Mayor Steven Black delivered his first State of the City Address on October 21, 2015 at the Days Inn and Conference Centre. This event was part of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Week, and sponsored by Northern College. See the Mayor’s full speech below:
CITY OF TIMMINS
STATE OF THE CITY 2015
MAYOR STEVEN BLACK
TO TIMMINS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SMALL BUSINESS/LOCAL GOVERNMENT WEEK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015
DAYS INN AND CONFERENCE CENTRE
TIMMINS, ONTARIO
12:00 PM
Welcome, Bienvenue, Wachay!
Thank you, Dr. Penner for the kind introduction.
My colleagues on council, members of the Chamber of Commerce, members of the media, invited guests; it gives me great pleasure to be here today to share with you my first State of the City address as Mayor. I want to thank you all, including members of the City of Timmins Administration, for being here today.
I’d like to acknowledge and thank the Chamber of Commerce and today’s event sponsor, Northern College, for providing me the opportunity to highlight our success stories and speak to some of our challenges.
I’d also like to acknowledge Northern College President Fred Gibbons, who could not join us today as he is currently in China; continuing to make great strides in achieving the college’s strategic goal to grow international enrolment and international off-shore partnerships. The college’s focus on recruiting international students to the Timmins Campus continues to be very successful, supported by a new partnership which provides Chinese students the opportunity to complete their final year of study at one of Northern’s campuses.
It gives me great pride to stand before you all today with a unified interest in a City we have all chosen to call home; the place we have chosen to raise our families and pursue our dreams.
As Mayor, one of my goals is to establish greater focus on recreation and quality of life, leaving behind a better place for generations to come. As best described by an Ancient First Nation Proverb: “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” This means strengthening our social fabric, taking pride in our identity and diversifying our economy. It means sustainable infrastructure, solid partnerships and fiscal responsibility. It means creating a promising tomorrow, starting today.
I was excited to learn this year’s theme for small business week is ‘Knock down barriers. Dare to grow.’ as it speaks so well to these goals. I sought, and accepted this role knowing there would be challenging times ahead – prepared to think outside the box, make tough decisions and accept change.
Like many cities across this country, we face barriers such as aging, and in some cases, crumbling infrastructure, provincial government downloading, changing provincial legislation as it relates to water and sewer, a changing economy, and a dependence on resource-based industry. We dare to move forward with an ambitious vision, exciting new projects, and engaged citizens.
Timmins continues to make great strides in shaping our city into one that is increasingly vibrant, innovative, inclusive and sustainable.
Aptly coined the City with the Heart of Gold, Timmins was founded on, and has been greatly sustained by the mining sector for over 100 years.
While we know Glencore’s Kidd Operation is nearing the end of its mine life, the company continues to be the City’s largest private-sector employer, contributing significantly to our economy. Kidd employs approximately 900 people including contractors, and last year spent $62M on local goods and services.
Since 2007, Kidd has also invested nearly $4M in community projects and recently announced the creation of a $1M Legacy Fund in partnership with the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016, Kidd Operations continues to be a leader in safety and environmental sustainability, receiving numerous accolades and awards for their efforts in these areas.
Other major players in the mineral sector also continue to contribute greatly to our local economy.
Of course the most visible project, right next to our downtown core is the Hollinger – one of Timmins’ oldest and most profitable mines, operated by Goldcorp.
Just last week, Hollinger moved to 24-hour operations, bringing them one step closer to creating a green space and recreational area with a potential for tourism and economic development opportunities. Over the years, Goldcorp has won two environmental awards for reclaimed properties within the City, and we look forward to being able to utilize what was, for many years, a large chunk of hazardous, unusable land. Council is expecting the company’s Subsequent Land Use Plan in December of this year. This project, along with Goldcorp’s two underground operations (Dome and Hoyle Pond), contribute to our local economy by paying $118M in annual salaries to 805 full-time employees (73% of whom live right here in our community).
This year, the company also pumped $178M into our local economy through supplies, contract labour and services among 250 contracted suppliers in Timmins. Estimated production for 2015 is 305,000oz. of gold.
Another re-developing mine near the City of Timmins is showing amazing growth, after going “from core to pour in six years.” Detour Gold, now in its third year of operation is estimating its 2015 production at 475,000-525,000oz. of gold. This is great news considering the company is exceeding design throughput rates and budget mining rates.
While the mine is not situated within City limits, its office is located in Cochrane – one of our partner communities – allowing us to reap the benefits from its economic impact. As a responsible corporate citizen, investing locally is a key part of Detour’s sustainability strategy, and over the past 18 months, they have spent upwards of $70M amongst more than 140 contracted suppliers from Timmins. They also pay out $136M in wages to approximately 800 full-time employees on an annual basis. The company has confirmed that 17% of its workforce is from the Timmins area, and are proud to declare that nearly 90% of its team lives in Northern Ontario.
Also occupying a large land position in ideal geology is Lake Shore Gold, operating two producing mines and a central mill – Timmins West Mine and Bell Creek Mine and Mill. In March 2015, the company announced a 29% increase in ore reserves and two new gold discoveries in eight months at the 144 Project – holding potential for future development. With annual salaries in the $50M range, the company currently employs about 500 people with the vast majority being Timmins residents. They are a low cost producer, which is favourable to the industry, with all in sustaining costs running at US$950/oz. Projected production for 2015 is 180,000oz. of gold with a similar target for 2016.
The majority of their spending also stays local, as 58% (or $91M) of the mine’s total spending, excluding internal labour, for 2014 was spent in Timmins.
While these corporate citizens continue to be key players in our economy, the Timmins Economic Development Corporation is working to support them by strengthening and expanding the current mining supply sector, and increasing development of the industrial mineral sector. As a direct result of the Competitive Positioning and Foreign Direct Investment Strategy Project completed by the TEDC, the group is leading a three-year Mining Supply and Industrial Mineral Investment Attraction Regional Project.
This project supports our existing mining suppliers while bringing new investment to Timmins and the Highway 11 corridor – specifically our partner communities of Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Black River Matheson and Temiskaming Shores. Key activities include a mining supply gap analysis, value propositions, marketing, lead generation and attraction. The regional gap analysis, which is currently being conducted by Doyletech will identify those mining supply products and services that are available in the partner communities and region. It will then provide some recommendations on the gaps or the types of mining supply companies we should be looking to attract.
As part of the analysis, mines were also interviewed to try and determine how and where they source their products to see if there are opportunities being missed by our existing regional suppliers. From the gap analysis, a value proposition will be developed and will be used for lead generation and attraction efforts. All leads are documented on a lead generation form and are supplied to all partners. It is up to the partners to follow up on the leads to secure new development for their respective areas. Throughout the project, the coordinator will actively promote the area at mining supply trade shows including the Prospectors and Developers Association conference, CIM conference, Round Up, and the likes.
The total project cost is $523,000 over three years, with funding being provided by Fednor, NOHFC and community partners. The project was developed over a three-year timeframe to allow the necessary and appropriate time to develop and implement the activities, and to see successes come to fruition. Foreign Direct Investment projects such as this require time to target companies, generate leads, market and entice companies to consider Timmins and the region as a place to invest. Our hope is that this project will reduce input costs for business relative to transportation and distribution, as outlined in the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan.
The Productivity and Innovation Centre is another initiative serving to expand business development and supports. The main project goal is to conduct 60 productivity assessments with SMEs in targeted sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and mining supply. The assessments serve to identify operational issues within various businesses, and provide support to address these issues. While the TEDC continues to manage the project, a transitional plan has been developed and implemented to move the project from TEDC to NEOnet.
Today, the Project Coordinator works under day-to-day direction of the NEOnet manager with the support of a steering committee; represented by TEDC, NEOnet, Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Northern College, Millson Forestry, MaJIC and others that provide direction on the project during regular meetings.
Another industry we need to support, as it gets back on its feet after a multi-year slump, is forestry. EACOM’s vice-president and chief forester addressed Council a couple weeks ago and indicated that even as the largest lumber producer in Ontario, the company’s sustainability is at risk due to the possibility of over-reaching regulations.
This makes it difficult to attract investors to the industry, which is why we need to continue to voice support for them. While the business faced many challenges associated with two fires, EACOM has risen from the ashes. The company continues to employ roughly 100 people at its Timmins mill, and an additional 200 people work in the logging and hauling operations around Timmins. The most recent fire, occurring in January 2012 prompted the company to invest $30M into the re-build of what is now a state-of-the-art sawmill and the star performer among EACOM operations in Ontario.
While these resource-based industries have sustained us for over a century, it is an undeniable reality that forestry faces challenges, and our mineral resources are non-renewable. This is why it is so important for us to focus on diversifying the Timmins economic base through new business development – enhancing long-term sustainability and wealth for generations to come. This was identified as a priority in the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan, and the wheels have starting turning, driving us closer to this goal, which I will speak to a little later on.
The 2020 Plan also prioritized conducting a needs assessment, and developing a plan to support and retain retirees.
This is currently being addressed with the recent development of the Age-Friendly Communities Organizing Committee. The City of Timmins, in partnership with the Venture Centre, received funding from New Horizons and the Province of Ontario to engage the community in the development of a Timmins Age-Friendly Strategy. The mandate of the committee is to examine how Timmins can strengthen and promote itself as a senior-friendly community. The goal is to work with the community to identify key amenities and service gaps and improve the implication of aging residents within the city. The hope is to enhance the quality of life for these residents and improve services.
Following a series of upcoming public consultations, the committee will review and identify five priorities to address needs of the aging demographic. This will come to fruition through a series of seven community consultations. Some of the areas we know we need to focus on are health and social needs – supporting Timmins’ regional hub strategy with health care services and expertise.
We are fortunate to have the Timmins and District Hospital serving as a regional centre for health care, and its Foundation, which is devoted to continuous advancements.
Just yesterday, TDH celebrated the official opening of its Breast Wellness Centre and can now offer services including mammography, ultrasound, biopsies, bone mineral density and MRI in one comfortable private space. This is a wonderful addition to our fully-accredited referral and teaching hospital, which already offers a full range of emergency, medical, surgical, critical care, OB/GYN, pediatric, psychiatric and geriatric services to the region.
The hospital is also one of about 30 non-City organizations within Timmins that have chosen to adopt the “Timmins – I’m In” brand and use the tools provided for physician recruitment.
In addition to top-tier healthcare, our residents also have the benefit of skilled emergency responders.
The Timmins Police Service is comprised of 85 sworn police officer, 30 9-1-1 communicators, and 13 records staff – responsible for policing 2,797 square kilometers. The challenge for police agencies is to meet the growing public expectation when it comes to policing services. Although crime may go down in certain years, non-criminal calls are on the rise.
Police services need to meet the requirements made by governments, and deliver services in a manner which ensures available resources are used effectively and efficiently, while at the same time ensuring public safety remains the top priority. Public safety, including the safety of our officers, remains the bottom line. In addition, many social service agencies have experienced cuts to their budgets and resources. As a result, the call volume for police to deal with social issues, such as mental health, are steadily increasing. In April of 2015, members of the Timmins Police Service’s Drug Enforcement Unit joined other community members and organizations in the creation of a Fentanyl working group.
The goal of this group is to reduce the incidents of Fentanyl misuse and the deaths that result from its misuse. We hope this group will help reduce the significant amount of drug seizures that have taken place over the past year – including the seizure of hundreds of Fentanyl patches and other drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Another initiative serving to keep drugs off our streets was the second annual Prescription Medication Drop-Off Day. This year, over 30 pounds of unwanted, unused, or expired prescription medication was collected.
In addition to these and other initiatives, the Timmins Police have had a busy and eventful year, investigating several major cases in 2014/2015.
These major case investigations include homicide, historical missing persons, serious assaults or any other major incident. These require thousands of hours of investigation, and thousands of overtime hours can be accrued. Our officers are extremely dedicated to these investigations and often work around the clock so that these cases can be solved. We’ve had a few major tragedies and scares in 2015, and are extremely grateful for the dedication and bravery of our officers.
Another brave and tireless group that deserves recognition is our Timmins Professional Firefighters and our many volunteer firefighters.
Our volunteer staff is the most important resource the City of Timmins has and needs to be maintained to a high standard. To date this year, the group has responded to 38 fire calls, 22 of which were structure fires – accounting for only 4.34% of total calls. The highest percentage of calls received, among 60 different categories, were regarding vehicle collision, false alarms due to alarms system equipment malfunction or perceived emergency. However, the Timmins Professional Fire Fighters Association (full-time staff) is placing a lot more emphasis on prevention through pre-planning and inspections as well as enforcement.
The Porcupine Fire Fighters Association (volunteer staff) also serves the community in a proactive role by continuing to emphasize home inspections.
All of these successes and developments support the goals of our strategic plan and our goals as Mayor and Council. However, one of the points I focused on during my campaign is the dilemma facing Timmins, in that the two biggest resident concerns work against each other; one being the rate of taxation and the other being the poor shape of our infrastructure and roads. For the last 5 years council has contributed to a future infrastructure reserve, last year’s contribution reaching $1 Million.
This forward-planning is necessary based on the current costs of infrastructure repairs and a need to plan for the future.
In addition council is considering a new fund in this year’s budget, earmarking 50% of all new assessment growth to be set aside annually to compensate for the loss of property taxes once Kidd Mine closes.
This year alone, we have made great strides on knocking down some barriers and improving the current infrastructure:
$7M was spent on the upgrade to lift station #4 and new storm retention tanks in South Porcupine and Porcupine. Phase 1 of this project will be operational in January/February 2016
$5.2M grant was received by the Small Community Fund to support upgrades to five lift stations in South Porcupine and Porcupine (Phase 2). This construction will begin in 2016
The Mattagami Water Pollution Control Plant Upgrades are scheduled to reach substantial completion in November 2015. The project started in 2009 and the City of Timmins will soon reap the benefits of all these upgrades
The preliminary engineering report for the connecting link will be received this fall. The report will outline opportunities for upgrades on the connecting link and establish a preliminary cost for the re-construction of 21 kilometres.
The re-construction will also include the replacement of buried infrastructure and looking at relocating utilities such as hydro and natural gas.
A grant of $400,000 was received from the Ontario Power Authority in support of our energy conservation project. We are in the process of completing our LED retrofit program, replacing 4,000 lights, at a total cost of $2.6M. The municipality has forecasted annual savings of $400,000.
A $750,000 grant was received from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund to support the construction of a new blending chamber and UV disinfection process at the Timmins Water Filtration Plant. Preliminary estimate is slightly above $2M.
The Engineering Department, the Clearlogic team, Tourism Timmins and the branding committee has completed the installation of two gateway signs and two service club signs. In addition, Timmins and South Porcupine BIAs have their streets signs branded with the same community logo and the Tourism Office has also embraced the new branding colours and theme. The Downtown BIA also recently released its new branding initiative, increasing the appeal of our downtown
Public Works and Public Utilities handled more than 600 frozen water services in 2015. The sheer volume of work was incredible and some residents were without water for extended periods of time.
The team is getting prepared for similar conditions in 2016 and looking to reduce some of the delays experienced this year. While water was restored in the early parts of 2015, most repairs were completed in the summer and extended well into September.
2015 was also a challenging year on the snow removal front. Total snow accumulation was equal to a 10-year high. Roughly 30,600 loads of snow were removed from our City streets.
The fleet department has enhanced its winter equipment by adding a third snow blower, a plow truck and a sander with under-ride.
Equipment dependability is improving as we renew our fleet and ensure we have equipment at our disposal to address winter conditions.
The City of Timmins has recently applied to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund program intake 2. The identified priority is a $4M project on the connecting link between South Porcupine and Schumacher. Funding request is for $2M (50%)
The City of Timmins has recently applied to the Small Community Fund program intake 2. The identified priority is a $4.5M bridge reconstruction on Airport Road. Funding request is for $3M (66%)
The Engineering Department has completed a capital road upgrade program in 2015 that totaled $7.5M. The federal gas tax revenue accounted for $2.5M of this expenditure.
We completed our first watermain relining project on Algonquin Boulevard. We realized a cost saving of 40% when compared to traditional open trench excavation and watermain replacement.
Hydro One completed its hydro vault upgrades in the Timmins BIA. This multi-million dollar upgrade will provide reliable power to all downtown patrons and residents. The project’s success hinged on the strong partnership that was established between the BIA management team and its members, the City of Timmins Public Works Department and Engineering Department, hydro’s management team and its contractors.
We have made some upgrades in the cemetery department such as the completion of a memorial wall/scattering garden, and the installation of four more monument pads in the new expansion at Timmins Memorial. Sidewalks have also been added around and to columbariums #5, 6 and 7. Two entrance signs have been purchased – one for Tisdale and one for Whitney, and a tender is being sent out for Whitney expansion.
A new Passport Parking System has been implemented, providing residents a convenient way to pay for parking with their cell phones.
The City of Timmins is representing Northern Ontario on a provincial steering committee of asphalt quality across Ontario. Five municipal candidates were selected and our Manager of Engineering will be intimately involved in this important initiative.
We have also dared to keep growing:
434 Building Permits have been issued, as of September 30, 2015, which is down by 64 permits as compared to last year at this time.
However, these permits translate to $36.5M in construction value, which is actually $1.2M higher than that recorded at this time last year.
Major projects included the $15M Lakeshore Gold Mill Expansion; $6.5M Best Western Hotel Development; and the new $5M Bucket Shop expansion
Groundwork on the Bucket Shop expansion began this summer, with footings scheduled prior to freeze up. The 55,000 square-foot facility, located at McBride and St Jean, will not only host a 100-foot CNC plasma table, but will also be equipped with a 750-tonne break press – the largest in the region.
The company also plans to have a 60-tonne overhead crane to cater to larger mining equipment from our region. The new Bucket Shop is slated to open its doors late next year, with the potential for 20-30 new hires.
Council has either provided partial or full approval of some 277 residential lots/units in 2015, which will provide a variety of housing options for our community including a $1M renovation involving the former Lionel Gauthier School which will provide for 28 new apartment units.
City’s 5-year review of its Official Plan and Zoning By-law is currently underway. Public input is being sought through a variety of meetings and forums to shape how our community is to grow over the next 20 year horizon.
Renovations to the McIntyre Arena have been completed in order to host the city’s newest hockey team. The Rock will offer local and regional residents an opportunity to view some quality Junior A hockey action.
A total of $1.7M in Capital has been invested to improve our other municipal buildings and recreation facilities so that we can provide appropriate venues to meet the needs of our residents.
A total of $1.2M in Capital has been invested to improve our Transit operations including the purchase of new conventional and handy transit buses. The bonus is that these Capital requirements are funded from revenues provided by Provincial Government versus being funded through local property taxes.
Museum celebrates its 40th Anniversary in operations in 2015 and boasts close to 15,000 visitations so far this year – with unique attractions such as the newly refurbished Hollinger House and Prospectors Cabin. The Gold Mine Tour Asset Relocation Project, led by Tourism Timmins will be a welcomed addition to our heritage assets.
In April 2015, the Timmins Public Library celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Main Branch’s relocation to 320 Second Avenue. The library continues to offer a wide range of services and programs to respond to the information, literacy and cultural needs of our residents. Among its services, the library offers exceptional literacy-based programs for babies and children in both English and French.
The centre has been identified as the City’s Signature Project under the 2020 Strategic Plan and also compliments our Culture, Tourism & Recreation Master Plan. The first public consultation, held last week, was well attended and we look forward to even more resident involvement on November 19.The City has also commenced a feasibility study for a proposed aquatic center. Public input will be sought to ensure that the proposed facility will be designed to accommodate the diverse needs of our community
Our Tourism sector currently includes 175 businesses, accounting for 2,000 jobs, and making up 9% of our economy. We have been seeing some exciting developments within this sector, such as the construction of three national hotel brands, the Wakeboard Park and 705MX motorsport park.
The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival continues to grow and has been recognized as a TOP 100 festival in the province of Ontario for three years. It has also received national attention as a top 10 paddling challenge in Canada, and awarded the North Eastern Ontario Recreation Association award of distinction.
However, tourism isn’t just about people visiting theme parks and casinos – a tourist is anyone who travels at least 40km from home to visit your community. The people who come from the Greater Timmins area on the weekends to shop or those who travel here on Wednesdays during the Summer Concert Series, eating in our restaurants, are tourists.
And many more have come here from much further. This year alone, we have welcomed tourists from throughout Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon, USA (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington), France, Germany, United Kingdom, England, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, Scotland, and Australia. We also recently hosted journalists from Epoch Times, a Chinese media conglomerate.
Tourism marketing activities will be directed towards promoting the competitive advantages the city holds in areas of meetings, conferences and sports tourism.
Activities such as the Big Event Mining Trade Show, FONOM Annual Conference, Northern Ontario Business Awards, and International Women’s Business Awards will generate millions into our economy. We also hope to attract many new conferences to the city including the Airport Management Council of Ontario, the North Eastern Ontario Recreation Association, the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs and the Tourism Northern Ontario Summit. We will also continue working on our sports tourism portfolio in the hope of attracting new business such as the NAN Summer Games of 2015 and the 2016 Ontario Aboriginal Summer Games.
Thanks to Tourism Timmins and the Canada Day organizing committee, Timmins saw the biggest and best Canada Day celebration ever, and plans are already underway for 2016. Never in the history of Timmins has the Mountjoy Regional Conservation Area Participark ever hosted such a large crowd. By 2pm barely a speck of grass was visible in the park as roughly 15,000 residents were in attendance. We blocked off a section of roadway to allow the city to turn out and view the largest fireworks display the city has ever seen, and included pontoon boat rides for a view from the water. The Bucket Shop Group of Companies is committed to outdoing themselves again in 2016.
The Canada Day celebration was truly remarkable, tying in well with the Summer Concert Series, which moved locations for one night only, to entertain the crowds until the fireworks. The group will be applying for Celebrate Canada dollars, and are hoping to hire a bilingual headliner band for next year.
While we are taking significant steps forward, it is no secret that we have a set of challenges ahead. In order to clearly identify these challenges and seek recommendations on how to move forward in an effective and sustainable manner, the City has sought the expertise of KPMG to conduct a Service Delivery and Operational Review.
While Council and members of the public have had a sneak peek into this report, the final will be presented during the October 26 Council meeting. At this time, it is up to us to determine our short-, mid-, and long-term recommendations and plan for implementations over a 12- to 18-month period.
We are also expecting the Deloite Audit on Waste Water by the end of November, which may also call for some challenging considerations.
Though this may seem cumbersome, these external reviews of our City’s internal systems are a positive step toward our goal of a sustainable future.
This will also put us in a better position to attract new business ventures to Timmins.
That being said, we are so pleased to have recently announced a new industry moving to Timmins. As noted a few weeks ago Calabrian Corporation will be opening a new liquid Sulphur Dioxide production facility in Timmins. The company hails from Texas and their site in Timmins is part of their Canadian expansion plans. Calabrian Corporation is the leading producer of liquid Sulfur Dioxide in North America. The local facility will serve the local mining, paper and water treatment markets.
We are very pleased the company will create jobs and opportunities for local residents. Having a new mining supplier in our municipality is certainly welcomed news.
These skilled manufacturing jobs align perfectly with the goals of the Northern Ontario Growth Plan and the Timmins Economic Development Corporations’ foreign direct investment strategy.
I would like to welcome Randy Owens the President and CEO of Calabrian Corporation up to the podium to say a few words.
Randy Owens said a few words.
I would like Randy and his Calabrian team members to please come to the podium to accept a welcoming gift on behalf of the community.
We are also pleased to announce that key representatives from Univar Canada including Willy St-Cyr VP of Eastern Canada are here today. Univar is a key distributor for Calabrian in this venture.
Univar Canada is the leading distributor of chemistry and related innovative products and services in Canada. They provide more chemical products and related services than any other company in the marketplace. Their wide distribution network, with locations coast-to-coast, helps guarantee fast, reliable service to their customers.
Please welcome Willy and his team members up to the podium to accept a gift on behalf of the community.
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