To the Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce:

Please tell me why the Chamber of Commerce's current audit still has not been made public. It was promised to be released and as far as I know it hasn't yet been released. It was due to the county in January. It's now August.

Has anyone else been allowed to bid on the contract with the County for administering the visitors’ center? The chamber gets taxpayers’ moneys to cover the cost of running it. Don't you think we should know where that money is spent?

Why was the Mountain Music Fest cancelled again this year? It was listed for May in the visitors’ guide but advertised for August locally and then it was canceled. Why?

When the BMW Association was here, did the chamber hand out unauthorized merchant coupons to the group? Who went to the fairgrounds and picked up the remaining coupons when a merchant complained? Did the chamber rectify the situation?

Who are the members of the chamber? How many members are there? Is the membership list padded with duplicate listings? How much money is generated through membership dues? How much money is raised at the chamber mixers? How much comes from alcohol sales?

Who washes whose hand at the chamber? I understand the chain of command is the executive director is directly held accountable by the board. The board is held accountable by the members. Does anyone care?

When something happens (good or bad) it reflects on not only the chamber board of directors, but also on the membership. Who takes the responsibility for what happens? The board of directors? The executive director? The membership? Does anyone even care?

What has this chamber done for the businesses of Mariposa? Mixers? They generate funds for the chamber. The only thing I can see is that they do take our taxpayer money to run the Visitors Center. What has the chamber itself done to promote business in Mariposa?

Jim Knell