A Timmins park that residents petitioned to save after part of it was put up for sale earlier this year has a new owner.
Tuesday, Timmins council approved land transfers between the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority (MRCA) and the City of Timmins.
Flinstone Park is one of the lots being taken over by the city. Bordered by Pearl Avenue, Rea Street North and Vimy Avenue, the park features a small playground, a creek and green space.
Earlier this year, people in the neighbourhood petitioned after two lots in the park were put on the market.
After the mayor's office reached out and asked the MRCA to hold off on the sale, the lots were taken off the market.
Part of the reason the land was initially put on the market was to generate revenue for the conservation authority.
As part of this deal, Kirkland Lake Gold is donating $80,000 to the MRCA. The City of Timmins has surface rights of the property and the MRCA will keep the easement along Town Creek. The city will pay for the legal and registration costs of the sale.
Mayor George Pirie explained that Kirkland Lake Gold president and CEO Tony Makuch used to live in a house adjacent to the park. During the Town Creek flood in 1961, Pirie said the Makuch family got out of their house by canoe.
Coun. Cory Robin lives in the neighbourhood of the park.
“I wanted to thank the volunteers that made some noise regarding the sale including those that made the Facebook group, made the online petition and there was a few that went door-to-door to get people who live nearby to sign the petition to say please save our park,” he said.
In a separate item, the City of Timmins and MRCA are also exchanging land.
There are 24 MRCA properties — 4.574 acres — worth $192,369 that are being transferred to the city. There are 11 municipal properties worth $177,000 that the MRCA is taking over.
In this agreement, the city also pays for the legal and other costs to transfer the land.
“The MRCA over the years has acquired some non-traditional more residential-type lots in certain areas and this transfer would basically see them transfer those types of lots back to the city for city control,” explained city clerk Steph Palmateer.
The properties being transferred to the MRCA, he said, are in watershed or wetland areas and are more in line with its mandate.
Palmateer said the majority of the lots being transferred to the city are not suitable for development.
Coun. Andrew Marks sits on the MRCA board and noted there will be property being put on the market.
“This is very much cleaning up a lot of irregular land parcels with the city. When the remapping of certain flood zones were redone recently, this has opened some lots that the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority will be putting up for sale that are open to development,” said Marks.
He said the MRCA is working through a process with the provincial government.
“This is a way for MRCA also to open some lands for development that fit under the municipal land new policy that the MRCA board has approved recently. More to that will be forthcoming and it will be a public, clear, transparent process,” said Marks.
