council group pictureThere’s a little bit of everything on Monday’s council agenda.

Council will hear an update from the TEDC, while cuts to transit, a discussion on rural roads and the new industrial park are also on the docket.

Get all the details with our live blog, starting at 6:00pm.

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

Marks isn’t present.

We start off with a quarterly update from the Timmins Economic Development Corporation with Fred Gibbons and Christy Marinig.

CLICK HERE to see their presentation.

Campbell asks and Marinig confirms the numbers don’t include Calabrian.

Doody asks about efforts to get an English university.  Gibbons says the government has taken on that job, and there’s speculation of a satellite campus from York University going to Brampton or Mississauga in 2016.

Timmins didn’t meet the criteria for short-listing to have a full university campus.

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We go to correspondence, and Bamford chimes in about the letter from West Nipissing.

He says it doesn’t make sense, and won’t support it.

We skip ahead to reports.

The first is for the purchase of property for the Hallnor Industrial Park.  No questions on that.

Next is rental fees, the first is for the FONOM Conference coming to Timmins later this year.

Bamford says it makes sense to waive the fee, as many other host communities have shown hospitality when the city goes.

Now to the NOVA Award rental fees.

Bamford says this item coming in budget time is a good reminder to them all about Grants to Organizations.

He says they shouldn’t waive the fee, and eliminate the Grants to Organizations altogether.

(Pretty interesting when you consider the following Tweet from the Timmins Chamber’s Nick Stewart.)

Rinaldo points out the sponsorship/fee exchange, adding it is worth it for the city.

The rental is for the week leading up to the event, as the time is needed to set up the McIntyre Arena for the Awards.

This item will come back at the next regular meeting.

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Next is the purchase of a loader for public works.

The cost is just under $355,000 (+HST) and would come from Nortrax Canada Inc.

Rinaldo has an issue with the scoring criteria and talk is looking like the city makes a public document on the process and why a certain piece of equipment is purchased from one company over another.

The majority of council also wants a look at the bids from other companies.

There’s word that the bid from Nortrax wasn’t the lowest bid.

Black asks for a consensus on having prices show up on an RFP, but Campbell says it’s essentially a vote.  The vote goes to a tie so it is defeated.

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Now to a lift station communication upgrade.

This will cost the city just over $185,000 with WSP Canada.

Campbell has the same issue with this as the last one.

Council already made a ruling and this will come back.

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Next is transit cuts.

Mark Jensen and Timmins Transit’s Catherine Verreault are here to discuss it.

Jensen says they’ve identified six routes that could be eliminated, which could have a net savings of just over $160,000 if they would take effect this July.

The full report is HERE.

Dubeau says a large portion of the population work on Easter Monday and Boxing Day and would be against cutting service on that day.

Doody says transit cuts effect everyone, and people young and old need to take the bus, whether it’s going to work, going to a night class, etc.

He says if there are cutbacks, that they do it lightly.

Campbell agrees, and suggests transit look at running smaller buses at non-peak times.

Bamford is concerned over the suggested evening service cut, saying he doesn’t want to see someone walking from Schumacher to South Porcupine at 10pm because they can’t afford a taxi.

Wawrzaszek says he supports keeping transit routes as is, adding he will be riding on the bus in the next couple weeks to better educate himself.

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We go to an amendment to the building by-law.

Jensen says the KPMG report identified that permit fees should go up.

CLICK HERE for the full report.

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There’s also a report on changes to the Community Improvement Plan.

Jensen says eliminating the CIP program would see an estimated savings of $230,000 in the annual budget.

The full report is HERE.

This could come back in the budget process.

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The Timmins Snowmobile Club is renewing their lease at the transit shop on Iroquois Road.

The agreement would be for five years with a 3% increase to rent on a yearly basis.

This will come back in a report on savings if the city didn’t have an extra phone line or Internet connection in the building.

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No questions on an encroachment request from Alfie’s Cigar Store.

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Fire Chief Mike Pintar in the presentation chair to talk about a fire management agreement with the MNR and a new costing structure.

A brief history on the system can be found HERE.

This is an agreement on how they tackle forest fires in the region.

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The argument on rural roads continues.

A report to council is recommending that Charland and Bertrand Road does not receive winter maintenance activities, as they don’t fall under the province’s Minimum Maintenance Standard.

The roads are classified as Class 6 roads, that the Asset Management Plan says should be the last roads that receive budget dollars.

Dubeau says there’s been talk on these roads for around a year.

He says Charland Road forks, with one side getting service while the other doesn’t.

These roads are near Kettle Lakes off Municipal Road.

Rinaldo says we can’t afford to have the service expanded.

Dubeau argues that some roads that are getting serviced aren’t wide enough, adding the policy isn’t being enforced the same.

Duval says in his eight years, he’s said no to adding any road to the list to receive service.

Wawrzaszek says Miller Paving comes by those roads and the cost shouldn’t be much more.  He adds the bulk of the cost will be to upgrade the road to a minimum standard.

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Next is an item on gas prices in Timmins.

Mayor Black wants a review from the province in why prices in the north are more expensive, and would like them to go to the Competition Bureau.

Rinaldo mentions that this was discussed last term.  She says she’s glad this has come back.

This will come back next week.

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Now to the special meeting, with three items.

The first is for the Golden Manor but council decides to take a 5 minute break beforehand.

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On the Golden Manor, they recommend that it continues to be run by the city, adding they will look at a few different aspects and strategies to save some dollars.

Dubeau says going the non-profit route doesn’t mean getting rid of the Manor.  He says the Manor isn’t the city’s responsibility.

“We must be prudent,” he said in looking for savings.

Dubeau says he understands why they’re keeping the Manor in the city’s hands, but they need to at least look at the numbers they would save.

Council votes in favour of this unanimously.

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Now to a funding application for the Connecting Link.

They’re looking to address pavement deterioration between Schumacher and the Bruce “Y” near South Porcupine.

Black says they’re looking for $4.5-million of the $15-million Connecting Link fund.

Bamford says they should look at the small section between the Bruce “Y” and the OPP station.

The report says the section mentioned above is the only that’s ready for construction in 2016, adding the other sections deal with infrastructure underneath the road as well.

It’s a unanimous vote once again.

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Now to vote on plowing Charland and Bertrand Roads.

Dubeau, Campbell and Wawrzaszek vote in favour, while the rest vote against it and this is defeated.

Another resolution is to provide 10% tax relief to affected residents on Charland and Bertrand Road instead of plowing the roads.

Doody, Dubeau, Campbell and Wawrzaszek vote in favour, while the rest vote against it and is defeated.

Rinaldo says even though it’s defeated, this conversation should continue down the road.

and council is ADJORNED!