TIMMINS - Council members are packing a lot into their last meeting of the year.
Tonight's Timmins council agenda includes a lengthy list of items to tackle, including a report on the ward boundaries.
When moving ahead with a report was voted on, there was a passionate debate about the city's history and why some councillors don't want to re-explore changing the system. Staff is asking to create an online poll to get feedback from residents on the topic. The three systems being proposed are a 2-4-2 system, voting at large, or staying the same. Read the full report here.
Other highlights of the agenda include:
- The day after approving a 9.6 per cent budget hike for 2025, the Timmins Police Service board chair Kraymr Grenke and chief Sydney Lecky are presenting the document. The full presentation is available here.
- While a stream-lined provincial recycling program is taking effect on Jan. 1, there are a few local kinks to work out. Right now, the city has three sites for residents to drop off recycling materials. Circular Materials, which is administering the new system for the city, has said it will only maintain one location. Making sure that residents in the townships of Thornloe, German and Evelyn can still drop off recycling where they're used to could cost $119,250, which hasn't been budgeted for 2025. Read the full report on the item here.
- Emergency watermain repairs this year have a $1.7 million price tag. The projects weren't budgeted for in 2024, but staff says the costs are being covered with money available after deferring a backwash pump replacement and other projects at the Timmins Water Filtration Plant. At $1.17 million, the emergency repairs to the 450-millimetre transmission main behind Schumacher was the most expensive project. It happened in mid-July. The second incident started on Oct. 31 when higher-than-usual water flows and consumption were noted. Crews found a significant watermain break on a 500-millimetre transmission line that's needed for the water filtration plant to maintain fire protection in the west end of the city and stability standpipe water levels. The line is being relined and the supplies needed have been ordered, with the work expected to start mid-January and be done by the end of the month. The initial repair cost is estimated at $549,880.
- Renewing the security contract at the Timmins Transit station will cost more than expected. EyeQ Security Services Ltd. is the recommended bidder on the three-year contract. The cost is $134,966 annually. There were 29 bids on the contract. In 2025, the city had budgeted $117,000 for the contract. The budget will be adjusted to reflect the actual cost, according to the staff report.
- The city could be bringing the animal control services contract in-house. Staff is not recommending renewing the existing animal control contract when it expires at the end of the month. In the past couple of years, the city says the "animal control contract has become quite cumbersome" to manage. "Enforcement services has been spending a lot of time providing support, coaching and responding to complaints about lack of action by the service provider. Despite regular meetings with the service provider the service has continued unimproved," reads the staff report, which asks for the $83,893 previously budgeted for the contract to be redirected for the city to hire 1.5 animal control officers.
None of the items have been approved yet.
Read the full agenda here.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Timmins city hall. Watch the meeting live online here.
