A ceremonial handshake is planned for noontime today in downtown Nevada City  to  bring together the Nevada City Downtown Association and the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce. The goal is to get all businesses on the same front to promote commerce in Nevada City. Membership to the Chamber of Commerce is voluntary, but 3 years ago the Nevada City Council formed a Business Imporvement District that imposed mandatory assessments on local businesses. A group of about a dozen business owners who stongly opposed the fees, formed.They call themselves the Business and Property Owners Association and the formation further splintered the downtown business community. 

Nevada City Chamber of Commerce President Duane Strawser says concessions were made to bring the groups together. "A few people who are extreme on the left or the right were stick in the muds, but I think in general we are all on the same page and 80 percent of us know tht this is the only way we can move forward and make things work to our benefit."

In a move towards cooperation the Chamber of Commerce agreed to invite three members of the Downtown Association to sit on the Nevada City Chamber Board of Directors. Gary Tintle,is a member of the Downtown Association and by agreement now also sits on the board of the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce . "It's a small town and it very well could be true that it's not big enough for two business advocate groups.So, we'll try the one unified group and we're going to move forward."