'FCL' (Former Chamber Lady) is bringing you this post. A special shout-out to Nanny for letting me appear as a guest blogger today.
"This is a wonderful column from Barbara Lucks. As Nanny would say, up on the Snowmass Sun.
Succinctly spoken, honest and very accurate in fact.
Just because Chambers of Commerce nationwide decided to tip their hat at tourism and resort marketing a number of years ago does not mean it was a good move.
There could not be two more different beasts than small business stewardship and promotion and tourism/resort marketing. Not to mention the world of differences there are (or should be) in the accounting processes of a 501C-6 entity vs. a publicly funded entity. There is also the obvious (or should be obvious) need for the steward for small businesses to be impartial, caring for all members. Cronyism is just too easy of a trap to fall into when one is in charge of allocating millions of dollars spanning a few years of time out to specific local companies in the name of tourism marketing.
Moffat County Tourism Assoc. and the Aspen Chamber Resort Assoc. are among the most recent to look hard at whether or not to up the individual insurance liability coverage for members on their board of directors. In light of the potential of legal issues in prominent non-profits in Aspen, Snowmass and Glenwood Springs currently; there is a foundation for concern.
The solution is to not only rein in those problems and eliminate them, but to also get back to the business of separation of the functions of a non-profit Chamber of Commerce which is best held in the hands of stewards and for-profit Tourism/Resort Marketing which is best held in the hands of advertising and public relations firms.
Take a read on Donna Wiedinmyer's letter to the Town of Snowmass titled "Thanks, Snowmass, for accountability". Also up on the Snowmass Sun today:
"I have always looked forward to reading Mel Blumenthal's column, and I certainly appreciate his diligence in reporting on what is happening in our village.
On Dec. 30, the Fox Run Homeowner's Association met. Fred Kucker, town councilman and a Fox Run resident, reported on the recent meeting concerning the marketing board mentioned in Mel's editorial. To clarify: Per Fred, the marketing board now has to be “accountable” to the Town Council (as they should be) with their budget, quarterly reports, business plans and performance standards. With a budget in excess of $4.2 million coming from Snowmass Village taxes, the marketing board must now define how, and where, that money is being spent.
They must report on lodging, meals, clothing, sales and lodging taxes, etc. In other words, a metric must be established to determine the performance of the marketing board.
As a permanent resident, I am thrilled that we will finally have accountability. As an example, if $30,000 is spent on marketing, wouldn't we want to see at least $30,000 or more returned to the town?
We certainly would only want to sponsor events that will show a positive return to the town and its lodge owners, merchants and restaurant owners. This is why the marketing board is now answering to the town manager and not, as Mel states, “the cover costs otherwise intended to be covered in other town budgets.”
Unfortunately, most of Mel's column is not stating the real reason behind the new accountability of the marketing board...."
Barbara Lucks:
"...The whole concept of a chamber of commerce is that the one-man auto body shop and the golf course have an opportunity to participate in a larger whole and to wield some influence over the process by virtue of optional membership and voting for the board of directors.
A program completely controlled by the public sector and funded by taxes does not fit that mold. The Snowmass Village Marketing Board does not purport to be anything remotely resembling a chamber.
I am not trying to sugar coat chambers of commerce. Some are drinking clubs, hotbeds of political conflict, personal power trips, ineffective or just plain too small to work.
Recent economic times are weeding out chambers that are not true to community mission or have no hope of viability. Many are consolidating with neighboring small towns, rewriting mission statements and replacing strictly social calendars with an assortment of options for communication, collaboration and education.
Members are demanding more than a coffee club these days. True chambers, not being guaranteed by public funds, must be responsive to community and member interests, or they will quickly die.
Community-centered chambers of commerce have room for the food bank, the local church and the business-incubator effort. They have a place for the long-term resident, the week-long guest and even a part-time residents' organization. Many have a seat on their board for a city-government liaison; some receive small public grants well short of full funding. They may or may not involve themselves in political advocacy, but the good ones do not allow themselves to be controlled by politics.
Snowmass Village's challenges go beyond the mere commercial and into the heart of community. A true chamber of commerce could provide an energetic gathering place for many constituencies ranging from the new window-washing company to the school district. As a safe and informal idea exchange, consider the creative problem-solving potential of a chamber of commerce. Contrast the dynamic of a lively “business after hours” event with a public hearing.
Optional membership makes it far more likely that diverse voices will be heard and considered. True community commerce tends to the soul as well as the bottom line.
Should Snowmass Village residents consider forming a chamber of commerce, I would suggest avoiding an entity created to monopolize and exploit the commercial and civic climate through levying taxes, promoting concentrated power and enhancing short-term gain.
I think you've probably had enough of those."
The citizenry of the Roaring Fork region has certainly "had enough of those", Barbara.
The question of the day is: Why haven't our elected officials had enough?
Or is that a question being asked to cronies who are not about to give as straight-up of an answer as you are?
Here's a trivia tidbit:
Do you know how many millions of dollars per year are spent on tourism marketing in the Roaring Fork Valley?
Answer: On average, between Glenwood Springs to Aspen and based on the past 10 year span: $7 million dollars."
(To read more, please click title and links within post. To discuss, comment below)
8 comments:
So conservative estimate even with the recession factor, the valley overall has spent between $50 and $60 million bucks over the past decade. Glenwood, Carbondale, Basalt, Snowmass and Aspen.
Well, that worked.
Not. At least down here in Glenwood.
The folks should be getting back at least their investment from putting those taxes in to marketing and at least a minimum 50% return. And that would be running really low considering all that we offer. Vail is pumping in $30 million annual profits a year. A year. Every town around them is thriving. And they have no corruption. Soft or no.
What's wrong with this picture?
It's about time Swift starting letting letters to the public on the corruption cops and DA's ignore in this valley get posted to the newspaper. How many were written in over Glenwood in 2009 and 2010 that never made it, were banned and censored? How many since then that have gone in and come out with portions cut? Now that smalltown has done a CORA on the contracts for the past 7 to 8 years with more to come and sees the point whistles have shouted out about for years sitting right there plain as day, wonder how much more insurance that board and all these other ones running into similar prob's with credit card kiting and spending out of bounds are going to get cut?
Do we have news reporting in this valley?
Not.
I'm running with Ms. Wiedinmyer on this:
"Unfortunately, most of Mel's column is not stating the real reason behind the new accountability of the marketing board."
So you are saying that smalltown pulled a CORA to find out what's been co-mingled all these years? When did that happen and what are they going to do with what they know? I see nothing on the blog.
smalltown7 did go around the back door and pull a CORA on the contracts and new board minutes.
Bold as brass, all right there. All whistles over the years have said and more.
Allegedly double and triple dipping rents on everything from postage meters to staplers, reimbursements from all kinds of entities including chamber board. That's probably a no-no if the things being rented were ever bought with public cash flow and allegedly kited credit cards. Bold as brass in more ways than the public knows right now.
There's not going to be any of where smalltown7's taking this now being put on the blog, kara. Whole new plan of operation to flush out the last of the puss in that cess pool. Time for rats and rats who don't know they're rats to start fleeing the ship. The irony of this entire valley's current problem with multiple organizations having credit card and expenditure issues and the solution being as easy as prosecutor strong forensic accounting on all of them doesn't escape our group. We called for that when the last whistle came out in Glenwood and were denied. There isn't anything but upset watching more and more folks and groups stand up around the valley and start asking for accountability and exposing things.
Only problem we see is that there still isn't an authority anywhere around that's stepping up to do the heavy lifting. In the case of the Glenwood tourism tax problem that 20%+ of mostly supposed bogus line items has been going on for decades. When we talk about how many millions of dollars are spent annually up and down the valley overall on tourism marketing, that's really not the issue. The issue is how much is slipping through the cracks to non-performing cronies at top dollar, soft corruption and outright potential crime.
Common sense to be thinking that it all gets answered, or not answered by asking one easy question of our authorities when they deny there are problems: How would you know?
There will be a public presence for small on this phase but just not on the blog. Wait for it.
Far too much of this going on and it must be brought to a stop. There is not enough insurance liability coverage to make up for the damage that the apathy of all board members involved in these organizations has caused. These doings all over and up and down the Roaring Fork are a blight on all of us. It has gone on for years and must be brought to a complete stop. More than just unfortunate that Mel's column cannot speak up on the Snowmass marketing board scandal.
There is no excuse. None.
If our leaders can't face the word corruption yet then they at least should accept the term corrosive.
What goes on with the cash flows, the cronyism, the covering up in all of our marketing and tourism dollars went way beyond just power for the course years ago and became criminal intent.
These marketing boards and organizations are in positions of trust. That should be enough said. It gets worse beyond any kind of measure when even a whisper from a citizen of any level is ignored.
I'm not just speaking of Glenwood Springs and the problems in our lodging tax marketing. This outbreak in Snowmass has the common theme in the same ways as the problem in Eagle two years ago, the problem in Moffat County last year. Do just a little research and you will find that nationwide there is an extremely high percentage rate of concerns expressed over mishandling of marketing and non-profit public funds, credit and power.
My husband is right. We will be pursuing more and the answers the City of Glenwood has been hoodwinked for years into saying are a non-existant problem are right in front of their faces and been there all along. How sad and how troubling it is to see people trying to speak up all over our area with similar problems and meeting the same blue wall stopping them.
It's time to change that problem, kara. A multiple pronged approach this time. After all, most of our group of 7 have been at this in Glenwood since 1999. We have strong hopes this time around.
We appreciate Barbara's column and it certainly sounds like she has the experience with chambers of commerce to back herself up. The worst possible thing for destination and tourism marketing is to tie it to stewards of small business. People do not realize and they should, that the US Chamber of Commerce that backs all this is one of the most politically driven lobbyists in the country. Unbelievable bias and cronyism that is corruptive. Interference on a lot of levels with a lot of things. We need a 501C-6 clean sweep in this country and that's a tall order.
smalltown7 no longer needs a number 8 but aren't about to lose traction gained. We challenge all these hotshot investigative reporters in the valley to finally get up and go to work. What are you waiting for? That low-hanging fruit to rot away? The story of our area tourism marketing dollars is huge and you're on the sidelines. Good thing the citizens aren't hanging around waiting on you.
I personally hope the Snowmass, Craig and Basalt problem turn out to be nothing. In Snowmass, that's pretty highly unlikely and they now join Glenwood. Good luck to the people who are behind the scenes,you will need it.
They don't know because they refuse to look. That's the answer to any authority being asked the simple question of "how would you know?". There is no excuse for that. None. It's not just Glenwood Springs. Aspen hasn't had whistles but hasn't had forensic scrutiny either. Nobody should take it personally, it's public money that shouldn't and can't be mingled with non-profit money.
As for the opinion of Barbara Lucks, she's exactly right. Nowhere are there two more dynamically opposed entities than a chamber of commerce and resort tourism marketing and development. The only reason the trend ever took off is because of savvy lobbyists for the US Chamber who seized the opportunity to grab up that much power and use of tax dollars. Tourism development belongs only in the hands of the community or region it serves and should only be in the stewardship of elected governments. Either that or privately held and funded with no tax dollars of any kind feeding it. Chambers are based on one principle and that is private business membership that serves the mom and pop hamburger joint on the corner all the way up to the corporate big business.
In the case of Glenwood Springs the whispers and rumors of co-mingled cash flow, kited credit use and wool-pulling double dips on billings, contracts and expenses has gone on for years. That scene went way past the threshold for requiring authorities to carry heavy power and weight to step in a long, long time ago. If rumor mill is even halfway right, where that situation is at as these other problems surface is beyond imagination the level of a catastrophe that is. What a mess with the only rumored solution being that instead of just stopping the whole thing, they want to literally kill the messenger instead of stepping up to duty made mistakes.
There is no amount of insurance coverage per director and board member that is protective of anybody when anyone puts these kinds of contractual and employment situations in place. For widespread worry to hit four other counties now speaks volumes. Good for insurance guys, they need the business. Instead of doubling coverage, triple or better it. Aspen's right, it does not take much any more for a lawsuit.
When you think about the branched off groups that have to spring up, just to keep small businesses covered because chambers are tied up playing marketing and ad agency, the problem thickens like quicksand for those small businesses. How many economic directors do we have now in our little valley? How many economic development groups?
Get control over what we have, put the money and the power in the hands of elected by the people only and move forward.
Snowmass has an opportunity to set the bar and start it all of. Do that. Be smart. Be bold.
No, I'm not putting my name on this. In this valley I'd be a fool too.
The amount of money that's wasted valley wide between all these organizations and groups spinning their wheels trying to make things happen is a real loss and in more ways than just money.
I've never thought chambers of commerce were the best answers to small business needs. There are few of them that are what they were meant to be, most of them are just as Lucks says. In this area, we can't get a grip on what ours are because they've turned into the farthest thing from their orig. purpose. They're ad agencies, period.
Moffat County. Not that long ago, Eagle County. Snowmass. And the mother of them all Glenwood Springs. If I'm remembering right, there was a problem in Mesa County not that many years ago. All way too similar of a problem being no tracking of mingled funds and credit. The power abuses go without saying.
There's really only one question and 22's asked it. Why doesn't authority know?
It's not easy to speak out like Lucks and Weidinmyer are doing. Like anybody's doing. Trouble is, there is no fix for what's gone on in the valley except for somebody in authority to just stand up and collectively gather the whole problem and straighten it out. Since we've been waiting years for that, it's not likely going to happen.
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