Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Economic, Chamber Offices To Be Combined

By JOHN MILLER

A consolidation is being made with two Nevada County entities.

The Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Office will soon be sharing office space in the Dalrymple Building the City of Prescott bought recently for $25,000.

According to Chandler Russ, executive director of the Prescott Nevada County Economic Development Office, this will give the Chamber and EDO a central location to downtown Prescott and commerce. It will also put both entities in one office, which will be better for everyone involved.

Russ said the consolidation has been discussed for about three months, with plans made, proposals developed and work being done to make sure the needs of everyone involved were met.

However, the two organizations will still be separate. They will simply be working under one roof.

Russ said both have their own functions and budgets. He and Mary Godwin, Chamber director, said there will be no overlapping of funds.

By combining forces, they said, they also combine their talents and can provide coverage when one or the other is out of the office.

They agreed this is the most economical way to do business and will make it easier for them to work on developing business while promoting Prescott and Nevada County.

Neither organization will change phone numbers, so the public can continue calling the same number.

Russ said the scope of economic development is two sided -- community development and the industrial/business development.

If the two sides are not in sync with one another, he said, it makes it difficult to attract business and industry to an area.

By combining the two agencies, he and Godwin said, they can make sure the EDO and Chamber are in accord as to what the other is doing and move forward simultaneously.

The consolidation is nothing new. In fact it is becoming rather commonplace around the nation.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, the Chamber of Commerce's in communities were responsible for industrial recruitment as well as the usual Chamber duties of promoting the community.

This changed as the niche for economic development was created and the industrial/business side became more technical and complicated. These changes led to the creation of economic development offices.

For the past 10 to 12 years, Russ said, there has been an increase in economic development organizations.

However, these organizations and Chambers do many of the same functions, thereby creating duplication of effort.

Now, he said, the economic development offices and Chambers of Commerce are joining forces.

Russ said one of the local goals is to work toward revitalizing downtown Prescott as well as getting the area spruced up.

Godwin said her goals as new Chamber director are to increase the membership and get more people involved in the Chamber's operation.

A membership drive is being planned at this time.

She also hopes to have seminars for merchants to help them increase their businesses. The sessions, she said, will focus on what the merchants need instead of some new way of trying to sell the goods.

Additionally, Godwin said, the Chamber will work with the Prescott Beautification Committee on helping get the area cleaned up and beautified.

Russ said the committee is in the city's 1997 budget and has hired an engineer who has a background in beautification, while having a landscape architect on staff.

The engineer has visited Prescott several times, Russ said, and has submitted plans showing where the trouble spots are, with suggestions on how to fix them along with a rough estimation of the cost.

Godwin said the Chamber has resumed its monthly community coffees. She said at this time there are so many the Chamber had to rearrange its schedule. Coffees, she said, have already been booked into 1998.

On the EDO side, Russ said he will try to be more responsive to business and community needs. The EDO, he continued, will be taking a leadership role and be proactive, not reactive. "We're going to try some new things," he said.

"There's a lot of excitement going on," Godwin said. "I'm excited to work with Chandler."

Godwin said the Chamber will continue hosting the Chicken and Egg Festival, along with the annual Chamber Banquet. She said the hopes are to build on both events.

Russ said the consolidation will benefit both organizations and help create a more profitable environment for business and industry.

The important thing, he said, is for the area to continue investing in itself as it did with the industrial park.

"Prescott the people have known for the last 10 years," Russ said, "will not be the Prescott of the next 10 years."

If all goes according to plans, the move will be made during the second week of November.