The Wadena City Council has scheduled a special meeting to decide the future of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The CVB is responsible for tourism marketing for the city of Wadena. For 18 years, the CVB has been run through the Wadena Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber Director Shirley Uselman said last year she received approximately $6,500 from the city to administer the CVB. The money comes from a tax collected on motel rooms in the city.
Uselman handles administrative work relating to advertising, tourism, reports and publications.
One of the main events run through the CVB is June Jubilee, the annual city celebration with a parade and other activities.
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City Administrator Brad Swenson said after some discussions with the CVB committee about how it should operate in the future, it was determined a meeting should be held with the full council and the chamber.
"There's a lot of concern with how the CVB is functioning and has functioned and there's a desire for it to function differently going forward," Swenson said at a recent council meeting.
City Attorney Jeff Pederson attended a CVB meeting to talk about the ordinance that established the CVB, the agreement between the city and the Chamber of Commerce to manage the CVB and the bylaws for that group to work under.
There are two options being presented.
"Would sever our relationship with the Chamber and figure out a way to manage the CVB going forward," Swenson said.
If that happened, the city would need to figure out if it wants the CVB to be set up like the Park Board, for example, and appoint representatives and/or hire someone.
"There are probably several options for how we could manage this," Swenson said.
"The Chamber has made another suggestion that we could change the bylaws of how the CVB works and give the Chamber a more hands-on role in managing the CVB," he said./
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A special council meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 at City Hall to discuss the future management of the CVB with the Wadena Chamber of Commerce Board.
