Bylaw enforcement patrols at Sauble Beach will continue to be only during regular business hours.
South Bruce Peninsula council rejected a proposal to expand patrol hours to include late evenings, until 11pm or midnight, from Friday until Sunday and Civic Holiday Monday this month.
Council had set aside $20,000 in the 2017 budget for expanded bylaw patrols and issued a request for proposals earlier this year, but Mayor Janice Jackson says only two companies submitted bids and neither were satisfactory to bring back to council.
Jackson says their in-house bylaw enforcement officers had agreed to modify their schedules to include late night shifts, but council defeated the proposal on a tied vote, 2-2.
She says they do not get an abundance of after-hours complaints, but says the ones they do receive tend to be related to people walking their dogs on the beach, which is prohibited in Sauble Beach during the summer months.
"Everybody loves to take their dogs on the beach, but it's unfortunate that we have quite a few dog owners who do not clean up after their dogs," says Jackson. "And of course, when you've got children playing on the beach the next morning, it's kind of a difficult situation."
Deputy Mayor Jay Kirkland points out the bulk of their bylaw enforcement officers are summer students and says he's worried they may not have the preparation needed to handle a late night call.
"There can be alcohol involved, there can be attitudes involved and I, as an employer as far as council's concerned, am not happy sending my staff into that situation," says Kirkland.