County
GBAD Scuffle Turns Serious
August 15, 2011 
The Greater Boise Auditorium District hassle between board members has gone from political to formal complaints of illegal actions by fellow board members.
The GUARDIAN has learned GBAD board member Judy Peavey-Derr has filed a formal complaint with Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower against three fellow board members. Her allegations include illegal meetings between the three board members without notice to two others who generally have a different philosophy. These meetings were possibly via telephone based on her complaint.
She also claims bid specs for advertising promotion were rigged to favor the Boise Visitor and Convention Bureau and payments were split for some services to avoid the $25,000 threshold for compteitive bidding.
The open meeting violation issue is ironic because Peavey-Derr was subject of charges filed by the office of Attorney General when she was an Ada County Commish. The case was settle with only a technical violation of the law for not having a recording or minutes of a closed meeting. For Peavey-Derr it was apparently a learning experience with regard to how public meetings should be conducted.
No doubt Bower will farm out the investigation to another county in lieu of being drawn into the local issue.
To insure more advertising-free Boise Guardian news, please consider financial support.
Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Aug 16, 2011, 1:05 am
In my recent travel to North Idaho, I noticed a fancy building in downtown CdA. I believe it was built by the Chamber of Commerce, but it also houses the CdA Visitors Bureau. The CdA Visitor Bureau happens to be a subdivsion of the Chamber. One of these agencies collects a Bed Tax to boot.
http://cdachamber.com/your-chamber/committees/visitors-bureau/
Why does not our local Chamber promote Boise tourism? It seems to me that we have one too many agencies and it may be time to disband one (GBAD), while making another step up to the plate(Chamber).
Aug 16, 2011, 7:54 am
Nampa redevelopment agency (UR) is also holding meetings without notice to the public or press and at one recent meeting conducted buisness without a majority of members being present. Legal council who were present let it slide. There is also a lot of buisness being conducted by city council at special meetings and you have to make a request in person to city clerk to get minutes as they are not being published on the city website or in the paper
Aug 16, 2011, 8:59 am
Clancy,
You have incorrect information.
Neither the CdA Chamber or Visitors Bureau collects a bed tax. The Visitors Bureau is however, a membership organization that local hotels, restaurants, and destinations can choose to be a part of. Of course, there are Membership dues, but the Visitors Bureau is a completely voluntary organization as is the Chamber of Commerce.
While the District (GBAD) is having it’s problems, I do not believe disbanding them is the answer. The problem is with the BCVB thinking they are ENTITLED to funding from the District. The problem is really the leadership in THAT organization, as well as a couple of GBAD board members (MAY and Fitzgerald). I also think Mr. Kloc needs to follow the leadership platform that got him elected.
I do, however, completely agree with your suggestion that the Chamber take over the management of Visitor’s Bureau as well as the administration of the Idaho Travel Council grant.
EDITOR NOTE–Nate, you are correct. Good idea on the Chamber as the promotion agency.
Aug 16, 2011, 10:13 am
Oh the drama! What’s with these people?! There’s a book filled with the rules/laws just for these elected boards. Isn’t it required reading upon taking office?
Perhaps the next meeting should have “official rule review” as the first topic on the agenda.
Aug 16, 2011, 10:35 am
Hubert the cowardly lion decided that direct action was needed so he went down and asked the Nampa city clerk if she would put special council meetings on line as she does with regular council meetings. The answer was sure we have just always done it this way and no one has ever asked–I hope my humble pie has salt on it. Perhaps I will screw up my courage and ask Nampa Redevelopment to do the same thing
Aug 16, 2011, 11:25 am
Next time, perhaps the voters of GBAD/boise in general could do a little investigation of those running and not vote simply on name ID.
Judy Peavey Derr – as divisive as ever.
Aug 16, 2011, 12:42 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t GBAD and BCVB Boise City government agencies, while the Chamber of Commerce is entirely private.
I would not approve of Boise City giving taxpayer money to the Chamber for any pourpose.
The Chamber exists to lobby government to stop taxing corporations and the rich and to instead tax the middle class. They have no interest in tourism.
EDITOR NOTE–GBAD is an independent unit of government with 5 elected board members. They are not part of any other government. BCVB is a non-profit private corporation. While funded almost entirely with tax dollars (GBAD and Idaho travel Council funds) the outfit is nothing more than a non-profit ad agency. State requires the non-profit status to receive grants and the Chamber seems to fit that description. The Chamber COULD serve the role that BCVB created for itself.
Aug 16, 2011, 12:47 pm
Years of being on public boards has taught me one thing, only the boards with conflict are actually functioning. Plenty of boards have “informal” meetings before the public meeting to make sure everyone is one the same page for the carefully orchestrated public meeting. Without taking a side, I would say kudos to those who have the courage to speak their mind, and not just sit down and shut up. Being silent is the easy thing to do.
Aug 16, 2011, 2:16 pm
Chuck, I see you and the boys are making progress on the big lawsuit and your plans to have GBAD implode!
Judy, when you report back to Chuck, make sure Bower & Co (or whoever they pass the buck to), sends you with a full report that includes how well open meeting laws were enforced during the Wilson era too.
This circus should have ended long ago. The public should be fully disgusted by the entire GBAD board, Center staff and their collective inability to manage our tax dollars efficiently. I mean really. If this group can’t manage a piddly contract with the BCVB, do we really want to trust them with the $10 million or so they have in the bank?
What a waste. Dissolve these groups soon. After all, isn’t that what Chuck and the boys really want?
Aug 16, 2011, 4:50 pm
Nate and Clancy –
I’m wondering why we should put it under the Chamber when the BCVB has done an excellent job for the past 30 years. Personalities aside, they’ve booked tons of conventions, tour groups, sporting events that impact the entire city. Therefore positivity impacting the convention center (GBAD) since they’re the ones collecting all the bed tax. The economic impact is HUGE every year.
I’m just saying that the BCVB has done a good job, why give their “job” to an organization who hasn’t done it at all? Who doesn’t have the track record, contacts, membership, industry reputation? Plus the grant… you don’t start at $600,000 immediately. It took the BCVB YEARS to receive that grant money and earn the Idaho Travel Council’s respect.
This doesn’t speak to the fact that we (or the government) can’t just place a non-profit under an a different organization.
Aug 16, 2011, 7:38 pm
BettyGH, all you care about is having the gravy train resume for your “custom database program”: otherwise known as “ACCESS”.
Melissa, you are still young and have profoundly limited experience so what you say carries little weight. Yes, you may have worked at the cvb, but you are so impressionable. The cvb has done some good things, however they take credit for events and groups, both small & large, that they had NOTHING to do with. You know that. Everyone does. Why cant they be honest? Patterson wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her on the a__. She has unjustly pocketed so much money for herself and her family members. Bobby has profited enough and needs to go away so this community can move in a positive direction.
Boise’s Chamber employs smart and tenured people with vast experience and I have no doubt that they would do as tremendous a job in marketing our city for tourism as they do for other types of economic development.
Aug 16, 2011, 7:49 pm
Idahocrystal, you must be from a place where laws are enforced and officials held accountable.
In Idaho it is “anything is OK as long as you don’t get caught” And when you do get caught the AG or other enforcement agency may choose to do nothing…the Mayor of Caldwell got away with a felony for taking taxpayer money for a YMCA membership for himself and his family but AG underling Mr. Baywater stated “it would serve no public purpose to prosecute the Mayor” in his report. Freedom of info laws are routinely violated and there is no citizen recourse.
Elected and appointed officials can certainly make mistakes but when they make the same one over and over without being held accountable these people are getting away with thumbing their collective noses at citizens and taxpayers. They all have legal council and their lawyers have a fiduciary responsibility to tell elected officials when they have crossed the line. Idaho is still the wild, wild west with little respect for citizens and taxpayers.
Aug 16, 2011, 9:03 pm
Melissa, please tell me you are kidding! If not, please share with the group what you are smoking. BCVB is nothing more than a glorified answering service that brags what they have “brought to the table”, when they simply answered the phone and sent out some forms. Pouring public money down the rathole of bureaucracy is no longer acceptable! In fact, the day of the $600,000 grants are gone as well. How many teachers do you think we could employ with that amount of money? The day is here that if it “doesn’t make a direct payoff for the money spent” it ain’t gonna happen!!!!
Aug 17, 2011, 8:48 am
Melissa,
I was merely suggesting that the Chamber and BCVB has the some of the same goals- attract new business and help existing businesses succeed. The partnership in CdA made reasonable sense to me. BCVB is trying to drum up new business and you may find some new synergies when your are directly helping those business part of the Chamber.
Nate- Thanks for the correction.
Aug 17, 2011, 10:13 am
Seems like they should all go back to their day jobs
Aug 17, 2011, 6:03 pm
All this drama is better than TV. Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before it all goes away and sanity prevails. Fitzgerald will have to resign for living out of the District, Gayle’s conflict of interest vote will be rescinded, (this is the only place you will see Gayle May and ethical in the same sentence) Bobbi’s kool-aid stand will dry up, Hy (the most incompetent Chairman I have ever witnessed including Little League) won’t be Chairman, and yes, a Visitor’s Bureau will eventually be housed under the Chamber’s direction as it once was. The Board will eventually find an attorney that understands the importance of legal advice for their protection. Nick Miller is clueless. He is making the case for the County Prosecutor very easy.