Wasilla chamber looks for fixes

WASILLA — The details are becoming more clear in the fallout after the recent resignations by board directors of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce.

After five of the seven directors stepped down Wednesday, Chas St. George and Quinten Algood, the two remaining board members, sent out a statement to all members of the chamber. In it they applaud the five who stepped down for their service in trying to find a “balance between serving the membership at large and steering the Chamber toward a course (economically) that allowed for sustainable growth.” The statement mentions nothing about alleged questionable financial expenditures by the executive director, Cheryl Metiva.

The resigned board members agreed they were looking into the chamber’s books. Susan Crowder said since the new board was in place at the beginning of the year, they had begun a detailed look into the finances because of a budgetary shortfall.

“This was probably the most engaged board the chamber has had in years,” Crowder said. “We have been looking into where the revenue was coming from and where we were spending it.”

As they made discoveries, the five members involved in the process became increasingly uncomfortable with how money was being spent.

“I don’t want to go into specifics because some things are open for interpretation,” said Jeremy Hongslo, the chamber’s treasurer. “But I see certain trends in spending that I’m not comfortable with.”

In executive session at a board meeting in April, Hongslo said he was going to introduce an ordinance to terminate Cheryl Metiva’s employment. Some board members were resistant, he said, so he did not introduce the ordinance.

At the meeting before the meeting on Wednesday, Hongslo said the board came up with a plan to deal with the problems. He refused to go into specifics but said it did include personnel changes.

On Wednesday, when Hongslo thought the plan was to be implemented, he said it was clear that other directors were still pushing back and at-large members of the chamber came to the meeting very combative.

“I don’t know what story she (Cheryl Metiva) was telling them, but (she) was using her influence to make the other committee members believe that we were picking on her,” Hongslo said. “Suddenly, Cheryl was trying to use her influence to make the rest of the members believe whatever is happening is the fault of the board.”

Crowder confirmed that Marty Metiva, Cheryl Metiva’s husband, came to the meeting and told the board of directors he would challenge any action they took.

According to chamber by-laws, the board has to have seven voting members to cast an official vote. If the past president stays on, they are simply there to help the transition. Erika Bills, the past president, was asked to stay on as a regular member of the board of directors, St. George said. Crowder and Hongslo agreed Marty Metiva was going to use this to block any action the board took.

Amid the attacks about the board members’ ability to lead and the impasse created by the by-law technicality, one board member stood up and said “I’ve had enough. I quit,” Hongslo said. Two more stood up shortly after, and one more left after that.

Hongslo was left with St. George and Algood. He said the board no longer had the five members required for a quorum and he felt there was nothing left he could do to fix the problems as a board member.

Besides, he said, “I didn’t want to be associated with any of the stuff that was going on.”

A quorum is exactly what the board needs now, St. George said. The two remaining members will appoint three new directors to get to the five-member minimum needed to take emergency action.

St. George hopes the new quorum takes two immediate actions.

First, he said, the board needs to order an outside independent audit. From this audit, they will evaluate what has been done in the past and get recommendations about how to move forward.

Second, the board needs to look at its by-laws and fix any conflicts. The dispute about Erika Bill’s voting rights is the perfect example of what needs to be fixed, St. George said. The most important thing about what happens now is that the process is open and transparent, he said.

Asked if he will still attend the chamber luncheon on Tuesday, Hongslo said absolutely.

“I believe in the chamber. The chamber isn’t about Cheryl, it’s about the membership,” Hongslo said. “The economy is great. The business community is vibrant, and that’s what the chamber is about. It’s not about Metiva.”

Cheryl Metiva could not be reached for comment. Her voicemail was changed to say the chamber is closed Friday through Monday for the holiday weekend.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or (907) 352-2252.