Hamilton ‘Beach Crawl’ celebration will have to wait
Jun 21, 2017 02:22 by Matthew Van Dongen 
Hamilton Spectator|
Hamilton's official clean beach coming-out party will have to wait.
The city sought expressions of interest from private companies earlier this year to run a series of "Beach Crawl" events aimed at fighting the impression that it's not safe to swim in Hamilton.
Only one unidentified company made a pitch, a new city report shows, and the proposal came with a subsidy request for $114,000 in city cash.
City tourism managers proposed an alternative Wednesday that would see municipal marketing staff work on a ramped-up "awareness campaign" for Hamilton beaches for now.
Coun. Sam Merulla, who pitched the Beach Crawl idea, endorsed the staff compromise with the proviso he'd like to see the campaign grow in future.
Merulla said his preference was to see a "visible celebration" of Hamilton's beaches to combat the "false impression" created by the city's history of industrial harbour pollution.
(The city has permanently closed Bayfront beach because of unsafe bacteria levels, but all Lake Ontario and conservation area beaches in the city were posted as safe to use earlier this week.)
But Merulla added he's not keen on providing a "subsidy" for a privately run event.
The Ward 4 councillor also said he'd like to revisit the beach party concept in a year without record Lake Ontario water levels.
At the moment, most of Hamilton's lake and harbour beaches have largely disappeared underwater.
The city will likely have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands repairing shoreline and waterfront trail infrastructure once water levels recede.
mvandongen@thespec.com
905-526-3241 | [MENTION=650]matt[/MENTION]atthespec
Full article;
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/7384370-hamilton-beach-crawl-celebration-will-have-to-wait/
Jun 21, 2017 02:22 by Matthew Van Dongen 
Hamilton Spectator|
Hamilton's official clean beach coming-out party will have to wait.
The city sought expressions of interest from private companies earlier this year to run a series of "Beach Crawl" events aimed at fighting the impression that it's not safe to swim in Hamilton.
Only one unidentified company made a pitch, a new city report shows, and the proposal came with a subsidy request for $114,000 in city cash.
City tourism managers proposed an alternative Wednesday that would see municipal marketing staff work on a ramped-up "awareness campaign" for Hamilton beaches for now.
Coun. Sam Merulla, who pitched the Beach Crawl idea, endorsed the staff compromise with the proviso he'd like to see the campaign grow in future.
Merulla said his preference was to see a "visible celebration" of Hamilton's beaches to combat the "false impression" created by the city's history of industrial harbour pollution.
(The city has permanently closed Bayfront beach because of unsafe bacteria levels, but all Lake Ontario and conservation area beaches in the city were posted as safe to use earlier this week.)
But Merulla added he's not keen on providing a "subsidy" for a privately run event.
The Ward 4 councillor also said he'd like to revisit the beach party concept in a year without record Lake Ontario water levels.
At the moment, most of Hamilton's lake and harbour beaches have largely disappeared underwater.
The city will likely have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands repairing shoreline and waterfront trail infrastructure once water levels recede.
mvandongen@thespec.com
905-526-3241 | [MENTION=650]matt[/MENTION]atthespec
Full article;
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/7384370-hamilton-beach-crawl-celebration-will-have-to-wait/