GOVERNMENT
Assistant City Manager Jennifer Brown (left) dumped the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce in December. With new leaders in President Isaac Jackson (center) and Executive Director Kelly Anderson (right), the chamber is ready to take off its training wheels for the first time.
useful, and to whom. The chamber was also required to facilitate ribbon-cutting ceremonies at “all new businesses” but wouldn’t acknowledge new businesses until they pledged membership. That led to some awkward timing, like when the chamber held a grand opening ceremony at Thai Chili 2go on John Wayne Parkway late last month, seven months after opening. “Their services for facilitating groundbreakings and ribbon- cutting ceremonies have been limited exclusively to their members, despite expectations that they would handle such events more inclusively of all new businesses.” COUNCILMEMBER VINCENT MANFREDI LET BYLAWS BE BYLAWS The chamber’s new executive director, Kelly Anderson, said the business registry requirement was “concerning” because it would “violate our bylaws.” Her predecessors signed the contract knowing the terms would be impossible to fulfill. Anderson doesn’t believe much of the contract was enforceable. “In my opinion, the items in the lease should have been presented and signed in a service agreement, not a lease agreement,” she said. “And it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter.”
The chamber doesn’t want to operate anymore under the city’s “intense level of scrutiny,” Anderson said. Likewise, the city doesn’t want to monitor another organization’s performance standards and business processes. The city “did not close the door on a future rental permit,” Anderson noted. Of course not — anyone can rent that space, and the city made it clear the chamber gets no special treatment whatsoever after the contract ends later this year. “Be prepared to pay the full market rate for the space,” Brown warned in her December letter. She mentioned the city might also use the space for itself and take it off the market or lease it to someone else at a higher rate. Manfredi agreed the city “should transition to a market-rate lease,” he said. And Vitiello added, “The rent is going up. There’s no reason it shouldn’t.” That spells trouble for the chamber, which is cash poor and needs to recruit a large number of new members to afford a space to meet, Anderson said. Asked if the chamber was able to pay market rate, Anderson said, “No, we’re not.” The part- time real estate agent quipped about meeting at her office or home next year if necessary. OFFICE SPACE This isn’t the first time the chamber has faced potential homelessness. In 2018, the chamber couldn’t afford to renew a lease at its office on Honeycutt Road and then-President Chris Cahall suggested closing for good during a meeting that, it turned out, wasn’t allowed to be held under the chamber’s bylaws. Instead, it continued to operate “virtually” until it started meeting at Anderson’s office. It met there, at the office of its
business reports — city records clerk Andy Juarez confirmed no such report was ever tendered. It goes deeper. “The annual survey, which is crucial for business retention analysis and was a stipulated part of their agreement, has not been completed,” Manfredi said. “Furthermore, the business plan that we requested has not been presented, and there seems to be a lack of engagement with the city council as evidenced by the absence of joint meetings or participation in city planning sessions.” The contract required the chamber to appoint a city councilmember to its board of directors. It did not. “The chamber has failed to adequately maintain the business registry established and provided by the city,” Manfredi continued. “Additionally their services for facilitating groundbreakings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies have been limited exclusively to their members, despite expectations that they would handle such events more inclusively of all new businesses.” Under the contract, the chamber was required to maintain a registry “to include all businesses in Maricopa,” according to a September email exchange between the chamber and City Manager Rick Horst. A majority of businesses in the city do not appear on the registry, as it is limited only to dues-paying members — which pay $400 to $5,000 annually. Bashas’, Fry’s Marketplace, Sprouts, Walmart and most of the other brick-and-mortar businesses in town are not listed. It begs the question of how and when the registry could be
InMaricopa.com | February 2024
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