A message to the Woodstock Chamber

Look at the following three paragraphs, taken directly from a Northwest Herald article online today with the headline, "Former Cary leader rebukes D26 board". These are the comments of former Cary mayor, Steve Lamal.

"'This is the time for the school board to show leadership – the leadership that has been absent, frankly, for three to four years,' Lamal said.

"He put blame for the district's financial situation directly on the board, pointing out that the board, not the administration, was responsible for passing a budget each year. The district has been deficit spending for the better part of a decade.

"'You approved the budget and failed to manage the expenses,' Lamal said."

Now, shift the context to the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, which is about to lose it headquarters building at 136 Cass Street. Let's do a little word replacement here and see how it turns out.

"This is the time for the chamber board to show leadership – the leadership that has been absent, frankly, for ten to fifteen years."

"Put blame for the chamber's financial situation directly on the board, pointing out that the board, not the administration, was responsible for passing a budget each year. The chamber has been deficit spending for more than a decade and a half.

"You approved the budget and failed to manage the expenses."

Is there still time to save the Chamber's headquarters and the Chamber itself? Should the town at the center of the county, and home to county government, just let the Chamber slide on into oblivion?

Just as with customers and clients, it's a whole lot easier (and cheaper) for a business to keep the ones it has than it is to get new ones. It'll be a lot cheaper to rescue the Chamber's financial position now than to part with the building and move into rental space.

A recent newspaper article mentioned the Chamber's monthly "nut" on the building - somewhere around $3,000/month (PITI). Subtract $600 for rental income for one of the two upstairs offices. Get busy and rent the second office for another $600. OK, that knocks the Chamber's office cost down to $1,800. Where are they going to rent office space for much less than that???

It's regrettable that Tom Sagendorf was unable to continue as Interim Executive Director. Tom brought true executive leadership to the Chamber. But apparently a plan was put together during his short tenure.

Are there really 300 dues-paying members in good standing; i.e., dues on a current basis? An average of $300 each? That's $90,000. A Chamber can recover and operate on that.

According to the Chamber's website (www.woodstockilchamber.com), the Chamber is now operating without an Executive Director, a President, a Vice-President or a Secretary. It might do without a VP, but it must have a Secretary. Todd Kinker is serving as Interim President. Thanks, Todd.

One of my main gripes about Chambers of Commerce in former cities of residence is that they were always nickel and diming members to death. Members saw their chamber dues as an expense, not as the investment sold by the sales reps for the chambers.

The purpose of a Chamber should be to promote a growing and positive environment and atmosphere for the businesses in the community. Active leadership attracts and retains membership. New businesses will come right in and join a strong chamber. All members want to be recognized and valued.

One of three main benefits of membership should not be a canceled check from your bank about 30 days after you pay your dues!!!

Members should stop waiting for someone to rescue the Chamber. Now is the time for them to roll up their sleeves and jump right in to save this Chamber.

Chamber HQ - to be sold?

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce held a membership meeting at 6:00PM at Marian Central. Where was everybody???

It was a good thing that 11 of the board members showed up. And a few non-board members. But where were dozens of business owners who could have been there - if they cared?

I guess I don't want to be unduly unfair to the 275 business members of the Chamber who didn't bother to show up. It's summer; it was Thursday evening; there had been a storm in McHenry; it was dinnertime. Ho-hum. Maybe they just didn't want to hear the bad news. Maybe they figured they couldn't make a difference.

OK, I'll keep you in suspense a little longer. The purpose of the meeting tonight was to give members the required "opportunity" to vote on whether the Chamber Board could explore selling its headquarters on the Square at 136 Cass Street. The emphasis tonight was on "exploring" the sale of the headquarters. At least until Arlene Lynes, owner of Read Between the Lynes Bookstore, asked the critical question about the extent of the authority being requested by the board.

Arlene asked about the language in the Motion or Resolution (I didn't get a copy of it) that would allow the board to sell the building, if it so decided. And that's exactly what the vote was going to allow, if a sufficient number of Yes votes were made.

Just how precarious is the Chamber's financial position. Ex-officio Board member Tom Landers, Chairman of the Chamber's Finance Committee, gave a clear presentation. The Chamber bought the building in 1987, and the original mortgage was $87,500. Today, 22 years later, the mortgage has been refinanced six times, and the Chamber owes $188,000 on the building.

Kind of going in the wrong way for paying off a 30-year mortgage; right? Many Boards and many Executive Directors have done an absolutely rotten job of running the Chamber. That's the bottom line.

The Chamber's budget includes nothing for building improvements and repairs.

How did it get in such a mess? I've written about that previously and may need to again.

Any business in town that was run the way the Chamber has been run would have been out of business years ago. But the Chamber kept borrowing money against its equity in the building, and it has reached the end of the line.

Can the Chamber building be saved? Or will there be a distress sale at 136 Cass Street. (Whew! Almost like the echo from "Can Grace Hall be saved?") YES, if it is properly run and if the Board LEADS. That's what a Board of Directors does. It leads. Or, at least, that is what is supposed to do.

This year's Board inherited a terrible mess. Hard decisions must be made. Of 31 present tonight, there were 25 eligible to vote. Fifteen voted to grant approval to not only explore the sale of the Chamber headquarters, BUT TO SELL IT, if that's what the Board decided. Ten voted not to grant that authority. Remember: eleven (11) Board members were present tonight. Did they all vote Yes?

The Woodstock Chamber has great potential, but it has been squandering it. Possibly a new Executive Director will be able to turn things around and attract new members AND retain current members. Members want something besides a canceled check. A golf outing at $140 is not what most owners of small business think of as a membership benefit.

It's going to take a lot more than just talk to solve this problem. The mortgage on the Chamber building should have been down to $10,000 by now. Instead, it's $188,000, meaning that equity is probably near zero.

The Chamber's annual property tax bill is nearly $6,400, based on a Fair Cash Value of $240,000. As a 501(c)(6) organization it is not eligible for any special property tax treatment. If there are 13 empty storefronts on the Square now, who would rush in to buy a building at anywhere close to market value. Severe negotiating would take place, and buyers would smell the blood in the water.

Chamber HQ Sale Meeting - July 30

The "potential sale" of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce headquarters at 136 Cass Street will be the topic of an all-member meeting on July 30, 6:00PM, at Marian Central Catholic High School. How many of the 300+ members of the chambers will be there or be represented?

The precarious financial position of the chamber causes me to wonder what happened over the past few years. Why didn't past Boards act much sooner to head off the financial doom that now casts its pall over 136 Cass Street? Today's Board didn't watch the problems grow, but it gets stuck with the mess.

While that the Chamber was drifting into shallow water, the Woodstock Downtown Business Association (WDBA) was created and then Main Street Woodstock. WDBA has not been able to gain traction, and it looks like Main St. Woodstock could be sliding backwards into extinction. Initially, there was unnecessary friction between the Chamber and the WBDA. Some in the Chamber saw it as "competition", when it really wasn't. Chamber leadership at that time failed to educate itself and to curtail jealousies.

The result was back-biting and lack of respect, rather than coordinated efforts to promote the growth of business in Woodstock.

As you make your purchases from businesses during the next week, stop and talk to the owner of the business. Tell him or her that you care about Woodstock and care about that business staying in business and that you care about the Chamber's presence on the Square. Encourage the owner to attend the July 30 Chamber meeting, and then go back in a couple of weeks and ask it.

For Sale? Chamber headquarters?

It's only talk - at this point. Will it become "walk"?

When is it a good idea to sell off assets to pay bills? Ever? Never? Of course, the Great State of Illinois is considering the same disastrous route and may even be doing that now.

Should a chamber of commerce sell its home? (Should a person ever sell his home to pay off bills? Should a business ever sell its headquarters to pay bills?)

Wouldn't it have been better to the homeowner or the business (or the chamber of commerce) to manage its finances in such a way that selling its "home" never pops up on the radar screen?

Recent "news" has been about the growth of the chamber membership. Increased dues should mean more money coming in. Right? Where did it go?

How did the Executive Director and the people elected to the Board of Directors do over the past 5-6 years in keeping the outgo equal to or below the income? One businessowner/chamber member told me that a request to examine the financial statements had gone unmet. What was the secret? Were current financial statements prepared and submitted to the Board every month?

Why would the Woodstock chamber announce an all-member meeting on July 30 to discuss a possible sale of the building? Is there a buyer who has submitted a request to buy the building?

What does it mean, "the board must secure member permission to talk to a would-be buyer"? Whoever heard of such a thing? The Board needs no such permission. That's why they are a Board. They can discuss or consider anything. Obviously, should they later believe it is in the best interests of the Chamber to sell the building, then they should involve the 300+ members.

Suppose the Chamber did sell its "home". Then it is homeless. If it used all the money to pay off bills, then what does it have? No money AND no home. And that's no "boon" at all. More like a bomb.

How did the Chamber end up in such a predicament? How many years has the Chamber been struggling with leadership issues? At least ten? More? 15? 20? Longer?

Woodstock has so much to offer, yet it is plagued with too many who don't want to get involved. "Let George do it." Well, George isn't going to do it. (By the way, where did phrase come from? Hint: check www.wikipedia.com)

Maybe it's time for the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, the WDBA and the Main Street program to roll into one and hire a powerhouse to light a fire under Woodstock. Figuratively.... figuratively! (before someone sends Chief Webster over to visit me).

Look at the presence of the Painted Horses on the City's website Community Calendar and all the money that will hoof it right out of Woodstock when those horses are sold. Why doesn't someone come up with an idea for Woodstock? George, are you listening? Where are you?

Wdstk. Chamber to sell HQ?

Check this out in this morning's Northwest Herald:
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/07/09/r_xcqnpeo4rhovxuv2tu4iva/

There is so much wrong with this article, I don't even know where to begin.

More later, when I get back from a meeting in Crystal Lake!

Chamber of Commerce - Pro or Con?

What is the position of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce on the proposed development of the Woodstock Christian Life Services (WCLS) property and the demolition of Grace Hall (Harrison House)?

At the June Plan Commission meeting, the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce gave sworn testimony that indicated that the Chamber supported the project saying, according to the Minutes, "He does feel this project is in the best interest of the community."

The "project" includes the demolition of Grace Hall.

However, the Chamber Board had never discussed the WCLS project and had never voted on a position which could then be put forward by the Executive Director.

At the July Plan Commission I raised the issue of whether the Plan Commission had heard correct testimony in June.

The next day the Chamber President told me that the project would be discussed at the August meeting. Was it?

The Chamber President admonished me to validate my facts and information in the future before publicizing information about the chamber. On this past Monday I emailed her to ask if the Chamber Board had adopted a position on the project, what the position was, and when it was adopted. That was Monday. This is Wednesday night. In the absence of a reply, I can only assume that the project has not received the blessing of the Chamber Board.

Without that action the June sworn testimony at the Plan Commission meeting remains inaccurate. It may have been the personal opinion of the man speaking, but it was not the position of the organization he introduced himself as representing and on whose behalf he spoke.

The City Council must assume on Tuesday night that the Chamber of Commerce does not have a position on either the WCLS project or the demolition of Grace Hall, and it should disregard the portion of the public record which includes information that may be in error.