Wasilla Chamber CEO urges clearer city partnership after depot conditions

Jessica Fiera, CEO of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, told the Wasilla City Council during the public-comment portion of its meeting that the chamber has been called "not a very good partner" and that characterization is inaccurate and unfair. She said the chamber operates on a lean nonprofit budget while delivering programs and services for the city, and asked the council to discuss expectations directly with the organization.

Fiera said the chamber keeps the city involved in its programs, including a 90-minute City-to-City luncheon that showcases city departments, twice-monthly luncheons that invite city leaders to speak, mayoral candidate forums, candidate introductions, ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings. She said the chamber covers some city attendance costs at events and that the city holds four seats on the chamber’s government affairs committee.

The chamber CEO described the Depot site — which the chamber leases from the city — as unsuitable for events in its present condition. She said the office location lacks indoor gathering space, sat amid gravel and unfinished infrastructure after relocation in 2020, a paved road only arrived in 2023, and parking and lighting were completed only last summer. Landscaping remains unfinished, she said, and the site has ongoing dirt and gravel dumping and construction truck traffic adjacent to the lot.

Fiera said the chamber pays its utilities and other operating costs and that the 2021 lease terms were $100 per year plus chamber membership for a 10-year period. She said the city had committed to snow removal because the depot now occupies a larger footprint, and that the chamber’s portion of that footprint represents only a fraction of the total area. She asked for a direct conversation about any changed expectations and said the chamber is willing to revise lease terms if necessary.

Fiera also raised a perceived double standard: other city tenants such as the VPA Building and the Teland Building receive city leases without public questioning, she said, and the council member who criticized the chamber has served or now serves on the VPA board. She called that a double standard that undermines fairness.

The council did not take action on the comments during the meeting; the exchange occurred during the persons-to-be-heard segment and was recorded for the public record.