Small-Business Advisory Group Called Ineffective : Santa Clarita: The center has missed opportunities to help merchants find ways to prepare for the opening of a regional mall, some trustees say.

Hampered by stubbornly independent leaders, a lack of funds and tension between its director and board of trustees, a center set up to help small businesses cope with the impact of Santa Clarita’s first regional mall has accomplished little, according to local business owners and some board members.

The Valencia Town Center mall is not scheduled to open until Sept. 24, leaving enough time for the Santa Clarita Valley Small Business Development Center to reach more businesses concerned about the impact of the shopping center’s three department stores and 110 retail shops.

But trustees acknowledge that the development center has lost a crucial opportunity to help businesses plan advertising campaigns and other strategies to cope with the double whammy of the mall opening and the sluggish economy.

In the past nine months since it was founded as a private, nonprofit organization funded by the city and the mall developer, the development center has conducted only 12 poorly attended seminars--some attracting as few as seven people--and counseled a handful of the area’s 5,000 small businesses.

“The center is on the right track, but we need to get focused and get on the ball,” acknowledged Gary Johnson, former chairman of the center’s board of directors.

The center’s mission is defined as providing training, information and technical assistance to the area’s business owners.

But many of them are unaware of its existence in a tiny cubicle in the gymnasium building at College of the Canyons.

“We never even heard of it, otherwise we definitely would have consulted it,” said Kathleen Levin, a Saugus food supplier and one of at least 42 business owners in the valley who has filed bankruptcy papers in federal court since April. “I know we’re not the only ones. It’s this recession,” she said.

“It just broke my husband’s heart to close the business after 13 years.”

With an annual budget of under $70,000, the center cannot afford much in the way of direct-mail campaigns or other outreach programs, board members said. It has only $200,000 to use over a three-year period ending in 1994. Half of the money was donated by Newhall Land & Farming Co. after Councilwoman Jan Heidt, who owns a local bookstore, requested the contribution as a condition of approving the mall in 1988. The city then matched the donation, and the college supplied the office rent-free.

As a result of the low budget, the center’s director and secretary work only 20 hours a week and the office is closed on Mondays and Fridays.

“To be truly effective, the center has to be a full-time operation, and we need money for that,” said Dianne Van Hook, president of College of the Canyons and a member of the center’s 10-member board.

But the board rejected a chance last year to double the center’s budget by tapping into state and federal funds. To obtain the money, which is still available, the center would become a satellite of the Van Nuys-based Valley Economic Development Center, which receives government funds to help small businesses in northern Los Angeles County.

Although the satellite would be run by a local citizens advisory council, the board did not seek the funding because “we wanted to be independent,” said Elizabeth Hopp, a local bank manager and newly elected chairwoman of the Santa Clarita center.

John Rooney, director of the Van Nuys center, said that low-interest loans, a service not offered through the Santa Clarita center, are still available to local businesses through his organization. But he said he stopped advertising the center’s services in Santa Clarita Valley to give the local center a chance to establish itself.

“They’re finding it’s not as easy as it looks,” Rooney said.

The board is planning to reconsider becoming a satellite, although members are concerned about having to comply with stringent government regulations that require complex accounting methods, Van Hook said.

Also facing the board in coming months is the necessity of hiring a new director. Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy, a member of the board, said the panel has decided not to renew director Margaret Kruglov’s annual contract.

Kruglov, who does not live in the Santa Clarita Valley, said she worked overtime in an effort to make the center a success. Indeed, several business owners who had contact with the center sang her praises. For instance, Valencia businessman Herb Morris credits her with helping him find investors and market a telephone service known as an “electronic concierge” that provides information to hotel guests.

But some board members who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they were dissatisfied with Kruglov because she failed as a fund-raiser and was perceived as having a negative attitude. They said they hoped to find a more dynamic director.

In turn, Kruglov blames the board and the local business community.

“It’s not enough for board members to go to a meeting for an hour and half and that’s it,” Kruglov said. “They have to give of themselves.”

Local businesses have also been reluctant to turn to an outsider for help, Kruglov said. Many say they are apprehensive about the new mall, such as Carmen Akerstrom, who has owned a children’s clothing business on Lyons Avenue in Newhall since 1976. But Akerstrom said she has not contacted the center because “the only person that really knows my customers is me.”

Such reluctance is typical, said Sandy Goodkin, a real estate market analyst based in San Diego.

“There’s tremendous fear and immaturity on the part of retailers in situations like this,” Goodkin said. “What you need is one inspirational, charismatic character to start knocking on doors and organizing them.”