In response to the letter from Vincent Price printed on Dec. 6 in the Record-Bee, I cannot presume to answer for the actions of the cities of Lake County or Lake County on their choices for contracting service providers. I will say that this chamber has been extremely vocal through the years with the City of Lakeport and the County of Lake when we see that they are leaning toward contracting with businesses outside of Lake County. I served on a county committee several years ago that led to the county adopting a policy of giving a local vendor preference of 5 percent on bids for goods and services. Within the past year, the county increased that to 10 percent local vendor preference.
Vince mentioned an article that I wrote which gave nine reasons to shop local. He states that I, and the businesses who “subscribe to my article,” demand that local people use only local businesses for their storefront design improvements. I also cannot presume to demand anything of the businesses. The Lake County Chamber is most definitely encouraging everyone to shop local as that translates to growing local business. We have created a Web site, separate from our Lake County Web site, which is called www.shopstayplay.com, for the express purpose of educating our Lake County residents on the value of shopping with your friends and neighbors who own businesses here. That Web site will soon list as many Lake County businesses as we can get the information on and hopefully residents will check the site when they are looking for anything to purchase. I have maintained for years that almost everything you need or want to buy can be found in Lake County. It may take a while to find it, but in the end you save gas, wear and tear on your vehicle and yourself if you make the effort.
The Lake County Chamber firmly believes that we should all use the talents and skills of Lake County businesses for any service and products we need because if we don”t, the businesses won”t survive. Residents spending $50 in Lake County help our roads, schools, youth organizations, etc. If we travel over the hill we”re supporting the roads, schools and youth organizations of Santa Rosa or Ukiah or wherever we spend that same $50; it”s that simple.
While it concerns me that out-of-county contractors, architects, etc., are given bids that qualified Lake County firms should have, I suggest that all of us need to make our voices heard when we hear such stories, not just the chamber”s voice. If you are a qualified, licensed professional, make sure your card is in front of the governmental entities responsible for contracting for those services. Make sure you read the legal notices that are often required to be posted in the newspapers; make sure you”re constantly in contact with the cities and Lake County to keep on top of new projects you can bid on. Until we see a change in the direction of the economy, a great many people will be struggling. If we all work toward supporting our local communities and businesses, we will be a part of the solution, guaranteed.
Melissa Fulton, CEO
Lake County Chamber of Commerce
Lakeport
