The Ely Chamber of Commerce is set to move to Ely’s brand-new trailhead building, following approval of a lease agreement on Tuesday night.
Council members approved a one-year deal, reached between negotiators for both the city and Chamber, that would result in the Chamber moving west to the Ely Regional Trailhead Facility.
Terms include the Chamber paying a $400 per month lease at the city-owned facility, with the organization agreeing to staff the facility during business hours and limited weekend hours.
Months in the making, the deal marks a big step forward for those involved with the trailhead project, who pressed for the building to be staffed.
Chamber leaders are excited as well, as they move west from their current log cabin home near Zup’s to the facility at Ely’s west entrance.
“It’s one of those things where we don’t know what we don’t know, but I do know we’re moving into a 100-year maintenance free buildings, which I am just excited about,” said Eva Sebesta, the Chamber’s executive director, The $4.5 million trailhead project was celebrated in August with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening.
The facility serves not only as a jumping off point to various trails, but as a visitor center as well.
City officials have eyed the facility as a potential new home for the Chamber, and lease discussions over the summer led to the deal.
If all goes as planned, the Chamber will occupy the facility in just over a month.
“We’re hoping by the first or second (week) of December, hopefully if the weather plays nicely with us,” said Sebesta.
Sebesta and two other full-time Chamber staff will set up shop in the new building.
“We’ll have somebody dealing with visitors and the event calendar,” said Sebesta. “And in the summer we’re hoping to have an intern ideally from the college to just help, as we are anticipating a big uptick in traffic.”
The deal calls for the Chamber to staff the facility from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Saturday.
Sunday hours, according to the lease are “limited based on need.”
The city is largely responsible for maintenance and utilities, although the one-year deal, which expires Nov. 30, 2026, includes an inflation-based adjustment for rent and an agreement that the parties will work in good faith to determine if the Chamber is responsible for future utility payments.
The Chamber of Commerce has been housed at its current log cabin home, on the east end of town, since 1978. That building is owned by the city and the Chamber is a lease tenant.
With that lease coming to an end, and the new building set to open, city and Chamber officials held informal talks this year about a possible move and those talks were later formalized.
Chamber officials have shown interest in moving west and became more intrigued after touring the facility this spring.
About 7,000 to 8,000 visitors pass through the Chamber’s east end building each year and Sebesta said she expects that number to grow at a new facility.
The trailhead and west end project has been identified as the top economic development priority by the city of Ely, combining several components, ranging from economic development and recreation, to perhaps new housing at some point in the future.
Several years ago, the city first acquired $1.3 million in state bonding funds for the project, and a second infusion from the state provided another $1.5 million.
The project was stymied, however by cost overruns attributed in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the city later acquired a federal grant of $1.5 million to fill the gap.
