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Schoolcraft Chamber of Commerce building response

By Kelly W. George

President and CEO mBank

MANISTIQUE — The following statement is being released by mBank regarding the Schoolcraft County Chamber of Commerce building in response to the March 10 City of Manistique’s press release claim that the Chamber was headed for “imminent” foreclosure and they stepped in to prevent it.

In 2013, mBank was happy to assist the Schoolcraft Chamber of Commerce with financing to support their ongoing operations. As is generally known in the public, the Chamber has experienced difficulties and failed to timely pay back the loan.

In a letter to the Chamber dated March 7, 2017, the Chamber president and board were formally offered a proposal to forgive the loan and releases all parties if they voluntarily surrender the building and assets to mBank. mBank would have been the legal owner of all Chamber assets, but instead Chamber leadership sold the assets to the city to retire the debt owed. Had the Chamber leadership voluntarily surrendered the assets, mBank had planned to donate (free of any costs) the building and all the fixtures and furniture contents (valued at over $75,000 in 2013) to the new planned combined Tourism and Commerce Organization after dissolution of the existing Chamber. mBank communicated this offer over the last couple weeks in several meetings with various Chamber and business members, along with county officials, and finally in an email on March 9 to the city manager prior to final consummation of the sale of the assets.

The Chamber assets were never going to be foreclosed on, there was no foreclosure proceedings commenced, and they could have never occurred unless mBank permitted it. The building and all the assets inside were going to be donated to the community once the bank took ownership for use by the new combined Tourism and Commerce Organization.

The city leadership decided otherwise and wanted the building for their own use, so they apparently negotiated a private deal with some members of the Chamber board in a clandestine manner. Transparent government at its finest. mBank, as a very large taxpayer in the city, and a bondholder of the Manistique DDA debt, as well as a member in good standing of the Chamber, pledges that it will take all appropriate actions (including legal if necessary) to ensure that the city and Chamber actions were proper and legal and did not violate state or federal laws.

With respect to the new planned combined Tourism and Commerce Organization that has been discussed for some time now, mBank is also evaluating several spots around town to acquire and update to provide, at no cost, a new business home for the organization so they can have all the resources needed to fulfill their mission of promoting our beautiful natural resources in an effort of bringing more jobs and economic growth to our area.

As one of the county’s largest and most financially healthy companies, mBank believes strongly, given the dysfunctional financial leadership of the past Chamber and its well-known internal problems, a fresh start with a combined committed well-funded leadership with the EDC and solvent balance sheet will provide the community with the best new path to fully promote and move the town and county forward. We stand ready to help the business community once again as we have done with the paper mill and many others to supply needed capital and other resources to further the successes of the hard working small business owners of this town and their employees that drive the county economic engine every day for the betterment of all.

Police presence at a business community meeting is not good for anyone, is not how we should conduct business in our small community, and is an embarrassing message to others looking in from the outside.

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Kelly W. George is president and CEO of Manistique-based mBank

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