Clay leaving Vista's downtown business group

By: CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:17 PM PDT ∞

VISTA -- The executive director of the Vista Village Business Association, Karen Clay, will step down at the end of the month, she said Wednesday, and enter the private sector.

The Chamber of Commerce has offered to take over the association's administrative duties for the near future, officials with both groups said Wednesday.

The Vista Village Business Association's board of directors will vote today on a chamber proposal to help out for four months, said Tom Fleming, a downtown merchant and president of the business association board.

"That gives them some breathing room to figure out what they want to do," said Jim Baumann, the chamber's chief executive officer.

Both leaders said the contract would be limited to administrative services and did not represent one group absorbing the other.

"We're still going to be doing our own thing," Fleming said. "We'll have our own board. It will not be a merger."

The association, which promotes downtown, is funded by annual assessments on businesses in a special district, and matching funds from the city.

The board hired Clay as its executive director in late 2005, following the retirement of Director Stephanie Jackel.

Clay said Wednesday that she has accepted a position with defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., but will work part time with the business association until the end of the month to ease the transition.

"I'm doing double duty right now," she said.

Clay said the move was prompted by the opportunity to earn a higher salary and better benefits. She made about $42,000 a year in Vista, Fleming said.

"Karen has done an excellent job," Fleming said. "She is super at promotions."

During her tenure with the business association, Clay helped restore the city's flag pavilion near Lincoln Middle School and spearheaded the city's first Chocolate Festival, which drew thousands to Vista's downtown.

The two-day festival, which was co-sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, will return next month.

"It might not be as big and grandiose as it was last time, but it will still be a big deal," Fleming said when asked if the festival would suffer from Clay's departure.

The chamber has proposed that its part-time bookkeeper, Janet Puckett, work about 25 hours a week for the association for $21 an hour, with others helping out as well, Baumann said.

Administrative duties will include taking minutes, running the office and communicating with members of the business district, Fleming said.

"We're already exchanging documents and planning to make (the transition) smooth," Baumann said.

Fleming said decisions about how the board will fill the executive director position, or whether an arrangement with the chamber might turn into a long-term contract, won't come until the business association's annual retreat in mid-May.

"We're not only going to be looking at goals for next year, but (we'll) do some soul-searching to see what we expect of an executive director and whether we want to look for a new one," Fleming said.

-- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.