Not only does the Ocean Shores/North Beach Chamber of Commerce have new offices, it also has a new president and a “sponsorship” request for $15,000 before the City Council.

The Chamber held an open house for new offices across from the IGA on Chance a la Mer on Oct. 14, and several days later Director Piper Leslie announced that former Chamber president Mike Doolittle was stepping down and Jeff Daniel would take his place as the acting president of the board.

Several sources recently have said that the Chamber has been having financial troubles, and Leslie talked about those Monday in a presentation to the City Council.

“We were in a situation where financially we were concerned,” Leslie said. “We found out that was actually due to some billing issues that were corrected. We had the opportunity to look at that and go forward with asking for some help from the city as option No. 1.”

The sponsorship idea would be “a great opportunity for the city to join the Chamber as a partner,” she added, noting the arrangement would allow for an accountant to review the Chamber books to “make sure the Chamber will be around in the future.”

The change in the Chamber board was made public in a newsletter to members.

“Past President Mike Doolittle made the difficult decision to step down due to scheduling conflicts. I was lucky to be able to call Mike my boss for the last 10 months, and I appreciate all of his dedication he has given as a Chamber member, board member, and board officer,” Leslie said in the message to members. “It can be a very time-consuming job, and Mike dedicated many hours for the good of the Chamber.”

Leslie said she was “thrilled to have Jeff on as our new Acting President, and I’m excited to see how he will continue to grow and advocate for the Chamber.”

The Chamber also has a newly designed website.

“With this new website, there are some very exciting partnership advertising opportunities that start at only $250, please contact me by phone, email, or at the Chamber office for more information,” Leslie said.

The City Council did not immediately act on the Chamber’s request for funds, but Council members Jon Martin and John Lynn said they favored supported the Chamber, while Jackie Farra said she was opposed to the entire idea, while Holly Plackett said she would recuse herself because of her husband Mark’s business ties to the organization.

“I would like to see the city do something to support the Chamber,” Martin said. “… A viable Chamber is very important, especially when we talk about marketing.”

Farra noted that “$15,000 is a lot of money” and the Chamber effectively is like any other local organization.

“The Chamber is a business and we have a lot of businesses,” Farra said.