Council wants policy for rural road servicing

After opening the proverbial can of worms last year, Timmins city council is being cautious when it comes to which rural roads they provide service to.

This is in response to a report that says it would cost around $1.4-million dollars to provide servicing to Kenogamissi Hydro Road. Owners there want the same treatment as those on Charland and Bertrand Roads.

Councillor Walter Wawrzaszek—long an advocate of providing equal services to those within city limits—says he’d like to see a collaboration between the city, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Hydro One and cottage owners to see if there are grants available to cut down the cost.

He says the cottage owners didn’t say they wanted the road upgraded, and that they wanted the city to take the road over. Councillors later stated there are safety concerns stemming from the presentation, including the state of a bridge that lacks a steel guardrail.

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to take this road over this year, maybe not even next year,” Wawrzaszek said, “But there is potential things that we can do in the meantime.”

Councillor Mike Doody says getting together with partners is a great step in exploring the best case scenario for everyone involved.

Ditto for Councillor Joe Campbell, who says he hasn’t closed the door on this yet.

Councillor Pat Bamford suggested offering a rebate to help offset costs.

Councillor Noella Rinaldo notes taking care of rural roads goes against the city’s official plan. She says council has already broken policy twice and it would be “useless” to put together a policy, just to break it again.

Rinaldo admits things have changed and more people are living out in the country. But she adds the conversation on this moving forward cannot be on a per-road basis.

“Every rural road cottager is going to be here within the next year, I guarantee you,” she said, “I will put money on it and they have a right to do it.”

“Bottom line, if we’re going to make a rule, we have to follow it.”

And with that, Rinaldo says they have to look at a policy as a whole and “hopefully follow it.”

Mayor Steve Black says it’s a complex situation and hasn’t heard of a city that’s provided the same service to every household within city limits—no matter where they chose to live.

He says he’s happy to sit down and explore options for the area and take a look at area rates.

This will come back at a future meeting.

CLICK HERE to see the full discussion, under Item 4H.