Two Boonville Chamber February meeting attendees who walked out speak up, hope for future transparency

BOONVILLE- The Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce says it’s here to help the village and surrounding businesses.

That’s what President Dave Leffingwell said as he opened last Thursday’s public meeting, following on the heels of January’s public meeting, where things got heated at times.

“We can’t accomplish much without your help,” President Leffingwell told attendees last Thursday.

The February meeting was met with high anticipation, as members of January’s forum were left with questions unanswered, specifically over the chamber’s records – such as treasurer’s reports and by-laws.

It was originally promised by the chamber that if it was available, those who sent their inquiries in via email would have their requests answered during the February meeting.

At the same time, the chamber also published a general survey, which seemed to gain traction on social media and produced a mix of results, but many of which seemed to suggest needed improvement.

Word about the meeting and the survey went around town and after hearing about the gathering himself, Tyme Ferris, a native to Boonville, NY says his own curiosity sparked him to catch the February meeting.

Ferris, who has been working to establish a marijuana lifestyle facility in the Boonville area, told us how he hoped there would be answers. “Rationally, it seemed that this meeting should be where they can finally provide some answers so I could have a grounding foundation of where I am going to make my decision of where I am putting mine and my company’s bandwidth into,” he explained. 

Ferris mentioned to us that he has been a part of several other groups, including similar non-profits and other chamber organizations, and has not witnessed anything that would closely reflect to what he saw last Thursday. 

"A lot of times there is a learning curve that people just don't have and that's what I was going in thinking was more of the problem," Ferris clarified. “What I saw was a group that still had no answers, that claimed transparency, without giving any answers.”

Answers to what? By-laws, treasurer’s reports, and other records, including most recently the chamber’s 2020 and 2021 IRS 990 forms – all of which were met with FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requirements.

The chamber did not originally specify anything about FOIL when they formally invited members and the public to ask for and inspect documentation. Rather, this was done via the legal advice of the chamber’s attorney, officials iterated in days prior to and during the meeting.

For the time being, anyone wishing to view chamber records are asked to contact the chamber, fill out a FOIL form and make an appointment. The chamber’s phone number is 315-942-5112.

In terms of by-laws, the chamber did make note, on record, during last-week's meeting that there have been no Boonville Chamber by-laws officially established with the State of New York dating back as far as several decades. This is a whole separate development that we will be updating on as soon as we can gather the information needed from officials.   

With over 20 February meeting attendees, it appeared several were frustrated, forming an even more intense environment when compared to January.

Frustrations boiled over and led to what has now been confirmed to be at-least four people who got up and walked out during discussion. Originally, we knew it was at-least three. “I would like to see more transparency and willingness to listen,” said Megan Pfendler.

She owns ‘Megan’s Mystical Menagerie.’ She is not a member (as of this report) and is the fourth person we know of who departed the meeting. “I was open minded going in, but after last-week’s meeting, I came away absolutely disgusted.”

When asked why she was so upset with the meeting, Pfendler responded by declaring the chamber failed to answer what she said were the simplest of questions.

“I came away with the impression that they either had something to hide or they were just in over their heads,” Pfendler added.

Ferris was another person who walked out of the meeting and did make note of how he hopes a better pathway forward can be established for the chamber and its members.

We did reach out to a third, but did not receive comment back.

During the conclusion of last Thursday’s meeting, several committee sign-up sheets were put forth for members to sign-up for.

In the aftermath of these back-to-back heated public gatherings, the Boonville Chamber is looking ahead to its membership meeting. That is slated for Thursday, March 16 at the Boonville VFW, 108 Park Avenue.

The meeting is aimed to begin at 6:00 p.m., according to an agenda that was passed out.

Image via the Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce.