Bigfork merchants voice concerns

From a purported “blacklist” for dissidents to secret financial information, the list of allegations made by some business owners against the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce is sizable.

Chamber leaders largely dismiss the complaints as the result of misunderstanding or error.

But whichever side you listen to, one thing is certain — there is a schism in the business community that has been festering for some time. Some of the concerns surfaced publicly at the February Chamber meeting.

Several merchants claim the Chamber has become a “good ol’ boy network” that doesn’t consider the needs of its members. There’s a clique of two or three people who call the shots for major decisions affecting the Bigfork business community, these merchants allege. And they claim that if they object, they are ostracized from the organization and its benefits.

Chamber officials dispute that notion, saying their goal is the overall betterment of the Bigfork community. They want new ideas and new energy.

“We try to avoid the ‘us versus them’ confrontations,” said Bruce Solberg, executive director of the Bigfork Chamber. “We’re responsive to the business community.”

Solberg said the Chamber is working on several fronts to address varying concerns from its membership.

Jill Mehall, owner of Creative and Native in downtown Bigfork, is among the most vocal opponents of how the Chamber operates.

“We, the people, are tired of the way we’re treated,” Mehall said.

When she asked to see the Chamber’s budget a year ago and was turned down, she filed a complaint with the state Office of Consumer Protection and eventually was given a copy of the Chamber’s checking transactions, but not without the Chamber first getting legal advice on Mehall’s request.

Bigfork attorney Randall Snyder sent a letter to the Office of Consumer Protection last March, stating that the Chamber denied Mehall’s allegations.

“To the contrary, the Bigfork Chamber has maintained very complete books using QuickBooks software, with records going back to 2001,” Snyder wrote, adding the Chamber would need to assess the costs for printing “all budgets and records” that Mehall asked for, which he said “could literally constitute over 500 pages of documents, even for the three years she mentioned.”

Gary Riecke, owner of Riecke’s Bayside Gallery in downtown Bigfork, said he, too, was concerned about the lack of forthcoming financial information from the Chamber when he noticed last summer that treasurer’s reports weren’t given at the board meetings. He obtained a copy of the Chamber’s 990 tax forms available to the public because of the organization’s nonprofit tax status with the IRS, and was surprised to see a cash balance of $75,186 at the end of 2009.

“There got to be more and more questions [about the budget] because they’re always saying how broke they are,” Riecke said. “My goal is I want to see the Chamber run out in the open and run efficiently.”

After questions about the budget surfaced, the Chamber began providing profit-and-loss statements at board meetings, Riecke said, and last month started providing a cash balance in the report. It listed a cash balance of $68,091 for 2011.

The year-end cash balance historically has gone up and down, said board member David Vale of the downtown Pocketstone Cafe.

“It’s good to have the money,” he said. “We’re not going to run out and spend it all.”

Chamber President Gretchen Gates of Eva Gates Homemade Preserves addressed the budget concerns in the Chamber’s February newsletter. She said the Chamber acknowledged the failure to provide a financial statement on a monthly basis and corrected the situation by providing statements at board meetings and to Chamber members upon request.

“There seems to be a concern that the Chamber has a considerable amount of money on hand,” Gates said. “This is not a bad thing; we have a fiduciary responsibility to our members and wish to maintain a cushion of operating expenses.”

Gates further said the Chamber needs a reserve for future expenses such as building repairs.

By comparison, the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce carries a $50,000 to $60,000 year-end cash balance.

“It’s good business sense to try to keep three to four months [of operating expenses] in reserve,” Whitefish Chamber Director Kevin Gartland said. “It’s the same as any other business.”

Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce, which operates on a modest $40,000 annual budget, generally has about $14,000 in cash at year’s end, largely because the Chamber bills for dues in October and much of the money comes in by year’s end, Chamber Director Carol Pike said.

ERIC THORSEN, owner of Thorsen Fine Art Gallery in downtown Bigfork, said one of the big frustrations among Chamber members is that they feel the merchants’ needs aren’t being met.

“There’s a big disconnect with what the Chamber of Commerce does and what the merchants need,” he said.

There are 70 merchants in the “downtown footprint,” Thorsen said, yet he and several others feel decisions are made by a group of three to four people. And those who oppose the key decision-makers are ostracized, “made to feel not welcome.”

Riecke agreed, saying those who ask questions are deemed “malcontents” and troublemakers.

A former Bigfork business owner who relocated to Kalispell a year ago for cheaper rent and a more spacious location said she didn’t leave Bigfork because of the Chamber’s tight controls, but was well aware of how difficult it was to get new ideas past the “good ol’ boy network.” Her business was located on the Montana 35 strip, making it even more difficult to feel a part of the Bigfork business community, she said.

Mehall brought up what she called the “famous blacklist” at the February board meeting, saying such discrimination is wrong.

Board member Laurie Pacheco of Her Alibi Salon disagreed with Mehall’s allegation.

“I’ve felt the exact opposite,” Pacheco said. “I’ve had people welcome me.”

Pacheco said she didn’t know anything about a blacklist and made a plea for unity.

“If we’re going to tie the community together, we need to change the attitude to positive,” she said.

Gates flat-out rejected the notion of a blacklist.

“There is no such thing,” she said. “I don’t know where that came from. There are a certain number of naysayers you’ll never make happy, but we do the best we can.”

DOWNTOWN business owners did see some positive change last year when art vendor booths were reconfigured to allow better access to businesses during the Bigfork Festival of the Arts.

“The only reason change took place is the merchants forced the issue,” Thorsen said.

A committee was formed to look at changes and came up with a plan to arrange booths in quads, and the results seemed to please everyone.

“I think both the downtown merchants and vendors were happy,” Gates said.

AMONG THE other complaints against the Chamber is the board’s failure to elect a president-elect in a timely manner.

Riecke pointed out at February board meeting that the Chamber should have had the president-elect in place in October 2010 and isn’t following its bylaws.

“We messed up,” Solberg admitted. “We’ll get it rectified.”

Nomination forms for the president-elect will be included in the March newsletter, with the ballot in the April newsletter, Gates said.

There will be a meeting to consider changes to the bylaws that could include a shorter term than two years for the president-elect. Part of the problem in getting people to commit to the position is the time commitment, she said.

Gates said it’s difficult to understand Chamber members’ concerns if they don’t address them with her, the board or the executive director.

“It’s unfortunate that the people who talked to you [the newspaper] didn’t talk to the Chamber of Commerce,” she said. “How are we supposed to know what they want if they talk amongst themselves?”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.