By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Members of the Caribou City Council and the Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCC&I) Board have agreed to move forward at a sprinting pace in establishing the specifics regarding removing economic development from the list of Chamber duties as they agreed to assign a sub-committee and prepare an agenda for their first meeting on Tuesday morning in the city council chambers.
The CCC&I board initially voted in favor of separating economic development from the chamber during a July 20 meeting, during which board members suggested that changes be implemented by Jan. 1 of 2011.
Conversation during the meeting covered a breadth of topics including who/what entity will be providing economic development for Caribou, what the duties will be expected from the reorganized Chamber of Commerce, and which successful traits of other chambers and organizers of economic development might be a good fit for Caribou. Many councilors and board members agreed that it would beneficial for the city to maintain a large volunteer base similar to that which was responsible for creating Caribou’s yearlong 150th Birthday celebration in 2009.
“If [the community] pulls together, there is no limit to what the city and all of the stakeholders can do if we pull together; I do believe that and I think it’s essential for growth that we move forward,” said CCC&I Board member Jim Cyr.
Councilors and board members drew from their wide array of experiences and knowledge to brainstorm possible ideas regarding the best way to separate economic development from the chamber, but the only thing solid so far aside from the inevitable separation of Chamber duties is the fact that hammering out all the specifics is going to take due diligence, dedication, and enough coffee to fuel the late-night and early-morning meetings.
The next meeting will be Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. in the councilors chambers.
