Council OKs Purchase of Chamber Building

The debt-laden Chamber of Commerce was in limbo Wednesday after city officials agreed to buy the group’s building but deferred a decision about whether the business booster organization could stay put.

On a 3-1 vote, the City Council agreed to purchase the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce’s building at Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive by paying off the group’s $500,000 mortgage. Councilwoman Linda Parks dissented and Councilwoman Elois Zeanah abstained, saying, “The motion is dodging the issue.”

The issue worrying Zeanah was the final fate of the chamber building. By early May, city staffers expect to draft a report outlining all the possible uses for the facility, including selling the building to the highest bidder, renting it back to the chamber or using it for some city purpose.

As co-signer of the chamber’s building loan, the city had a financial obligation to repay the mortgage or let the bank take possession.

Councilman Andy Fox argued that--to avoid the appearance of favoritism to the chamber--it was important for the council to first consider buying the two-story, 3,000-square-foot building, then hash out the details of what to do with it.

All of which leaves chamber members in a bit of a lurch--unsure even if they owe the city rent while awaiting a final decision.

“We’re going to stay where we are for the time being, and we’re certainly happy the city came to the plate on the mortgage, . . ,” said Larry Carignan, president-elect of the chamber. “So we’re going on good faith. If this doesn’t work out, we’ll move on and relocate.”

The decision came only after half a dozen chamber backers pointed out the organization’s numerous contributions to the city, including lobbying efforts that keep tens of thousands of dollars in Thousand Oaks and support for community events such as Conejo Valley Days.

A few chamber critics labeled the group a back-scratching club asking the city for a bailout.

The plan originally presented to the council, crafted by Finance Director Bob Biery, called for the city to rent the building back to the chamber until the group recovered from its money woes.

Before voting, council members quizzed Biery about the property’s value.

The finance director assured them that the property was a sound investment because it was worth considerably more than the remaining mortgage payments. Furthermore, he said, if the city did not purchase the building, it would become the property of a local bank--which could demand that the zoning on the property be changed to allow more development.

The city was already financially obligated for the building under terms of a 1989 land-purchase agreement which allowed the chamber to buy a vacant plot of city land for $92,000. The city then signed on as guarantor of the chamber’s loan for constructing the building, which opened in 1990. As guarantor, the city was obliged to make loan payments if the chamber fell more than 120 days behind, which it did.

The recession and declining membership helped sink the chamber about $100,000 into debt in recent years.

This month, a chamber member gave the organization a low-interest loan to pay off $80,000 to about 50 creditors. The group is still about $25,000 behind on mortgage payments for its building, although it had been paying what it could.