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Merchants urge coordination as citizens—group plans pop-up events for north-end boardwalk
Summary
A new citizens group called CLAMS (Citizens Looking to Assist Merchants) is working on pop-up and —push-pull—events aimed at boosting activity on the north end of the boardwalk; Boardwalk Merchants representative West Cardwell said merchants have not been consulted and described the SID special-improvement receipts and merchant donations used for events.
Council members and the public discussed local efforts to increase activity at the north end of the boardwalk on March 12. A council member reported on Citizens Looking to Assist Merchants (CLAMS), a new volunteer group developing pop-up events and —push-pull—events intended to drive visitors up and down the boardwalk.
West Cardwell, speaking on behalf of the Boardwalk Merchants, described the association—s funding and planning role and asked that grassroots organizers coordinate with merchants, the Chamber of Commerce and city staff before public announcements. Cardwell said the merchants pay a self-imposed SID (special improvement district) tax that raises about $90,000 annually and that merchants additionally donate up to roughly $40,000 in some years to support boardwalk events such as the Easter egg hunt, family nights and other programming.
Cardwell said many event ideas floated online have not been vetted by merchants and noted that planning must balance guest appeal with merchants—operational realities. "We've been working real hard trying to figure out what we can do about that end of the boardwalk specifically," Cardwell said, and asked for more behind-the-scenes coordination before public proposals are circulated.
Why this matters: The boardwalk economy depends on a coordinated mix of city-owned infrastructure, merchant-organized events and seasonally driven visitor traffic. Citizens—groups and merchant associations both play roles; failure to coordinate can lead to announcements that are premature or infeasible.
The council encouraged CLAMS and merchants to meet and coordinate plans with the Chamber and city staff to move forward in a way that integrates merchants into event planning and execution.
