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Chamber/Travel Medford issue may drive out employees, councilors worry Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Mar. 5, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Mar. 5, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News An ongoing struggle to separate Travel Medford from the Chamber of Medford/Jackson County may force out key employees who have received praise from Medford city councilors for their efforts to promote tourism. “Some of the staff may not stick around or may not be able to stick around,” Councilor Clay Bearnson warned at a council meeting Thursday. Jez Kline, director of branding and marketing for Travel Medford, submitted a letter of resignation Feb. 18, to be effective July 1. He declined to specify why he was resigning. Kline and Anne Jenkins, senior vice president for Travel Medford, both have been lauded by councilors. Travel Medford has five employees who work in the chamber offices in Medford. They report to Brad Hicks, president and chief executive officer of the chamber. A fractious City Council approved a two-year contract extension for the chamber to continue to operate Travel Medford, but with the goal of ultimately separating the two. Because the vote wasn’t unanimous, it will receive a second reading before the contract is approved. Many councilors aren’t comfortable with a political organization such as the chamber receiving $750,000 annually from transient lodging taxes to run Travel Medford. Bearnson said the council needs to take an even stronger stance to separate Travel Medford from the chamber immediately to avoid losing the very employees who have been praised by other councilors. “We’re doing a disservice to them to let this go on for two years,” he said. “I think it’s time to pull the trigger.” Bearnson made a motion that was seconded by Councilor Kevin Stine to immediately separate the organizations and create a nonprofit entity for Travel Medford that would be manned by employees who currently work for the chamber. The motion was defeated after only Stine and Bearnson voted to support it. Bearnson has leveled some of the sharpest criticisms about the chamber in recent months, saying that his business, Gypsy Blues Bar, and others locally were left off the Travel Medford website because they are not chamber members. The new contract requires the chamber to make sure that Travel Medford promotes Medford and the region without discrimination. The contract also requires Travel Medford to provide a better accounting of its finances. Bearnson said he laid much of the blame for the current situation with the chamber itself. “The chamber is reluctant to split these two entities,” Bearnson said. Many councilors have affiliations with the chamber, either through their work or through involvement in chamber leadership positions previously. Councilor Eli Matthews works at the chamber but has abstained from voting on this issue. Councilor Chris Corcoran said the city has had a relationship since 1975 with the chamber to operate Travel Medford. He said the council encouraged the chamber to increase its efforts at promoting tourism over the years, noting that Travel Medford once had an annual budget of $275,000. Corcoran said many on the council are now trying to dismantle the organization that has boosted tourism and brought in more taxes. “It’s going to take a long time for the wounds to heal on both sides,” he said. Corcoran said Travel Medford recently has opened up its website to non-chamber members. Councilor Kevin Stine said, “I’m sorry that the City Council doesn’t have the courage to end this relationship.” Other councilors praised the work of key Travel Medford employees but didn’t support immediate separation. Councilor Tim Jackle said he thinks it’s too late to turn back and not extend the contract, indicating he would have preferred a longer contract. He called the idea of separating Travel Medford from the chamber “risible.” “I can’t believe we’ve gotten to this point,” he said. Councilor Mike Zarosinski said the council’s best option is to extend the contract. “At the end of the day, that staff is with the chamber,” he said. Mayor Gary Wheeler said he thought it was doing a disservice to the employees of Travel Medford by not giving them some independence as quickly as possible. He said he found it troubling that there is currently no differentiation between the two organizations. Don Anway, Neuman Hotel Group's general manager, told the council that it should create a nonprofit organization that would allow Travel Medford to operate independently from the chamber. Anway said he was representing 10 local hotels. “If the contract remains with the chamber, I don’t believe it is the best for Travel Medford,” he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @reporterdm . By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Mar. 5, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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