SANGER – As discussions regarding the city’s contract with the chamber of commerce continue, a new staff report has revealed a number of concerns regarding communication from the chamber.
At the March 19 city council meeting, an agenda item dedicated time for a quarterly report from the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce regarding its current contract compliance with the city. In a Feb. 9 letter to Chamber CEO Isaiah Lopez, City Manager Nathan Olson requested that this presentation be done at the March 19 meeting, but received no response even after a follow up on March 6.
According to the staff report, the chamber has not provided a quarterly report for nearly one year.
Lopez did not appear at the city council meeting to give this presentation, and Olson informed the council that Lopez reached out that morning to say he had “some training,” and requested that the presentation be moved to a future meeting. In their comments, city council members expressed their dissatisfaction with this outcome.
“In reading the item and seeing that it’s been requested over and over by the city manager — and now by us — and it’s still not here, it’s disappointing,” said Councilmember Michael Montelongo in his opening comments on the item.
Olson asked during the item’s introduction if any representatives of the chamber wished to speak on the request for presentation, but received no response.
City communications
In the Feb. 9 letter, Olson requested that the chamber address a number of ongoing concerns surrounding its compliance with the city contract. Highlighted issues include:
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“Incomplete event application packets
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Missing or incomplete traffic control plans
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Insurance certificates not submitted or submitted late
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Vendor lists and business licenses not provided
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ABC licenses not submitted when required
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Event packets not submitted at least 45 days in advance
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‘No Parking’ signage not being posted within 48 hours of events
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Required quarterly reports not submitted to the city
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Missing financial breakdown of the Fourth of July celebration”
The letter also stated that according to staff records, the chamber has only completed three out of four required street fair events, and did not complete a Veterans Parade event.
With regards to contract due diligence, the letter also requested verification on “reports in the community” of a possible investigation into the chamber by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, of “limited financial ability to continue operations” and even a supposed break-in at the city-owned building occupied by the chamber.
Verification was requested in the form of updated quarterly reports from July 1, 2025 to present, audited financial statements for calendar years 2024-2025 and some form of verification regarding the DA investigation claims and the break-in.
The letter gave a deadline of Feb. 23, 2026 to provide verifying materials if the chamber felt that any of these concerns were inaccurate. According to Olson during the March 19 meeting, no such materials were ever provided.
Hearing from the public
During the public comment, some residents took concern with the phrasing of “reports in the community” regarding the DA investigation, saying that the wording sounds too based in rumor, and should not have been included in the list of concerns.
“It’s your responsibility to get the facts only; not rumors, not innuendos,” said resident Victor Ruiz during the public comment. “Of course you’re gonna find out that the DA’s gonna say ‘We don’t comment yes or no on whether we’re doing an investigation,’ so to do this and then put it out for the public, spreading negative things on organizations out there … that should never happen.”
Echoing some of the themes of the Feb. 5 city council meeting discussion, other commenters called for open collaboration between the city and the chamber.
Olson spoke up to address some of the public comments, agreeing with some that the contentious nature of the chamber-city relationship over the past year “isn’t good for anybody.” Speaking on those concerned about “rumors” making it into the staff report, Olson reminded the public that these communications were initially intended for the chamber only, and that he aimed to handle the matter in a more private fashion.
“Had I had communication back, we wouldn’t be here, and none of this would even have been on the public record,” said Olson during the meeting. “I tried to take care of this between the chamber CEO and president, Isaiah Lopez, and myself. The lack of respect for the city and our role in this relationship, and the lack of communication put us to where we are today.”
The Mid Valley Times later reached out to Olson for clarification on where the “reports in the community” came from, but Olson said he’s been directed to “stay out of the news,” and that he hopes to work things out internally.
The Mid Valley Times also reached out to the office of Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp for a comment, but did not receive a comment as of press time.
Feelings of disappointment
In the council’s closing comments, each member on the dais expressed distaste for how contentious the situation with the chamber has become in the public eye. Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez said that a lot of these issues could have been handled in an office, rather than within the council chamber.
“This isn’t Congress, this isn’t a subpoena to have someone come testify in front of us, this was a date to provide us an update, a simple update,” said Martinez.
Martinez reaffirmed the importance of having a chamber of commerce in the city, but expressed disappointment in the chamber’s lack of communication over the past couple of months.
Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado echoed similar sentiments as Martinez, adding that comments given to media outlets on the matter have set a bad tone for the community.
“I don’t like the bad publicity it’s given us as a city and also the chamber,” said Hurtado. “I think there’s a better way to communicate things, but this nonsense of going back and forth using media outlets to communicate something, I think that can all happen peacefully if we sit down like (Olson) said and not have this back-and-forth publicly.”
Hurtado emphasized the importance of maintaining a “business friendly” environment with a fully compliant chamber of commerce, and closed her comments by recommending that city staff do not further communicate with media outlets until either a meeting or the planned presentation have taken place.
In his comments, Montelongo addressed other public commenters who noted that the Veterans Day parade is not under the current chamber contract, and should not be used as an example of noncompliance. In response, Montelongo referenced and quoted a series of social media posts that indicated the chamber’s involvement in the parade.
Among others, he referenced an Oct. 24, 2025 statement from the chamber informing the public of the parade’s cancellation, stating that it was cancelled due to “a lack of sufficient parade entries.”
“There’s a timeline of why people are concerned, and why they’re saying things of the chamber and of the city itself, because they saw something was on a post,” Montelongo said.
Montelongo noted that he can no longer find some of these posts, but has screenshots of some of them since the parade cancellation was “controversial” at the time.
Councilmember Dolores Melendez stated that she will currently remain neutral until the chamber gives its presentation, but expressed sadness over the state of the discussion.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez was the last to comment, and kept the theme of disappointment in the chamber. He took time to address those concerned about the rumors in the staff report, and though he did not directly mention the claims of a DA investigation, he read off all of the compliance challenges and said that each one is “not a rumor.”
“We don’t deal with rumors, none of us,” said Gonzalez. “We are up here to do city business, and that’s it. We’re not trying to get rid of the chamber.”
Gonzalez wrapped up his comments by saying that chambers of commerce in other cities operate without funding from the city, suggesting that the Sanger chamber may need some management changes.
“I think the chamber, for good or bad, might need some different leadership,” Gonzalez said.
With all of these points considered, the council unanimously voted to give the chamber another chance, and to delegate authority to Olson to reschedule the presentation date.
