SARANAC LAKE - Village Mayor Clyde Rabideau and the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce have been butting heads over the chamber's decision to hold its annual dinner in Lake Placid - the latest dustup in what appears to be a growing rift between village officials and the community's largest business organization.
The flap over the dinner comes just weeks after the chamber went head to head with the village board over its decision to cut the organization's funding in the 2011-12 village budget. This week, meanwhile, the village unveiled a new program designed to showcase and provide assistance to village businesses, something that has traditionally been the realm of the chamber.
Asked if the village is moving in on the chamber's turf because of a rift between the two, Rabideau said, "In the absence of anything else, we're going to do the job.
"If the chamber's doing what they think is right, God bless them," he said. "If they want to increase membership, if they want to serve members in the village, then perhaps they should be doing what we're doing. They're on their own mission. They've got their own direction. It's not my direction."
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Dinner debate
In an email sent to the chamber two weeks ago, Rabideau objected to the chamber holding its June 8 dinner, and handing out the Don Duso Citizenship Award, at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid. He urged the chamber to move the dinner to Saranac Lake.
"You could have gone to Saranac Lake places like Red Fox, Nonna Fina, the Hotel Saranac, the Asian Buffet, the Harrietstown Town Hall (with catering) just to name a few," Rabideau wrote. "You could have tried. Your mission is to bring business to Saranac Lake, not send it out of town."
In a conversation with the Enterprise Wednesday, Rabideau said he's not alone in his objections.
"I've talked to a number of people who live in this area, most of them natives, and they consider holding the chamber dinner in Lake Placid to be an insult to Saranac Lake," Rabideau said. "We're not Lake Placid. We've got to market ourselves differently. And we've got to keep our business here in Saranac Lake."
But chamber officials say holding the event in Lake Placid furthers their goal of trying to build partnerships with neighboring communities. Chamber Executive Director Sylvie Nelson also said it's not the first time the annual dinner has been held outside Saranac Lake. The past three have been held at Hohmeyer's Lodge on Lake Clear, and that was not considered a problem, she said.
"This year we said, 'OK, we're trying to bridge the parochial or provincial divide between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake,'" said Keith Wells, president of the chamber's board of directors. "(The Golden Arrow) has been a member and a supporter for a long time. We, quite frankly, felt it was their turn."
There might be locations in Saranac Lake that could host the annual dinner, which draws about 100 people each year, but not all those businesses are chamber members, Nelson added.
"I understand (Rabideau's) concerns, but he also has to understand that we are a membership-driven organization, and primarily, we support the businesses who support us," she said.
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Funding cut
Village funding for the chamber was cut from $15,000 to $10,000 in this year's budget. Village officials plan to drop that to $5,000 next year and zero after that. Since the chamber also receives support from the three towns that are partially inside the village, the village considers its contribution "double taxation."
Wells said the chamber's effort to get the funding restored "has created some unhappiness within the village board."
"There probably is a rift," Wells said. "I would feel it. We're unhappy with the village's decision. But it will be my job to work with members of the village board and the mayor to say, 'OK, we can agree to disagree; now how do we work together to move us forward.'"
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Business program
At Monday night's village board meeting, Rabideau outlined Saranac Lake Inc., with the "i-n-c" standing for Innovative New Commerce. The business assistance program includes an online business directory and commercial property database, a series of business marketing campaigns, loan programs and other initiatives. The board also agreed to set aside $10,000 in community development funds for marketing and business promotion.
Village Community Development Director Jeremy Evans said the intent of Saranac Lake Inc. wasn't to duplicate things that are being done by other groups, like the chamber, Clarkson University's Adirondack Business Center and the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation.
"We want to partner with them, but we want to focus on village businesses, whereas all those organizations have a broader reach," Evans said. "Although the chamber promotes business village-wide, they're limited in what they can do for individual businesses if they are not a chamber member."
Both Nelson and Wells also said they don't see Saranac Lake Inc. as an attempt to steal their thunder.
"I didn't get the sense tonight that there was any competition going on," Wells said after the meeting. "I think these are good initiatives. We as a chamber are going to look for opportunities that will give us the ability to partner with the village, if they so desire. It's also important to acknowledge that the chamber has a broader objective, a broader mission. It's an area chamber, and our business is to promote member businesses."
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Rift?
Rabideau wouldn't give a direct answer when asked if he thought there was a rift between the village and the chamber. Instead, he referenced his tenure as mayor of Plattsburgh, when he said he walked in "lock-step" with what was then called the Plattsburgh and Clinton County Chamber of Commerce.
"When we were losing Plattsburgh Air Force base, we were tag-team wrestling everybody and their brother to keep them here," Rabideau said. "We were partners. We fought together. Where was the (Saranac Lake Area) Chamber of Commerce when Trudeau Institute told the world they might be picking up and bringing their operation elsewhere? Where were they? MIA."
Nelson disagreed and said the chamber was active in the fight to keep Trudeau in Saranac Lake. An employee of the institute is on the chamber's board and relayed the chamber's urging for Trudeau to stay here, she said.
Despite their disagreements, chamber leaders said they are hopeful they can smooth things out with the village. Nelson and Rabideau were scheduled to meet face to face Wednesday.
"We all have the best interests of Saranac Lake at heart," Wells said.
