Timmins City Council: 2016 Review

2016 was an extremely eventful year for Timmins city council. There was shouting, there were audible gasps, there were Klingons.

10. RURAL ROADS 

A matter that has been a topic of debate for the last few years has been fairness for rural taxpayers. A push, led by Councillor Walter Wawrzaszek, insisted that a group of six rural homes on Charland and Bertrand Roads near Kettle Lakes Provincial Park should have their roads plowed by the City of Timmins. After several discussions, the resolution was passed in early August. 

"I brought this forward quite awhile back. I believe we have to start somewhere. All taxpayers deserve service for the taxes they pay to the city" said Wawrzaszek on August 8, adding that he didn't believe that the decision meant the city would be forced to maintain all rural roads within the city limits.

Wawrzaszek was supported by fellow Councillors Rick Dubeau, Mike Doody, Joe Campbell and Andrew Marks. Vocal critics were Councillors Pat Bamford and Noella Rinaldo. 

"Those are no longer 'cottages'. They chose to move out there, and we have got to draw the line, and we did when we drew up the policy 10 years ago" said Rinaldo at the same August 8 meeting. 

Mayor Steve Black said the policy is very clear. Rural taxpayers are to pay for the road to be upgraded to provincial standards, at which point the municipality would assume and maintain it. There were debates over the state of Charland and Bertrand, and whether or not the city ever maintained it.

Council's decision in August could potentially be a 'can of worms' scenario with many more rural taxpayers asking for winter maintenance. Some Councillors have pushed for tax rebates to offset maintenance costs. Since the decision in August, council has already received a few requests from residents for city assistance on their rural roads.

9. STILL SMOKING

Another agenda item that smoldered in 2016 was the city's smoking by-law. First brought up at council in June, a proposal by the Porcupine Health Unit and the Downtown Timmins BIA would see the city to increase the distance required by smokers to be away from doorways to nine metres. The current standard is three metres. There were several documents presented by many parties, including surveys, throughout the year. The accuracy of data within these documents was brought into question. A BIA Board Member made an appearance at council on July 11 with push back for the idea.

After many split debates, some on council pointed out that regardless of what distance is in the bylaw, it comes down to actual enforcement.

"I can't see any consensus here obviously. The enforcement will make the three-metre or nine-metre irrelevant" said Councillor Pat Bamford on November 7. He added that he didn't feel the smoking issue is enforceable in the first place.

Council is now seeking a legal opinion on the matter, after deferring a final decision several times.

8. AQUATIC CENTRE

Mayor Steve Black's plan for a new recreational complex in the city continued in 2016. What was once envisioned to include a new ice surface or two has been narrowed down to a new aquatic centre, with the potential for amenities such as leisure pools, a lazy river, and indoor tennis courts. 

After trimming down the number of potential sites down to two - a vacant parcel of land on Highway 655 across from Gillies Lake, or a new build at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex, council approved geotechnical studies for both sites.

In late November city staff, led by Environmental Compliance Coordinator Scott Tam explained that the Highway 655 site had high levels of metals in the soil and that remediation efforts would add significant costs to the project. Tam also said that during drilling in the area revealed bedrock was down at least 22 metres. Council voted to squash plans for that site, leaving it to the Archie Dillon option.

There have been many figures and cost estimates put out for the aquatic centre, some quoting upwards of $40 million dollars, and it remains a point of debate for the citizens of Timmins.

"I know people that want this pool. And the few that don't, I know will go when its open. I'm very confident in going forward with this" said Councillor Noella Rinaldo on August 29. She maintained that without financial assistance from upper levels of government, the project is unlikely to happen.

There will certainly be many more discussions on the matter in 2017.

7. BLACK'S PUSH FOR DSSAB REFORM

Mayor Steve Black strongly feels that the city of Timmins is paying a disproportionate amount of money for the services it receives within the current Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board funding model, perhaps almost $2 million dollars too much. He made several attempts at reform in 2016.

His proposal has not been received well by many other Northeastern municipalities who feel that as the regional hub, Timmins should pay extra, as it has the largest tax base, and thus can afford to subsidize the other communities.

In April, he resigned from his position as vice-chair of the organization.

In May, Black said that Kapuskasing for example, is receiving free 24-hour ambulance service, and is paying 82 percent less than its fair share.

In July he suggested that the city withhold its funding in 2017. 

Black has been pushing for a new 'per capita' funding model, as opposed to the current weighted property assessment system. He has said there are plans to bring up the issue again at a meeting in January.

6. CONNECTING LINK OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY

The city's 10-year plan to rebuild the entire Connecting Link through the city began to take shape in 2016. A section of Highway 101 East from the Bruce Avenue junction to just past the Tisdale Cemetery was re-paved. Bike lanes, or paved shoulders, were included, as were new street lights along a previously dark section of the road.

It wasn't without controversy however. In August, Councillor Rick Dubeau lamented over the fact the original distance for Phase 1 was supposed to be 2.5 kilometres, but was shortened to just 1.4 kilometres because of a decision to go with thicker asphalt in hopes of extending the life of the road.

Phase 1 was boosted with the city receiving the maximum amount of funding from the provincial government in their Connecting Links Program. There are no guarantees Timmins will receive that same amount in subsequent years, and the city might have to get creative to pay for upcoming phases.

 

5. GRZELA'S DEPARTURE

In a surprising announcement in mid-December, Ward 1 Councillor Andre Grzela resigned his seat just two years into his term. Grzela said he is moving his family to suburban Ottawa to operate a hot tub business.

The youngest member of council, he also worked as a constituency assistant at the office of MPP Gilles Bisson. He said it was a very difficult decision, nut that the business opportunity was 'once in a lifetime'.

"The City with a Heart of Gold will always be near and dear to my heart" said Grzela, who will officially remain in his position until January 3.

Council quickly settled on appointing two-time Ward 1 runner-up Veronica Farrell to fill the seat until the next municipal elections in 2018, as opposed to holding a by-election for the vacancy.

4. DUBEAU STRIPPED OF POWERS

Described by Councillor Joe Campbell as 'one of the blackest days of council' on September 19 Councillor Rick Dubeau was removed from his turns as Deputy Mayor, as well as all of the boards and committees he served on around the city. 

Dubeau and Mayor Steve Black have had an obvious feud going on for basically the entire two years since the last municipal elections. The final straw for Black was an accusation made by Dubeau that council had been deliberately misled by city staff regarding the scope of Phase 1 of the Connecting Link project.

During the September 19 council meeting, Black asked Dubeau to publicly apologize for his comments. He refused to do. 

"Quite simply Mayor Black, you're not my boss. You do not, and can not censor any member of council" said Dubeau. "I still believe everything I said that night is true, and no, I'm not apologizing."

Councillor Andrew Marks said that night "Quite frankly, I have very little faith going forward in trusting this Councillor, as we can cite other instances."

The only Councillors who voted against the motion to censure Dubeau were Campbell and Wawrzaszek. The motion carried.

3. THE KLINGON INVASION

Taking great offense to remarks made by Councillor Joe Campbell on April 4, organizers of the increasingly popular Northern Ontario Expo were joined by a contingent of Klingons at the next week's meeting on April 11. 

The group was requesting support for their event, by asking the city to waive rental fees ($4,294) for use of the Archie Dillon Sportsplex arena, as the Expo had outgrown its previous venue at the McIntyre Arena ballroom. 

"What we all watched and experienced last Monday was truly an embarrassment, unprofessional conduct from city elected officials, and a total lack of respect towards a volunteer based group trying to bring new events to the city of Timmins" said N.O.E. President Jason Denis.

"For the comments that upset your members, I do apologize" said Mayor Steve Black to the group.

Eventually council voted to waive the rental fees, and the Expo had another successful event in 2016.

2. THE 7/2 SPLIT

Even casual observers of Timmins city council noticed how similar much of the voting went in 2016. When all Councillors are present, it was quite often a 7 to 2 split, with the usual opposing votes being Rick Dubeau and Joe Campbell. The optics suggest a 'clique' based council, but it could also be simply seven people agreeing.

It even led to two local attorneys offering their services pro-bono to Councillor Rick Dubeau, in part to try to and determine what is going on.

"I respect their vote. What I don't like is that they go to the meetings, and they don't even speak. They don't even debate. They have a responsibility to let their constituents know where they stand on these issues, and they're not doing that" said Dubeau in an interview in October, regarding a perceived lack of transparency from certain Councillors during voting.

Rural roads is among the rare items where a 7-2 split wasn't the case in 2016. With a fresh face, and a potential wildcard in Veronica Farrell entering the chambers in January, a shakeup could be in the works. Council has much to figure out regarding the 2017 operating budget and tax rates. 

1. FIREWORKS FESTIVAL

Jaws dropped around the region when on October 3 Mayor Steve Black announced plans for an 8-day fireworks festival to take place in the summer of 2017. Black asked council to approve the use of $3.5 million dollars of taxpayer money to kickstart the event, which will wrap up on July 1 to coincide with Canada's 150th birthday.

Eight international pyrotechnic teams from around the globe will make their way to Hollinger Park to compete in the event.

It was a polarizing announcement from the get-go, with some residents ecstatic that a major event will be happening in the city, while others were extremely concerned with the financial risk to city dollars. 

Eventually given the name 'Stars and Thunder', the festival will feature a different concert each night, wrapping up with New Zealand born country star Keith Urban on the evening of Canada Day. In September, one Councillor said that he had received 'mucho complaints' regarding evening concerts held in the city. 

A sole-sourced music consultant attached to the festival gave TimminsToday an exclusive interview in late October, promising major sales and major hype. Multiple local media outlets have provided the event with free promotional publicity.

Tickets for the event went on sale December 1 with a strong numbers in the first few days., although Black recently said that there is 'a ways to go before we get to that break even point'. He also said the city is awaiting word on provincial and federal funding applications which could help ease the financial burden on the city.