The June Board Meeting of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce had a great turnout, and important updates on activities this advocacy organization has taken an interest in.
On September 16th, the Fremont Chamber will hold its monthly membership meeting on a topic previously chosen by the Board: ‘Crime, Camping & Consequences’. Chamber Executive Director Jessica Vets has invited the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Department of Transportation and the Seattle Office of Economic Development, but she asked Board Members to submit requests for any other representatives they want at the forum. She also asked about a start time, and breakfast (8a) was suggested as most convenient for business owners most heavily impacted by the recent dramatic rise in street side encampments along North Northlake and other commercial & industrial areas.
Andrea Kramer and Ryan Anderson, of Bold Hat Productions, gave a report on the 2015 Fremont Fair which the company produced on behalf of the Chamber. “Overall, the Solstice went really well,” Kramer reported. They’ve gotten mostly positive feedback from neighbors, businesses and participants. They still aren’t getting the number of vendor applications that they want – they’d like to have over 300, and be able to curate, but they only had a total of 275 this year. Sales in the beer gardens were significantly down, all weekend, with causes being guessed at but not confirmed. They don’t have the numbers done, but income is expected to be down by at least $3,000 especially with expenses going up. Access to the PCC Natural Market and the Seattle Art Car Blowout were partially blocked by vendor booths being incorrectly located. Still, Kramer said, “it was one of the most positive experiences we’ve had.”
The lack of traffic tie-ups for attendees, due to having the Seattle Rock-N-Roll Marathon held the week before, gave many a more pleasant experience of the Fair. For next year, Seattle Rock-N-Roll has already posted that they will be on Solstice weekend again (June 18th.) When asked if the Chamber plans to appeal or fight that decision, Vets said that she understood Seattle Rock-N-Roll is negotiating with the City and the Seattle Center for relocating to the 2nd Saturday in June, in the future.
The Chamber Board also discussed their annual fundraising ‘Center Of The Universe Wiffleball Championship’, on August 29th, and the need for voters to choose carefully in the election of City Councilmembers for District #4 & #6, which will represent Fremont – the primary is August 4th.
The next meeting of the Fremont Chamber Board is at 8a on July 24th in Suite 310 of the Saturn Building, and is open-to-the-public. Also, check out the Chamber on its website and Facebook Page – or contact Vets at director@fremont.com if you have any questions.