MISSION VIEJO : City Gives Chamber a $10,000 Grant
Praising the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce’s joint efforts with the city to promote local business interests, the City Council gave the organization a $10,000 grant this week.
“I’m real excited about the direction the city and the chamber are headed in,” council member Sharon Cody told Chamber Director Kate Keena before the funding was approved.”The work you do is integral to the success of the business community.”
The local chamber was established last year by the South Orange County Chamber of Commerce. Since its inception, the Mission Viejo chamber has worked on several projects in the city, including a three-day business expo at the Mission Viejo Mall starting Oct. 8.
Local chamber officials asked for the money to help offset start-up expenses and finance the organization’s business activities in the community.
Keena called the group’s current financial shortfall an “interim problem” and promised that the chamber “would not be back in three months to ask for more” funds.
However, the council conditioned the grant on the chamber’s support of the city’s ongoing redevelopment efforts. Mission Viejo’s $36-million redevelopment plan focuses on rehabilitating major city streets. Tax revenue from increased property values in the redevelopment areas will pay for the project.
Former Mission Viejo chamber director John Ben said the business group has already approved a preliminary version of the city’s redevelopment plans.
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