The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors held their monthly Board meeting Thursday, October 15th to discuss, among other Chamber business, the possibility of moving the Chamber’s headquarters and Visitor’s Center from its current location on Highway 95, just north of Larch Street along Sand Creek, to the original Panhandle State Bank building located at the corner of Third Avenue and Oak Street.Part of the proposal included keeping the current location as a seasonal Visitor’s Center or relocating a satellite center in Ponderay. The Chamber is currently talking with Ponderay’s Mayor Carol Kunzman as well as officials from the Ponderay Community Development Corporation.
Chamber officials have been looking at the ever-increasing expense of running the Visitor’s Center in its current location and noted that with the current economic conditions and the byway construction underway, it was in the Chamber’s best interest to look at several more fiscally-reasonable options for operating the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center.
According to the Chamber’s executive director Amy Little, the costs of maintaining the current location have become more than the Chamber’s budget can bear. “The Chamber office and the Visitor’s Center are two separate entities, and without the financial support of the Chamber, the Visitor’s Center would cease to exist.”
Little says that the Visitor’s Center operates in the red each year, and has been increasing its strain on the Chamber’s finances. Though the Chamber owns the building, general maintenance costs are over and above what they could reasonably pay in rent.
Also, according to Little, there has always been a misconception that the Visitor’s Center is a publicly funded rest stop. “We do not receive any public funds to maintain our location. The only money we receive from the state is our annual tourism grant, though those funds are earmarked specifically for the promotion of tourism in the greater Sandpoint area,” explains Little. The grant does not allow for the moneys to be used to fund operations or salaries.
The greatest expense is the maintenance of the grounds, leased from the Idaho Transportation Department. Additionally, the building is aging and is in need of many very expensive repairs and upgrades, including a new roof over fifty percent of the building. “The time was right to look at other alternatives, and fortunately Panhandle State Bank was looking at ways to fill up their original building, now housing only their drive-through banking operations.”
The Chamber’s Board of Directors approved the change of location for the office and Visitor’s Center, which will be located in the lobby of the building. They have yet to determine where to locate the satellite Visitor’s Center, leaving the possibility open that the Chamber will continue to operate the current center during the peak season from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
According to Michael Whitley, Property/Project Manager for Panhandle State Bank, the corporation planned to turn the building into a place for nonprofits and for-profit businesses to lease space and foster better relationships and communication among nonprofits and their stakeholders, many of them small businesses in the community.
“On behalf of the shareholders and employees of Panhandle State Bank, we welcome the Sandpoint Chamber as a new tenant of PSB Community Plaza,” said Whitley. “We are looking forward to the positive contribution that PSB Community Plaza and the Sandpoint Chamber will provide for the downtown Sandpoint Community. The 3rd and Oak Street site will provide a centralized location to meet current and future downtown community needs.”
The Chamber’s presence on the first floor of the building was appealing to the corporations’ Board of Directors, making the Chamber the building’s anchor and helping to create a business-center in the downtown core. With its proximity to Farmin Park as well as the number of events held downtown, the Chamber believes it will serve more visitors and increase their ability to promote the entire area better than ever before.
According to the Chamber’s Chairman of the Board, Kathy Hubbard, the most important task is continuing to serve the Greater Sandpoint area. “Losing our visibility to traffic on highway 95 and the ability to serve all our communities is our biggest concern. We are encouraged by our meetings with Ponderay officials that we will find a suitable location in partnership with our stakeholders to continue to serve the Greater Sandpoint community,” says Hubbard.
According to Hubbard the move will take place during the week of Thanksgiving to minimize the impact to the businesses and the community. The Chamber estimates that operations will be shut down for no more than a day or two and will be up and running the Monday after the holiday.
The mission of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is to support, develop and promote the business community of the Greater Sandpoint area. Currently, the Chamber has over 550 members, 3 full time staff, as well as two part time staff serving the Visitor’s Center.
For more information, call (208) 263-0887 or visit www.SandpointChamber.com
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