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(Updated) After being dealt a major blow last week, Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina met with his federal counterparts this past weekend to figure out how to proceed with cleaning up one of the most toxic cesspools on the continent.
It is one of the most contaminated sites in the country: a toxic hot bed of oily sludge lying dormant on the bottom of Hamilton Harbour. But 25 years after first discovering the noxious site, efforts to clean it up have hit yet another snag.
Last week, Environment Canada announced that all of the bids submitted by contractors fell outside the $139 million budget, a development that prompted one city councillor to question the process.
“We had a budget set aside clearly illustrating the specs associated with the work itself. They came back and were incredibly over-budget. In their response, to me that suggests if they are all consistently all over budget, to me might suggest there is some collusion on their part,” said Sam Merulla, a Hamilton city councillor. “We’re simply asking the construction industry to work with our existing specs and come forward as a partner on this project.”
Merulla’s proposal may sound reasonable, but according to Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina, it’s out of line.
“Well, we have no role to play in the contractual agreements between the federal government and whoever is bidding on the job. There’s no role for the city to play.We are one of a consortium of seven. The lead is the federal government and they’re examining the issues,” said Bratina.
Councillor Merulla disagrees with the mayor and says council must force the federal government, province and all stakeholders to let the public know exactly what the problem is, why the bids are higher than anticipated and what they plan to do to ensure clean up will begin on Hamilton’s Randle Reef.
Despite the latest setback, mayor Bratina says he is absolutely confident the project will go ahead and that the province, the federal government and the City of Hamilton will clean up this toxic mess.
