With the vote to potentially merge the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce, Magnolia Springs Town Council asked questions to South Baldwin Chamber President Donna Watts about what the merger would do for the area and details on the voting procedure.

The two chambers’ board of directors have discussed the possibility of merging since February, and the two boards voted on March 21 to bring the information about a merger to the members of each chamber in order to seek the approval of a merger into one regional chamber. According to Britton Bonner, chairman of the South Baldwin Chamber, around 90 percent of the board members voted in favor of the merger.

Magnolia Springs is one of the municipalities that would be affected by a possible merger, along with Elberta, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Perdido Beach and Summerdale.

Councilman Kenny Laurendine asked how many members would be needed to pass the proposed merger and how many members would be in the unified chamber.

Bonner also said at last Thursday’s informational meeting about the merger at the Foley Civic Center, there must be at least a 75 percent approval from all members in order to approve the merger. He said if a member does not vote, then it does not count as an affirmative vote and basically works as a negative vote.

However, Watts said they are still trying to decide how much is needed.

“That’s what we are trying to determine,” she said. “Is it 75 percent of the membership or 75 percent of the quorum?”

Laurendine also asked how many members would be in the unified chamber, and Watts said there are around 700 currently in the South Baldwin Chamber and 900 in the Gulf Coast Chamber.

“There is a 20 percent crossover in membership where a business is part of both chambers,” Watts said, noting she expects around 1,300 members in a unified chamber.

Councilman Bob Holk asked if the South Baldwin area would take a back seat to the Gulf Coast area on events.

“Will the Balloon Festival be as heavily endorsed in the Gulf Coast area,” he asked.

Watts responded that the Balloon Festival may never get as many people or recognition as the Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, but there would be no loss of identity in the businesses or local communities.

“It is important that we maintain a good, working relationship with our communities,” Watts said. “We will maintain the same locations, too.”

Councilman Bob Holk asked about the dividing line separating businesses from the inland and island. The proposed plan is for 50 members on the unified chamber, with 38 being voting members. Half the members will come from the inland, and half will come from the island. The line to divide the island and inland is at County Road 10, and any business north of the line will be considered the inland and any business south will be part of the island.

Watts said there have been talks with other chambers about how the dividing line works and said there are more and more chambers merging and coming together to form a larger organization.

The proposed name for the unified chamber is the Coastal Baldwin Regional Chamber of Commerce, but that is subject to change, Watts said.