A Times Editorial

Moving toward cooperation

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 17, 2000

The two main chambers of commerce in the Tampa Bay area are showing signs of understanding those three unifying words -- Tampa Bay area. Leaders of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce have agreed to meet quarterly to work on common goals. While it has long made sense to promote the attributes of the entire bay area when recruiting new businesses, chamber members are beginning to see the benefit of working together to solve problems as well.

"If we work in unison marketing the area, why not work in unison improving the area?" said Charlie Reese, the Tampa chamber's director of communications. The St. Petersburg chamber's president, Russ Sloan, put it this way: "We have worked together, but it has been by happenstance."

Shared planning could make a difference in areas such as road construction. While Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have focused on their own road woes, they both form a single state transportation district. In the past, Reese said, the district has been underfunded compared to other areas of the state. Speaking with one voice, the counties are more likely to be heard. In fact, the need to work together on plans for improving the Gandy Boulevard corridor led to the scheduled meetings between the chambers.

Of course, real cooperation is easier said than done. Pinellas and Hillsborough have a couple of dozen staffed chambers of commerce. The past is marked by competition, sometimes bitter, not only between the counties but also between individual chambers within a county. Meaningful and long-term success will take strong leadership. When the issues call for it, the two large chambers say they will bring others -- Clearwater, Brandon, Gulf Beaches -- into the mix. That could help add depth to the effort.

The counties' interrelationship is obvious when you look at the details of everyday lives. Tampa and St. Petersburg are the two largest cities on Florida's west coast, and both counties share an airport, work force and water and transportation systems. Now, chamber officials say, they will share strategic planning.

Let's hope they mean it. It is time for Tampa Bay's government and business institutions to reflect their mutual interests. Maybe the chambers are signaling the start of a new era of cooperation.

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