Chamber Sees Another $5,000 in City Support for Visitor Center

The Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce will get another $5,000 in support from the City Council to manage the Visitor Center through the rest of the year.

Councilman Sean Krebs motioned for the funds to come from the city's general fund during Monday's meeting and the motion was approved 7-0 after director Kelvin Schipper updated Council on the work at the Chamber and Visitor Center since the beginning of the year.

The Chamber's monthly luncheons have been a great resource for members, he said. Speakers have included Calvin Goings from the Small Business Administration, James Peet of Peet & Associates and Tyson Gambin of who introduced local merchants to the useful online tools provided by Google (and Patch) to help advance their businesses online for free.

The Chamber's website traffic has also steadily increased, Schipper offered in a written report to Council from 1,068 visits in April to 1,625 visits in May. (If you haven't been lately, .)

Volunteer coordinator Julie Johnson joined Schipper in sharing that the Center is going to be open for business seven days a week this summer thanks to a dozen volunteers who have stepped up to man the office and/or donated supplies and furniture to help spruce it up ().

Johnson said there is now a 'Made in Enumclaw' display and invites local producers and manufacturers to contact the office if they have a product they'd like to include. The Visitor Center also continues to accept donations of furniture, coffee and volunteer appreciation items, she said.

This $5,000 comes after Krebs, , proposed funding the Chamber with an initial $5,000, along with providing its ongoing rent subsidy, with the promise to revisit the issue mid-way through 2012.

A more permanent funding arrangement will be discussed in budget sessions later this year for 2013, he said. Thomas indicated the $5,000 would be a part of the next round of 2012 budget amendments.