Community Divided Over Eden Area Chamber of Commerce

A bitter fight over the fate of the Eden Area Chamber of Commerce appears close to a resolution this week, after the Ashland Citizens' Advisory Committee voted to extend its support to the flagging business organization as its two-year contract was set to expire.

But a patchwork of new contracts between the Ashland, Cherryland and San Lorenzo CACs and the Chamber—one of which ends this summer—means the battle is far from over. 

Two years ago, the three entered into contracts with what was then the Castro Valley Chamber of Commerce. The collaboration was meant to connect an additional 5,500 businesses across the unincorporated county while shoring up the Chamber's finances with redevelopment funds. But, as those contracts come up for renewal this month, the Chamber is still struggling and many are frustrated with the results. 

"The Castro Valley Chamber had been on its own for 30 years and done very well. Then they started doing poorly. That's when Supervisor started getting involved, saying that maybe you can provide services for the other communities," said Ruth Baratta, who sits on the Cherryland chamber. "They really haven't delivered a whole lot." 

The months-long debate over renewal has mostly focused on what the Chamber can deliver and whether supporting it is the best use of limited resources.

"For as little money as this is, this has generated more interest in outcomes and whether it's worth it in all the committees," said Eileen Dalton of the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency. "I think in some of the communities, the expectations far outstrip what you can do for $15,000 [a year]."

Though all three voted to renew their contracts—San Lorenzo for two years, Ashland for one, and Cherryland for just six months—resentment and reservations persist. 

San Lorenzo, long the Chamber's most vocal opponent, had initially balked at the $30,000 price tag. Cherryland was rankled by the apparent lack of Spanish-speaking staff. And Ashland fretted that little would be done to bring its 11 new members into the larger business community. 

But smouldering just below the surface is the long-held conviction that the Chamber is yet another example of the county playing favorites with Castro Valley, the largest and most affluent of the unincorporated communities, at the expense of the rest. 

"I don't feel that they have a real a presence here in the Eden area," said Kathy Martins, who sits on the San Lorenzo CAC. "I think it's a subsidy for the Castro Valley Chamber to continue to thrive."

Of the Chamber's 400 or so members, about 80 are Eden area businesses. In the past year, the organization added 48 local businesses to its rolls, just shy of its 50-member goal. 

"I know that two years probably feels like a long time, but in reality some of these people have only been members for three months or six months," said Chamber President Roberta Rivet.

As part of the initial expansion deal, new recruits—many of them small storefronts or home businesses—received free membership, a perk that will disappear in 2011. Bill Lambert, the county's assistant director of economic development, ball-parked a 50 percent attrition rate when membership fees come due.  

"It's a very tough sell, and it's a very thin organization," Lambert said. "Without our support, they won't last, and even with our support, there's just a couple of warm bodies there."

But even if those numbers hold strong, other controversies loom. For one, Castro Valley will not approve the proposal until March. For another, some members of the San Lorenzo CAC have questioned whether they got a fair say in the process. Martins, who was sick and missed the December meeting, said she was distraught when she learned of the vote, which had not been listed on the agenda.   

"Ironically, San Lorenzo is probably the most critical and they moved the most quickly," Dalton said. "They did get the information, but they didn't get it in advance. I'm not quite sure what we were serving for snacks, but it went by pretty quick."

Castro Valley is expected to cast the final vote on the Chamber on March 9.