Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

City doesn't fund EDO, Chamber

Questions were raised about the budgets of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce and Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office at the January meeting of the Prescott City Council.

Members of the council wondered where these two offices got their money and how much came from the city's funds. They also asked what was done with the money they received.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the EDO, told the council, at the time, he had given them a copy of his annual report in November, which detailed where every penny the office receives went.

Mary Godwin, executive director of the Chamber, said the only money the Chamber gets from the city is $2,400 for membership dues  and nothing more.

In a recent interview, Chadwell said many people don't realize the EDO and Chamber are two separate entities. They share a building and work together on projects, but do not commingle funds.

The EDO is governed by a board of 13 people, six of whom are from private business, two from the city, two from the county, two from the Chamber and EDO offices. The board meets monthly to oversee the work being done by Chadwell and the EDO.

The EDO receives $35,000 a year from the City of Prescott and $30,000 a year from Nevada County. The rest of the office's budget comes from private business donations, which amount to around $25,000 annually. The office also has interest income of approximately $10,000 a year from investments. These funds cover the salaries, travel, office supplies and materials, advertising, memberships to different organizations, equipment, the annual Industry Appreciation Golf Tournament and hosting prospects.

Chadwell's duties include writing and managing grants for the city and county, industrial recruitment, developing the industrial park, attending trade shows, working on civic improvement projects, running Leadership Nevada County in conjunction with the Chamber, and lobbying at the state and federal level trying to get more financial aid for the area.

When recruiting, Chadwell said, a company could be looking at 75 other places. The business, though, is looking at the bottom line  where can it operate at the lowest cost and get the most for its money. Three to five communities will typically be close, and those are the ones company officials visit.

Once the communities are visited, the list is narrowed to two or three cities. The next step is for the company to bring those who will be managing its operations to the communities and see which one they would prefer living in. "If they look at three places," Chadwell said, "the one with fresh, new infrastructure, showing civic pride is the one they can easily see themselves living in."

The infrastructure and civic pride, he said, includes beautification, sidewalks, streets and recreation, along with the school systems and medical facilities.

Chadwell said the one cent sales tax, mistakenly called the "hospital tax", does not fund the EDO in any way. "Four years ago the city requested the EDO and Chamber do a budget from the tax to improve the city."

Money from the tax helped pay for the matching funds for the renovation of the Depot Museum, improvements in the industrial park, paving the parking lot at Prescott High School, paving the parking lot at the Hamilton-Blakely Senior Citizens Center, the mural, provided matching funds for the downtown sidewalk project, purchased the trees along the railroad tracks downtown, helped fund the new fire station/parks office on the East side of town, and will fund the walking/jogging trail this springs. It also provided matching funds for the playground equipment at the city park, along with improvements to the old garment factory and armory.

The tax money also pays for mowing the DeAnn Cemetery, bought the land where the new library sits, built the pavilion at McRae Park, as well as paying for getting the restrooms there repaired.

This money has also been used to purchase computers for the Prescott School District.

Godwin said the Chamber Board is composed of 15 people, with five new members elected annually, with five rotating off. Members serve three year terms, with the election being done by Chamber members in good standing.

The president of the Interlocal Development Corporation serves on the board, as does the EDO director.

The Camber is funded through membership dues and activities, with the annual Chicken and Egg Festival and Chamber Banquet being the two largest fund raisers. Money is also raised from the sale of Christmas ornaments.

The Chamber, she said, does a lot of little things people don't think about. It does such things as pass along the names of businesses to visitors, helps people find phone numbers and how to get in contact with their state and federal representatives.

Under the Chamber's bylaws, both the city and county must be represented.

"We spend a lot of time on beautification projects for the city," she said. These projects include making sure grassy areas downtown are mowed, city properties are mowed regularly and trash is picked up. The Chamber also maintains the planters and flower beds downtown as part of the beautification project.

Other things done by the Chamber include having banners put up to notify residents of different events, along with smaller banners on utility poles at the change of seasons. The Chamber also helped refurbish the old city jail and the gazebo along the railroad track.

Membership dues are $150 a year for businesses, Godwin said, and $25 for individuals. Family memberships are also available for $35 a year. "We welcome and encourage individuals and families to join the Chamber. It's open to everyone."

Chamber members include civic clubs, churches, industries, government offices, financial institutions, individuals, families and utility companies.