Significant developments in the last couple of months raise questions about whether the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will continue to play a strong leadership role in the community.

As of Nov. 1, the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau moved out of the chamber offices and under the auspices of the new Destination Management Inc., an entity that also is taking a lead role in the development of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. Although the chamber has a representative on the board of Destination Management, it has lost most of its control over the CVB, and receipts from the city’s bed tax now go to the new organization, not the chamber.

From a community standpoint, a new organization that coordinates historical tourism with other convention and tourism efforts makes a lot of sense, but the loss of the CVB – which was established by the chamber in 1980 – and its city financing is significant. It’s unfortunate that the chamber wasn’t able to keep the entire operation under its umbrella.

Preserving the chamber’s umbrella also was at issue when, in 1984, many cities and counties were forming their own economic development departments. According to the chamber’s history, then-Chamber President Gary Toebben headed off such a move, saying city or county departments would only duplicate the chamber’s economic development efforts. He proposed a cooperative marketing program funded by the chamber, city and county with in-kind contributions from Kansas University.

The chamber had been the primary community leader in business development since its early years. Since 1984, it has handled economic development for the city and county. That role, however, seems in danger of being diluted by the city’s decision to hire its own economic development “coordinator-planner.”

City officials are quick to say that the chamber will continue to receive the same amount of city funding to market the city to prospective companies. But commissioners say they simply need their own person to analyze the financial incentives being offered to certain companies.

The chamber’s economic development department has been marketing the city AND helping develop incentive plans for many years. What has changed?

In the chamber world, it’s a major asset to have both a community’s economic development program and its convention bureau under the chamber’s umbrella. The Lawrence chamber has lost one of those and may be watching another being weakened. What does that mean to its status as a leading representative of the local business community?

The Lawrence Chamber does still operate a community leadership program, directed by Lawrence Mayor Sue Hack. It seems logical that having a chamber employee as the city’s mayor would bring the chamber and the city closer together on a variety of efforts, but, for whatever reason, just the opposite seems to be occurring.

Recent dealings with Deciphera have reflected poorly on the chamber, and there has been an unusual amount of staff turnover in the chamber office in recent years, adding to questions about the chamber’s operation.

During its 129-year history, the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce has consistently been a major player in most of the major civic and business improvements in this community. Events of the last several months, however, raise legitimate questions about whether the chamber will continue to play such a prominent role in Lawrence’s future.