FOLEY, Ala. and GULF SHORES, Ala. - Area businesses will decide the fate next week of two local chambers of commerce as members vote on the proposed merger of the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce.

The voting date for the proposed merger has been set for Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. South Baldwin Chamber members can vote at First Baptist Church in Foley and Gulf Coast Area Chamber members can vote at the Wharf Conference Center. Votes also can be made via proxy.

"So far, it’s been going really well," Jo Jo McCarron, Gulf Coast Area Chamber president, said about member reaction. "Most of the members seem to be for it at this point."

McCarron added a unified chamber would give the area "one regional voice." It would represent 1,500 businesses and around 20,000 employees, making it one of the largest chambers in the state.

McCarron said the idea to vote on a chamber merger came from a joint board retreat in November. After the chambers worked on the Coastal Resiliency Coalition on the heels of the oil spill, the board began a task force to iron out the feasibility of a unified chamber.

“It put ideas on the board for both communities to stay afloat,” McCarron said. “A lot of hard work came out of it. It was really good.”

Board of directors

The Coastal Baldwin Regional Chamber of Commerce, the name for the proposed unified chamber, could include a maximum of 50 board of director members.

No more than 38 of the 50 board members could be voting, with 30 being three-year-term members on the board. Of those 30, 15 members would come from the "inland" and 15 would come from the "island." The line separating the inland and island is County Road 10, with any business north being considered the inland and any business south being considered the island. The line separating the inland and island is based on the city limits of Gulf Shores, McCarron said.

Filling the voting board slots are up to eight "at-large" members, who will serve one-year terms. These board spots are "for any business or industry that might have been overlooked" when deciding on board positions.

"The at-large members are not divided by inland and island but are considered for the entire area," Donna Watts, South Baldwin Chamber president, said.

An additional 12 municipality representatives can serve as non-voting members on the board. The proposed chamber serves seven local municipalities: Foley, Summerdale, Magnolia Springs, Elberta, Perdido Beach, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

"We've left room on the board in case other municipalities form and we want to include them on the board," Watts said, noting the municipality representatives are appointed each year by the municipality itself.

Local municipalities voice opinions on merger

Foley City Council members discussed their concerns with the proposed merger at Monday's council work session, with Mayor John Koniar even hinting at the idea of the city separating from the chamber if a merger happens.

Council members mentioned being overshadowed in a combined chamber and said the city of Foley and city of Gulf Shores should be in separate chambers because of their competitiveness.

"If we had our own chamber, it would keep our identity," Councilwoman Vera Quaites said.

Koniar advised the council to wait until the vote; and if the merger passes, the city could discuss possibly beginning its own chamber.

The Summerdale Town Council agreed at the May 3 work session to send a letter to the South Baldwin Chamber not supporting the proposed merger due to the possibility of the town being overlooked by a larger group.

“I feel strongly that the business community knows what is best for them more than I do,” Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said when asked for his opinion on the merger. “I’ll support the decision whatever it may be.”

Because the chambers represent local businesses, the municipalities themselves will not have a vote in the merger outcome.

“It’s in the membership’s hands now,” McCarron said.