his speech that sticks out, it’s this:

“For years, we have watched North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie invest in festivals, events and recreational assets, and yet, we have always felt like the little sister city that isn’t able to invest in itself.  Changing this mentality is not done without resistance, but is critical to the success and future of our city.”

Filed under: Local News