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On Wednesday, the Everett City Council will vote on whether to adopt a resolution authorizing the mayor to take the next steps toward establishing an Everett Chamber of Commerce.

Staff are requesting the use of up to $600,000 of the city's Covid Recovery Fund funds to establish a Chamber of Commerce in Everett.

If you have been in Everett long enough, you may remember the Everett Chamber of Commerce. At one point, the Everett Chamber of Commerce had 700 members.

One of the Everett Chamber's last events was a gala in 2007.

In 2011, after 119 years of operation, the Everett Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to dissolve and merge with the South Snohomish Chamber and the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County to form the Snohomish County Economic Alliance.

Before the 2011 decision, the number of chambers of commerce across the country was declining. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had been caught overreporting its membership numbers by 900 percent.

These declines can be attributed in part to the Internet and websites such as LinkedIn and MeetUp, which made it easier to network online or in person without chamber membership.

Chambers of commerce across the country were hit even harder during the COVID lockdowns as businesses could no longer afford membership fees or went out of business.

With this proposal, the City of Everett is now considering the re-establishment of a Chamber of Commerce in Everett with the help of a consultant. After discussions with other chambers, the original request was $500,000, but Council Member Ryhne suggested increasing the amount to $600,000.

The first $50,000 will be provided for the consultant to help establish the chamber, and the remaining $550,000 will be spent on staff, events and marketing over an unspecified period of time. The chamber is expected to become self-sustaining in the long term through membership dues.

The financing of an Everett Chamber would come from Funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) the city received. To date, the city has allocated $19,185,485 of the $20,695,570 awarded to it. Additionally, $628,330 in interest has been earned, leaving $2,138,415.

Everett businesses looking for chamber-like activities had to rely on events hosted by the Economic Alliance Snohomish County, the Downtown Everett Association and Engage Everett.

Among the most attractive benefits some chambers offer small businesses are group health insurance and retirement plans. The Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland chambers all offer such plans as part of their membership.

It is noteworthy that All cities around Everett have chambers of commerceincluding Edmonds, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, and Snohomish. Annual membership dues for businesses in these cities appear to range from $100 to $10,000, depending on the size and type of presence a business wants to have.