BONNYVILLE – After nearly 20 years situated at the Shaw House building, the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce will be moving to a new location.
The discussion to discontinue the Bonnyville Chamber’s lease was made by MD of Bonnyville council during an in-camera session at a regular council meeting on March 23.
Following the closed session, council passed a motion to end the Chamber’s lease, in order to have the MD’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Department take over the space and the Visitors Information Centre operations located along Moose Lake.
The Bonnyville Chamber’s Executive Director Serina Parsons told Lakeland This Week that prior to receiving the formal letter notifying the Chamber that their lease would be terminated, she was unaware that any internal discussions within the municipality were taking place.
“This may be a slight setback for the Bonnyville Chamber in terms of how we operate and have to operate this year,” Parsons acknowledged.
“But I am excited for what it will mean in the long term. The Bonnyville Chamber is going nowhere. We stand for our community, we work for our members, and that will never change. We will continue to do that and hopefully we'll continue to do it within the heart of business.”
Once the decision was made by council, the Chamber received a formal letter informing them that they had 90 days to find new headquarters for their operations.
Parson added that this note came with the assumption that if the Chamber found a new location but needed more time to transition into a new facility, that the MD would work with them.
The Shaw House
“When the Shaw House was built 20 years ago, it was built with the intention of it being the Visitor Information Center and to be a home for the Bonnyville Chamber of Commerce,” explained Parsons.
“That was done in partnership with the Town of Bonnyville, the MD of Bonnyville and LSRA (Lakeland Sports and Recreations Association).”
Roughly two years ago, LSRA decided to sell the property due to the challenges associated with maintaining the building and property.
“The Town did have some hands in it, but then MD decided to take it over completely,” Parsons continued.
When the MD took over ownership of the property about 18 months ago, they carried out extensive upgrades to Vezeau Beach and the campground in the park area.
“It makes sense that the MD wants to put their own staff in there for their own operation, and that is where the Visitor Information Center will remain,” she said.
That’s a wrap
Speaking to Lakeland This Week, MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski said, “maybe it's a surprise to (the Chamber). I guess it would be a shock to anybody that lost (their) place... but we didn't mean no harm by it or nothing.”
Kalinski said with the MD’s growing team of administrative staff, more space was needed, and Shaw House was the perfect place to relocate the municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.
“Where would you put your Parks and Recreation (Department) if you had that building? Would you leave them upstairs in the MD building or would you move them there if you are the one to make that decision?” he posed. “You would do the same thing.”
Following the MD’s council decision to end the lease with the Chamber, Kalinski acknowledged that residents have contacted the municipality and the MD’s CAO Al Hoggan directly to voice their concerns.
“It seems like everyone is making such a big deal out of this,” Kalinski said. “It's a building that we own and there is a lease that we have with them, and it doesn't say that we have to give them notice for a year or anything. We just decided we needed the building. It seems like it's blowing up to be a huge deal.”
When the Chamber was informed about the lease termination, the MD provided an alternative space that they could occupy out of at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre (C2).
This offer was turned down by the Chamber’s staff, who are now looking at other possible venues.
“We found them another place to go, they didn't want to go there. So, I'm not too sure what they are doing right now,” said the reeve.
With roughly three months' notice given to the Chamber, Kalinski acknowledged that there was no prior indication that such a motion would be considered or passed by council.
“Whenever we did discuss to move (the department) there, that's when we made a decision and then that's when we told them,” he explained
When asked why the discussion around terminating the lease with the Bonnyville Chamber was held in closed session, the reeve said, “I don't know. That's a tough one to answer... We have lots of discussions in closed session. It could be a couple of minutes or 15 minutes or 20 minutes.”
Kaliski also stated he was unable to say how many times the topic had been discussed prior to the final motion, if any, as those conversations would have also taken place in-camera.
The reeve directed further questions on the matter to the MD’s CAO Hoggan, who declined to respond to Lakeland This Week’s questions and redirected further questions back to Kalinski.
“We own the whole works, and we need a place for our Parks, and it will be a beautiful Parks facility. So that's why we chose to do that,” reaffirmed Kalinski. “It doesn't sound very nice or whatever. But our people are moving in there and we own the place.”
Finding a new home
When asked why the Chamber declined the offer to relocate to the C2, Parsons says it came down to “visibility” and “home.”
“We truly appreciate their suggestion in helping find a space at the C2, but the Chamber of Commerce and for our growth as an organization, we want to make sure that we are visible within the community,” she explained.
“We are not just looking for an office space, we're looking for a home where we can effectively grow our organization and to make sure that we are available and close to the businesses that we help serve.”
At the end of April, the Chamber is holding a strategic planning session with its board of directors to discuss how the organization will move forward.
“That's going to help give us some insight into where we are going. Right now, we do have some irons in the fire, if you will, and we have some ideas,” Parsons teased. “And we're really hoping that that one of these options come to fruition, but we aren't ready to make an announcement on that.”
And while Parsons says she is unsure why the decision was discussed in-camera, she doesn’t want the public to think there are any hard feelings about the decision.
“We are looking at it as an opportunity for growth for the Chamber,” she said. “There are no hard feelings, and we look forward to working with the MD more in the future.”
