Tensions erupted at the City of Grand Forks Committee of the Whole (COTW) meeting on Monday over threatened funding for the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce (BCRCC). The regional chamber of commerce serves the West Boundary in addition to Grand Forks and Christina Lake.
The Downtown Business Association (DBA) in Grand Forks, which is a subcommittee of the chamber, appeared before council to request direct funding from the city in lieu of funding from the Chamber. DBA chair Melissa Ganzeveld was not present, however former chair and DBA member Lynn Relph was on hand to read a letter prepared by Ganzeveld and take questions from council.
“Based on the Chambers [sic] performance over the last few years we are worried it will not survive as an entity in the community and we would like to continue our great work with local businesses,” reads the delegation request provided to council.
Relph elaborated that a main concern for the organization was the lack of communication from the new board and the chamber president.
Thompson questioned whether the DBA had its own bylaws in place, to which Relph replied the association was in the process of revising its terms of reference.
“My concern is if we as a city fund an organization that does not follow its bylaws, it may put in jeopardy the funding the DBA receives through the chamber,” Thompson said.
In response, Butler said the chamber held a second meeting, in accordance with its bylaws, that state if a disagreement about the legitimacy of the election should occur, a special meeting of the outgoing board will be called to decide on the standing of the newly elected board.
Konrad suggested at this point that the city’s funding to the Chamber, which is set to be $20,000 for 2017, be held in abeyance “until further notice.” Thompson made this motion and referred it to the evening meeting for a vote.
At the meeting that night, council again debated whether to hold the funding in abeyance. Early in the meeting council voted on adding the motion to the meeting agenda; Tripp and Butler voted against the agenda as amended.
Butler spoke against holding the funding, noting she believed the chamber had “never” followed its bylaws.
“According to them they have never actually followed procedures, of their bylaws for the AGM,” Butler said. She later said she received that information from executive director Kathy Wright, who has given her notice and will be leaving the chamber later this month.
In response, several councillors expressed shock at that allegation.
“That is much more concerning,” Konrad said. “The constitution and bylaws I have in front of me and not worth the paper they are printed on if they are not going to follow them.” He later noted council had not been previously aware the chamber had not been following bylaws.
During question period, interim Chief Administrative Officer Diane Heinrich said she believed the funding for the chamber from the City of Grand Forks could total as much as $80,000 over the past five years — $10,000 per year for the first two years of the chamber’s existence, and $20,000 for the last three years. It remained unclear when the chamber is due to receive its funding for this year.
As part of the discussion, Konrad highlighted two key passages of the chamber’s bylaws which he said were not followed in the last election. One states that anyone seeking to be elected to the board must be in good standing for 90 days before the chamber’s annual general meeting; the second states that members must be in good standing for 30 days before they are able to vote.
Engen said he would be happy to address any concerns at the current meeting, but having been denied the floor Thompson said she felt it was best for both the chamber and council to “come back fresh.”
Engen said in an interview with the Gazette that the chamber will address the concerns around bylaws at the coming meeting, and said there had “absolutely” been issues with bylaws not being followed in the past.
“They’re not wrong and there are defintely some issues with the policies being followed, but moving forward we are going to do what they ask and answer their questions,” Engen said. “We will have a resolution by the 29th, we’re pretty much there now, we just have to clear a few things up.”
Konrad also said to Engen he believed the issue extended beyond city council.
“This issue did come up at the RDKB table very briefly,” Konrad said. “I will not get into details, but just so you have the assurance to know this is not done just here, at city council. By no means is it done, not even close. There will be more blow back coming.”