Council considers plans to redevelop Chamber building
OCALA - The Ocala City Council is moving ahead on a plan to jumpstart downtown development by swapping a city-owned building for the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce building.
At its workshop Tuesday, the City Council heard the details of a plan to exchange the city building at 310 S.E. Third St. - currently occupied by the Building, Zoning and Licensing Department - for the Chamber building at 110 E. Silver Springs Blvd. The council decided to continue its discussions at a later workshop.
The Chamber owns its building, but the city owns the land on which the Chamber building sits next to the downtown square. The Chamber has a lease with the city that does not expire until 2027. Will this jumpstart downtown development? Will this end up to be another sand box on the square? What do you think?
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22 comments:
SANDBOX #2!
The announcement was made to the Chamber today that Mid Feb. the Chamber would start renovating the old OEU building to take over. who is going to pay for those renovations? the City Tax payers, because the Chamber is near broke?
SANDBOX #2!
So the Chamber gets a free building and free renovations? whose brilliant idea was that? Chamber membership is down over 30%! The Exec. Dir. Ballie makes over $100,000 a year and they financially strapped, Who is on that Board of Directors?
This announcement by the Chamber Of Commerce follows the recent request from Taylor Bean Whitacre asking for funds to remodel their old vacated building in downtown Ocala. Both requests are being hyped as key to downtown renewal.
Citing an estimate of 120 new jobs created by starting a new insurance agency to service their clients, Taylor Bean Whitacre forgot to mention that they have recently out sourced all their IT jobs to India. What hypocrits !
It seems to me that in a recession as severe as this one, talk of a viable downtown revival is a bit of mental masturbation. So is the need for another insurance agency.
A once burned city council should tred lightly .
Clayton Ellsworth
Baille gets $100,000!
Good grief! For doing what?
Spending every last cent of the taxpayers money?
Baille has mismanaged the Chamber from the beginning. Before Baille the Chamber was about small business. You know the businesses that make up the majority of Marion County. Baille was brought in by people within the Chamber that worked for large corporations. She then restructured the Chamber to be a income producing machine making sure that anything the Chamber did brought in significant income. This was to justify her large salary. She worked very hard to get close to the large corporations, the ones locally that would be able to write the largest checks. Treating the small businesses as second class. After all why deal with a small business that can give $1,000 when you can get $30,000 from Florida Power.
She also changed and manipulated the power structure within the Chamber. Prior to her arrival the Chamber Board of Directors made up of at least 20 business and community leaders were very well informed to make decisions. Packets of upcoming items were given to them days ahead of time so they may research an upcoming topic. The small group known as the “executive committee” was there in order to make decisions when there was an emergency and the board could not be convened.
Fast forward to today. The board basically rubber stamps everything that comes through. They are given very little real information. The small group of the “executive committee” and Jaye are clearly driving the ship. The “executive committee” researches the issue from the Jaye point of view and brings the recommendation to the board. Here is a typical situation. The executive committee takes a position on something. They report at the board meeting that its all been researched and vetted by the executive committee. The old “trust us” approach. The board has reservations and requests information. The executive committee says “we can resolve that issue, let’s have a vote on this to move forward”. The issue is never resolved, the board is unaware of what happens after the vote and Jaye gets done what she wants done with or without the board.
Today the large corporations do not have the money to give out $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 to the Chamber to have their name on a banner. The small businesses could help make up the loss in volume with smaller donations among many businesses but that’s not going to happen under the current leadership. The small business community has been ignored too long and see very little value in their Chamber membership.
If in fact Jaye has been getting $100,000 a year that is just sickening.
One last thing. How many of the Chamber staff has stayed with Jaye for 24 months or longer.
From what I can tell, the only positive thing the Chamber does for the community is put on the Annual Christmas Parade. Actually if I recall correctly they chased that away too. So what does the Chamber do again?
angpoinSo what does the chamber do again ?
Well, how about the brilliant recently announced "Buy Local " campaign ?
I think you will find in the boosterism chapter of the Chamber manual, reference to using the "buy local " slogan when you run out of ideas needed to cheer on a community in a struggling local economy.
And don't forget the ritual of " "Business After Hours " where the group joins hands in a circle jerk, tips a few glasses [and occassionly tips each other afterwards]then returns to the community to maintain business as usual.
In Marion County, EDC has eclipsed and up staged the Chamber rendering them mute, null and void for all practical purposes.
Who needs them ?
Clayton Ellsworth
I agree 100%! So what do we do to put the pressure on those responsible for this blatant abuse of 'power'?
I remember when the Chamber was a 'viable' entity years ago ans was run by small business community owners etc;
Like everything else that is for the people some idiot comes along and destroys everything!
Ms. Ballie needs to fired! However, dont count on it, she is probably in the back pocket of the 'big boys'1
Ballie is not in anybody's pocket! she is such a phoney that people "percieve" that she is more then which she is! If the Exec. Board had any backbone they would take a good look at things and realize she is the problem. Anon 6:58 is correct the Board follows what Jaye says and never does any further reserch. Jaye sees to it that her Board is stacked with followers and No leaders. Anyone who has ever challenged Jaye is removed or never elected to the Board.
Chamber membership is declining quickly, The Small business owner sees no value to membership when they are treated like orphans! They suck huge money out of small businesses under the pretence of serving the community at no point do these donors ever ask How much does the Executive Director get paid? Never Ever is it ever discussed! Why?
Warren Buffet famously remarked that when the tide goes out you discover who has been swimming naked.
Well, the tide is going out in Marion County and apparently the Ocala Chamber has been swimming naked.
I am certain that leadership should share part of the blame.
However, the boiler plate model for chambers is old and stale.
The recent Chamber "buy local" effort certainly speaks to the lack of both leadership and ideas at the Ocala Chamber as well as the desperate recognition that they are losing small business members.
New effective leadership that is willing to be inovative would make a difference.
Until the Ocala Chamber cleans up it's act, the Ocala council's property swap, can at best, be viewed as a bailout benefiting only a few Chamber members and the city administration.
Clayton Ellsworth
Thsi whole thing should be interesting, do you think that they have learned from their past?
The Chamber is a good example of what happens when you put a democrat in charge of anything!!! Right Mr. Ellsworth????
Again, I ask, what can we do?
If enough people put the pressure where it belongs we do get their attention! I know, getting their attention is one thing and changing the M.O is another!
There is no shortage of poor Republican or Democrat leadership in Marion County. Why single out Democrats ?
Clayton Ellsworth
Anon 658 says "From what I can tell, the only positive thing the Chamber does for the community is put on the Annual Christmas Parade. Actually if I recall correctly they chased that away too. So what does the Chamber do again?"
Wrong. Last time I heard chamber ditched xmas paraded cause they couldn't make any money doing it. The parade is privately run by a group of volunteers, some of whom may be members of chamber, but it is not a chamber run event.
If I recall The Chamber felt the Christmas Parade had no Value to the Community! Like the Chamber does?
I would have to beleive the 50,000 people that were lined up on the Blvd. last week might disagree with the chambers point of View!But, I also beleive getting rid of the Parade was one of the first things Jaye Ballie did when she took Charge!
To those of you who remember Bill Ashford during the good old days of local talk show radio! Bill passed away and our prayers and condolences go out to Gail and his family! Bill was one of a kind and a breath of fresh air for many years in Marion County and will be missed! God Bless you my freind and thank you for all you did for our community!
Actually the Christmas Parade was taken over by a group of citizens (and chamber members) who were tired of seeing what should have been a gift to the community used as a profit machine.
The Parade used to be the Chamber's way of "giving something back" to a community that helped it function. Once Jaye got in there she wanted to turn a large profit on it and that's when it started going downhill because they would allow any and every group to be in it so they could up their profit. Once the new group talked it away from the Chamber it's become more streamlined, higher quality and an all around more enjoyable time.
The chamber is the only thing keeping our city together. Jayne would be a great mayor or county commissioner. Stop carping over the chamber when you know nothing about the chamber.
Clayton Ellis calls the business after hours a circle jerk, what a crude thing to say.
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