The June Lake Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, membership-based California Corporation. It has existed since 1961. We currently have a duly nominated and elected board of eight directors. We are a civic organization, and our primary responsibility is to conduct activities that benefit the entire community of June Lake and the County of Mono, but with particular respect to our dues-paying membership.
The June Lake Revitalization Committee was formed last summer in response to the announcement that June Mountain Ski Area would not be opening. It is a sub-committee of the CAC, and as such its scope is to act in an advisory-only capacity to County Government. Last year, at the request of Revitalization Committee members, the Board of Supervisors granted $100,000 to Mono County's Tourism and Film Commission to fund programs designed to 'bridge' the 2012-13 winter season in the face of the Ski Area's closure. Thus, a winter program was devised with the assistance of Mono County staff under the advisement of the "Revitalization Committee." This program had several components, including Christmas lighting for the community, advertising and promotion, events, transportation, and the possible solicitation of a buyer for the ski area.
It was suggested by County staff that the Chamber of Commerce be asked to help sponsor the event portion of this program, because that would facilitate the disbursement of funds in a more timely fashion. Revitalization Committee leadership brought this idea to a Chamber meeting, and attempted to force an affirmative vote with very little discussion. This resulted in the immediate resignation of two Chamber board members, who felt that Chamber sponsorship of these government-funded events would have legal and financial ramifications which deserved further exploration, and also alleged that the forced vote was an illegal action on the part of the acting chairman.
An election was held to fill the vacancies and appoint new officers to the Chamber of Commerce board. In a subsequent meeting the new board agreed, with some reluctance, to accept the shared sponsorship of the winter events, and to receive and disburse the County funds accordingly. We executed a contract with the County of Mono for the purpose of receiving and disbursing those event-related funds. The full legal and financial implications of this decision have yet to be fully discovered, as we are just now closing the year 2013.
The Chamber then established its own Events Committee to oversee our sponsorship of events, and appointed a chairman. In the spring of 2013, at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, the Board reviewed the past winter's events and affirmed that we would conduct the next winter's events under the direction of the Chamber of Commerce's Events Committee.
Last month the Events Committee chairman informed me that Revitalization Committee members have claimed responsibility for the upcoming winter events, and they had not been accepting any of his recommendations nor recognizing his leadership from the Chamber. Instead, Revitalization Committee meetings have been called to plan the winter's activities without any official input or consideration of the Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors.
The "Revitalization Committee" has also obtained some additional limited funding for this year, for the Tourism and Film Commission from the Board of Supervisors.
Posters and flyers have been printed, advertising upcoming winter events and two specific businesses, but without mention of the Chamber of Commerce as a sponsor: yet, a recent "action items" list produced by the Revitalization Committee includes a number of things expected from the Chamber.
Although it has some members in common, the Revitalization Committee is not a part of the June Lake Loop Chamber of Commerce. These actions of committing the Chamber of Commerce to obligations and expenses without any prior knowledge or approval by its Board of Directors, are well outside of the scope of the "Revitalization Committee," as a governmental advisory group.
Decisions must not be made before the fact, with the expectation that the Chamber's Board of Directors will be forced to adopt and ratify them later. This is the type of behavior that led to the Board resignations last year and it is not acceptable by any ethical, moral or legal standard.
With due respect for positive efforts on the part of the Revitalization Committee, the Chamber Board needs to be certain that we work toward meeting our objectives as a Chamber, and our responsibility to our membership at large.
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June Lake Chamber of Commerce
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June Lake, CA 93529
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