Boonville Chamber of Commerce: "It is the Chamber's commitment to make requested documents available to the public at our next member/public meeting February 16"
BOONVILLE- The Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce is looking ahead to the brand-new year.
During their first public meeting of 2023 last Wednesday, directors and officials shared ideas with chamber members and other attendees about new membership opportunities, growing and advancing events that are in planning, as well as sparking new ideas to better promote the community.
There were over a dozen members of the public who attended, some of whom claim they had either never attended a chamber meeting before, or had not been to one in a significant amount of time.
With that being said, there seems to be a lot of buzz still going around the community about the meeting, including social media posts, both from chamber officials and members, some of which have even since been deleted.
The meeting started off on positive notes, but it seemed as if though the atmosphere was very tense. This was suggested by one attendee who told us following the meeting.
We attended the meeting and observed, on the record, all discussions that took place.
The attitude of this gathering began shifting when numerous members began asking for basic records of the chamber, including things like a copy of the latest by-laws and treasurer's reports.
It's normal for public entities and other organizations to have such documents and information on record, so anyone who may request such items will be able to review it.
However, documentation for the latest by-laws were not available or given out for public review during the meeting.
With that being said, Chamber officials did present some financial statistics, including what was in their checking account and other like data.
Still, an official copy of the treasurer's report was not distributed to those who attended the meeting, despite members arguing such documentation should be available for public record.
When attendees pressured that it's par for such organization to have records for viewing and discussion in each public meeting, the chamber responded by suggesting that they haven't had anyone at the meetings.
It was suggested that records be made available soon online to offer an easier pathway for anyone who may request to view them.
When requests for records on the spot kept popping up, the chamber kept steady by emphasizing that they would become available.
In the wake of this year's first public meeting, the Boonville Chamber has has since responded with an invite for those who would like to review their records to make a formal request before the next public meeting, February 16.
"Please send what you are asking for to our chamber email," said Boonville Chamber Director of Communications Joshua Fitzgerald.
That email is:
"We were instructed that there is up to a two-week period for them to get everything together for you and that just happens to roughly coincide with our next public meeting. And then per our President, Dave Leffingwell, we are going to make sure that documentation is available at the public meeting February 16."
With the next public meeting approaching, the chamber has also launched a public survey.
This survey is available for anyone to take, including members and non-members, on the chamber's Facebook page. You can also complete the survey here.
The survey was created by the chamber, with aims of gathering an accurate idea of what things are working well and areas that may need improvement.
The next public meeting will be held Thursday, February 16 at 46 Schuyler Street, Boonville, NY at 6:45 p.m.
Headline image by Brian Trainor.
