Client Profile: The City of Timmins
The City of Timmins is aptly known as “the City with a Heart of Gold”. This vibrant, northeastern Ontario community of over 43,000 people was founded during a gold rush over a century ago, but is now better known as a major mining centre and the one time home of singer Shania Twain.
The Projects
Community Police Facility
For several years, the city had made it a priority to provide the Timmins Police Service with a new station. The old station was unable to accommodate new recruits and building standards and requirements were often an issue.
The new $12.5 million state-of-the-art Police facility has all the high-tech equipment necessary to offer first-class emergency services to the citizens of Timmins and the surrounding communities.
Medical Specialists Office Building
The $2.2 million Medical Specialists Building is the centrepiece of the community’s doctor recruitment and retention strategy. As well as providing office space for local physicians, the facility provides teaching space for students of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. It also houses the local office of Ontario Telemedicine Network, which provides long distance medical consultations for patients in remote areas.
The Solution
The City of Timmins looked to Infrastructure Ontario to help finance the new Police Services station. Timmins was approved for a 20-year loan valued at $8.5 million to supplement funds invested from the city’s reserves and other government sources.
The Medical Specialists Office Building was funded primarily by the city, with contributions from several neighbouring municipalities in the District of Cochrane. For the city’s $1.8-million share of the project cost, Timmins again looked to Infrastructure Ontario’s Loan Program for a 20-year loan and a favourable interest rate.
“The staff administering the program are extremely knowledgeable, helpful and provide timely responses to questions and requests for approval. Our city will definitely apply to the program for our capital financing needs in the future.”
Joe Torlone, Chief Administrative Officer - The City of Timmins
The Result
The partnership between the City of Timmins and Infrastructure Ontario has enabled the city to deliver two critically important projects affordably and efficiently. These new facilities dramatically enhance the city’s ability to provide health, safety and emergency services to residents both in the city and across the district.
The new Medical Specialists Office is part of the city and region’s strategy to attract and retain medical talent and serves residents across all of Northern Ontario. The new Police Facility generates additional revenue for the city by providing district-wide land ambulance and, on a fee-for-service basis, fire services for several other municipalities in the region.
For more information on the client, please visit their website at www.timmins.ca.