Port Sydney chamber of commerce members asked to vote on a merger with Bracebridge

Port Sydney/Utterson and Area Chamber of Commerce members are in the midst of considering whether to merge with the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce under a new possible name: the Central Muskoka Chamber of Commerce.

At a recent meeting held at the Pine Lodge Country Inn in Port Sydney, chamber members were asked to vote on whether they’d favour the merger. Chamber President Kim Dubeau said 23 members attended the meeting and their vote was unanimously in favour of dissolving the existing chamber and merging with the Bracebridge Chamber under the new name. But 51 per cent of chamber members are required to vote, so the remaining 76 members (the chamber has 99 members) have been emailed an electronic ballot that they can fill out online.

“We’re just waiting for the rest of the members to weigh in on it with the electronic vote so we’ll know by the middle of next week where we’re at with that,” said Dubeau on Friday, June 22.

Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kelly Haywood lamented the possibility of a merger between the Port Sydney/Utterson and Area Chamber of Commerce and Bracebridge.

“I think it’s unfortunate. I think the Port Sydney chamber belongs in Huntsville. Certainly we would be more than open to finding a way where we can work cooperatively, which I think would be much more effective to not only engage our own municipality but also to leverage and unite together at other government levels and work together as a business community,” said Haywood, adding that she emailed the Port Sydney chamber executives asking to speak to the board twice, but her efforts were declined.

“That was when I wasn’t president, so I don’t know about that,” responded Dubeau, who said she’s been president for just over a year.

Asked if she’s in favour of the merger, Dubeau replied: “Yes, and at one point Kelly (Haywood) was in favour of becoming a Muskoka Chamber and then for some reason she declined on that so I’m not sure about that part of it, but the (chamber) managers have been talking about this for over 20 years, about merging into a single Muskoka chamber for all the chambers here.”

Asked how Port Sydney would maintain its identify, Dubeau said the existing chamber office would remain in Port Sydney. “That was the main point on this before we even started negotiations,” she said. “It will still be identified as Port Sydney and Utterson area community as well, so the name will change to, we’re hoping, Central Muskoka Chamber for now, because we have to go by the geographical region that we cover and then under those portals for our websites there will be websites still for both the Port Sydney and Utterson Area Chamber and the Bracebridge Chamber information.”

The Port Sydney chamber receives fee-for-service funding from the Town of Huntsville. Doppler asked Dubeau if they would ask for funding from the Town of Bracebridge as well. “Not totally sure about that,” she said. “We will still be requesting funding from Huntsville because we are still under the Huntsville jurisdiction as well and we have already talked to the councillors about that, that we would still be looking for that.”

Asked how the community of Huntsville would benefit, she said: “They would still benefit by being able to join that chamber which would give them more members to interact with and talk about their businesses to, for sure.”

Dubeau said businesses in Huntsville could join the Port Sydney chamber right now and then become part of the Central Muskoka Chamber of Commerce when and if the merger takes place, which also has to be approved by the membership in the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce. “They were waiting for us to vote on it first because we were kind of the wild card, I guess you could say, on whether it was going to happen or not,” she said, adding that those who belong to the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce would have to acquire a separate membership to join the Port Sydney or eventually the Central Muskoka Chamber of Commerce. “It would be a separate membership until Huntsville comes onboard and becomes the Muskoka Chamber,” she laughed. “We’re the first step.”

Brenda Rhodes, the Executive Director for the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce, has already been serving as the Executive Director of the Port Sydney chamber for just over a year. She said she attended council in December of last year and advised that if the merger goes through, the new chamber would still be seeking fee for service support as the Bracebridge Chamber currently does from the Town of Bracebridge.

“We’re trying to provide more for our members and we really believe by coming together we’re cutting some of the duplication that we have between each other and trying to hit the nail on the head to offer more things for our members,” she said.

The website for the Port Sydney/Utterson and Area Chamber of Commerce shows most of its membership comes from the immediate Port Sydney area or from the Town of Huntsville.

Huntsville Councillor Jason FitzGerald said it will be up to council in the end to decide if it feels it is benefiting from the merger and wants to help fund the new chamber. “So if they can prove that they provide services that are of benefit to the Town of Huntsville, then we’ll still give them money. If they can’t, then we won’t,” said FitzGerald, who said while he cannot vote for all of council, that would certainly appear to be the approach.

See related stories below:

Merger between Port Sydney and Bracebridge chambers ruffling feathers

Port Sydney Chamber president asked to step away from merger talks

Council opts to continue funding Port Sydney, Utterson and Area Chamber of Commerce despite confusion

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