MARATHON — This town on the north shore of Lake Superior wants to build a multi-purpose active living centre, so naturally that was a key topic for its mayor as he met with cabinet ministers during the Rural Ontario Municipal Association’s 2025 conference..
“The Town of Marathon obviously is meeting with ministers based on our needs,” he said from Toronto, before reeling off a list of priorities including redevelopment of the town’s waterfront, the active living centre that he wants to see built near the lake, and getting a new mine up and running.
“You know, our goals are very straightforward in understanding what's working with the Minister (Greg) Rickford and Minister (Graydon) Smith. These are the projects that we need to move forward, and they fully understand that.”
Designs for the two-storey Marathon Active Living Centre building include a lap pool, a leisure pool, a hockey rink, changing rooms, a gym, a seniors room, bowling lanes and gallery exhibit space. Space for pickleball, basketball and other activities is allocated for exterior grounds.
A former mill property on the lakeshore has been designated as the facility’s future site.
Toronto-headquartered Generation Mining wants to build an open-pit palladium-copper mine in the Marathon area, and Dumas is eager to see that project come to fruition.
Nipigon Mayor Suzanne Kukko is at the ROMA conference to represent her township.
She told Newswatch her municipality’s priority is “to reduce the downloading of increased costs to municipalities.”
“Specifically,” she said by email, “we are hoping for a more consistent, reasonable increase in OPP levies that we can plan for each year.
“We are also meeting with (the Ministry of) Long-Term Care to thank them for approving our hospital’s 21-bed LTC expansion, and to ask for their continued support in regard to this project.”
Nipigon officials also met with Rickford, whose portfolio includes the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, about a “grant application to improve our community centre and pool building,” she said.
“Finally, we met with the Official Opposition (New Democrats) to bring their attention to the issues we’ve brought forward to the province.”
The 2025 ROMA conference, being held at a Toronto hotel, kicked off at 9 a.m. Sunday and ends Tuesday at noon.
