Watonga Chamber Expected to Become ‘Inactive’

WATONGA – The Watonga Chamber of Commerce, a longstanding business networking and economic development organization, has approached the City of Watonga about assuming its responsibilities.

The Watonga City Council discussed the possibility during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 21.

The city recently reorganized WEDA, the Watonga Economic Development Authority, which is comprised of the five city councilmembers: Mayor Bill Seitter, Allen Cowan, Adam Tock, Tina Willis and Travis Bradt. City Manager Karrie Beth Little said WEDA will hire a full-time employee to pick up the chamber’s economic development tasks and activities.

The chamber will not be “dissolved,” she said, but merely inactive, meaning it could re-form at some point in the future.

City Attorney Jared Harrison is now working on a contract between the entities. The tricky part, Little said, will be crafting language that protects the city’s investments while also leaving room for the chamber to come back someday, if desired.

Little said WEDA is going to “get after it” by seeking grants and investing heavily in development. “We’re trying to make sure we build in a protection for WEDA,” she said. “If we’re going to do all this work, we get to reap those rewards as well.”

Harrison said that WEDA won’t be able to take memberships the way the chamber did. “We’ll have to get a little creative with that,” he said, finding new ways to raise funds and provide benefits to local businesses.

Marquee chamber-affiliated events, like the Watonga Cheese Festival and Trout Derby, would continue under the arrangement, Little said.

During the Tuesday meeting, the city council also voted to list the chamber’s former home, at 505 Clarence Nash Boulevard, for sale. The chamber moved into offices at the new Watonga City Hall last year, but the offices have been mostly closed for the