Recommendation and Action for Re-establishing a Chamber of Commerce - A 2022 Strategic Project List & Work Plan Item

At the March 15, 2022 Saginaw City Council meeting, the Council approved Resolution No. 2022- 07 that adopts the Work Plan for FY 2022. This Work Plan sets priorities and gives direction for the City Manager to lead staff toward progress on identified projects. This item was assigned to Keith Rinehart (Director of Community & Economic Development). Over the past 10 (ten) months, ED Staff has been investigating multiple options for the City Council to consider.

• NOTE: A Chamber of Commerce is NOT a municipal governmental operation. Chambers of Commerce are established by the business community.

At the September 20, 2022 Saginaw City Council Meeting, ED Staff presented the Pros and Cons of each listed below for the Council to consider.

1. STARTING A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FROM SCRATCH. The Saginaw Area Chamber of Commerce folded and closed in 2019 due to not meeting the needs of the business community. The Northwest Chamber of Commerce recently folded and closed due to not meeting the needs of the business community. The cost of starting a Chamber of Commerce from scratch would be between $250,000 to almost $500,000. This will include a minimum of one (1) full time Executive Director, one (1) full time Marketing/Membership Coordinator and a minimum of one (1) part time assistant. This also includes funding for rent, electrical, water, phone, internet, events, programs, consultants, training, etc. The previous chamber lost trust from the business community. The business community consistently proclaimed that all the previous Saginaw Chamber did was ask for more money and still not provide any services, business promotion, or Saginaw Texas promotion. The City of Saginaw would never receive their return on their investment and would never recoup their startup money.
2. JOINING OTHER ESTABLISHED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. Collaboration and joining an existing and successful Chamber of Commerce will save money by not having to invest in the complete start-up costs for a new Chamber for the City of Saginaw (staff and admin costs are some of the biggest Chamber expenses). The annual cost to be a Partner City would be $3,495. North East Tarrant (NET) Chamber brings 65-Year Chamber experience to the partnership. NET Chamber has great relationships with their current partner cities of North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Richland Hills and Watauga. NET Chamber plans to open a satellite office in Saginaw. NET Chamber would bring substantial Chamber experience of working with local Networking Groups, Member Luncheons, Major Events, School District Partnerships, Tarrant County College Partnership, and Non-Profit engagement to the City of Saginaw. Collaboration would include the inclusion of Saginaw businesses in the North Tarrant Marketplace, the NET Chamber Web/Mobile App. No initial admin costs to the City of Saginaw (no hiring of staff, no new website, no start-up costs, only cost would be annual Chamber City Partnership). The City of Saginaw would be welcomed into monthly collaboration with economic development directors from North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Watauga and Haltom City.
3. FORMING A PILOT CHAMBER WITH TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE NW. In early February 2022, Mayor Flippo, City Manager Reaume and Economic Development Director Rinehart met with administration of Tarrant County College NW about the possibility of forming a new chamber. After discussion, no details were worked out. However, it was determined that a chamber of commerce was needed for this area since the former Saginaw Chamber and the former Northwest Chamber serving northwest Tarrant County have both folded/closed. This option is certainly possible but there are a lot of unanswered questions and it is potentially cost prohibitive.

At the September 20, 2022 City Council Meeting, ED Staff presented the Pros and Cons of each listed above for the Council to consider. The Council gave ED Staff direction to poll all Saginaw businesses to ask what they wanted. ED Staff has been working on a survey to poll the community. Below are questions asked:

• What are type of services, support, and education would you like to see offered by a Chamber of Commerce that represented Saginaw Texas? Please list:

• What type of programs would you like to see offered by a Chamber of Commerce that represented Saginaw Texas? Please list:
• Would you be interested in joining an existing and established Chamber of Commerce?
• How much are you willing to pay for annual Chamber of Commerce dues?

See attached link for the https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GGB9VBW .