Chamber board attempts to ease concerns

WASILLA — After hearing concerns from the members-at-large, the board of directors of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce is working to create an open forum for members to address specific expenses with the executive director.

Wednesday afternoon’s board meeting began with testimony from a few members calling for the board to fire Cheryl Metiva as executive director.

Speaking first, Annette Andres said she helped form the chamber in 1976. She was president of the board in 2001, and when her tenure was up, she said the chamber had healthy savings and a membership of 250. In her term as past president, Metiva took over as executive director.

Andres said she took offense to the purported increase in membership and never saw hard evidence to back up the numbers. If there was a tripling of members, and if proper accounting had been done, the chamber’s current financial situation would never have happened, she said.

“What has happened is appalling. If the chamber is to exist going forward, something has to be done,” Andres said. “If you do not do something, you will have members demanding their money back.”

State Sen. Linda Menard asked what would happen to a CEO of a corporation in this situation. A board member said the chamber spent money on electrical repairs thinking they would get funding through a grant, but they were stuck with the bill when the grant fell through.

“That’s just not good management on the part of the executive director,” Menard said.

Menard said she was also a founding member of the chamber, and said her heart is stricken because of the current situation. She said three non-profits refused to donate money to the chamber because of its current situation, and Metiva was not invited to host the Fourth of July Parade or the Governor’s Picnic this year.

Of the other members in attendance, most simply wanted more answers. They were tired of the rumors and wanted a chance to hear from Metiva herself.

The board indicated it wanted input from members about how to proceed. Only a few members were at the meeting, but among the tasks they want the board to do:

• Give them enough information so they can make a recommendation as to what the board should do about Metiva.

• Provide a list of the questionable charges and an explanation for each from Metiva.

Treasurer Marcus Reum said he’s worried about what information they can legally release. He said Metiva has explained the larger expenses and most seem to be for legitimate business purposes. Of the personal expenses, he said, Metiva has already reimbursed the chamber and is willing to repay any outstanding personal charges.

Board member Dave Baker reminded the members that credit card statements only show itemized debits and not credits. Without an audit, it is impossible to say what she has reimbursed and what she has not.

That is exactly why, Quentin Algood said, the board has not fired Metiva. They still do not have any concrete evidence of her wrongdoing, and her spending was permitted by a lack of oversight in the bylaws, Algood said.

“We need a licensed professional to tell us what is acceptable and what is not,” Reum said.

Without money to complete a third-party audit, Reum said the chamber is calling on three licensed professionals to review the books and make recommendations to the board. They already have one and perhaps a second volunteer, and the process should begin shortly, Reum said.

In the meantime, he said, the board has put Metiva on a 90-day evaluation period to keep the chamber’s operations running. They wanted to hear from the membership, but there is no legal way for the board to ask the membership about human resource issues. That is why they called Wednesday’s meeting.

Now, hearing that the members want more information and the opportunity to question Metiva directly, Reum said there still are legal issues that need to be worked out. He is unsure how much information they can release to the membership and in what acceptable form. If Metiva refuses to take direct questions from the members, it is unclear if the board can force her to, he said.

These are questions board member Julie Busch is going to pose to the chamber’s attorney. From the answers, the board will determine the appropriate time and location for an open forum and announce it to the chamber’s membership.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.