By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
Geary County Commissioner Trish Giordano feels the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce problem is something that needs to be addressed "ASAP."The topic has been going on 8 to 9 months. Structural and financial issues have been at the center of attention.
County and Chamber leaders support keeping the current structure where the EDC, MAC and Chamber membership are under one roof but the Junction City Commission recently voted 3-2 to put the MAC under the county, the EDC under the city and have a stand alone chamber. The city meets again Oct.6 and could talk about the issue.
Giordano noted that the organizations under the same structure complement each other. She feels that the city taking over the EDC is not fair and observed that there are two other cities in the community plus a lake that brings a million people into town. The entire county should work together under economic development.
Giordano supports a strong Chamber of Commerce and feels not supporting local busineses "would be a black eye and a warning flag for businesses that want to come here. " She added that changes being put in place by the current chamber of commerce are needed improvements.
"The elected officials need to do their job and hold these organizations accountable with taxpayer money, "said Giordano.
Commissioner Keith Ascher noted part of the problem is that elected officials weren't getting the right infomation. Giordano and Ascher did agree that they shouldn't have been giving money. Giordano compared the situation to one that existed when the former Geary Community Hospital was struggling.