A group of disgruntled credit union members and employees has collected over 600 signatures on a petition to push for a special meeting where they hope to recall five of the St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union’s seven volunteer directors.

They needed at least 500 member signatures according to credit union bylaws, but they want to collect more just to be safe, said a credit union employee who helped draft the petition. They plan to hand the signatures to a lawyer for delivery to the credit union board later this week.

Ever since the petition first showed up in local businesses — following a heated annual meeting in June and an announcement of preliminary merger discussions between St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union (SHCU) and Wauna Federal Credit Union — newly hired St. Helens CEO Brooke Van Vleet and Board Chair Lea Chitwood have characterized the group behind the petition as a “small, but vocal minority.”

The members and employees countered this, saying they represent a larger group, but many people are afraid of repercussions if they speak out publicly.

The St. Helens credit union has 15,006 members, according to a 2011 annual report.

Soon after the appearance of the recall petition, the SHCU board canceled a letter of intent it had signed with Wauna, effectively shelving merger discussions for now. Van Vleet, who had been hired on a six-month contract to help oversee the potential merger, renegotiated her contract to reflect a more long-term commitment with the credit union, she said.

The petition claims the board has not looked out for the credit union’s best interests, citing in particular how the board conducted merger discussions with Wauna and their dismissal of former St. Helens CEO Jeff Schwarz earlier this year. It calls for the resignation or recall of Board Chair Lea Chitwood, Secretary Marty Borrevik, Treasurer Mike Hafeman and directors Richard Louie and David Graham. The two directors elected at the annual meeting, Tom Tussing and Michael Ismert, are not listed in the recall.

Van Vleet said the signatures would need to be validated to ensure that everyone who signed the petition is truly a member of the credit union.

In an email to The Spotlight, Van Vleet said the board is standing together and she has not heard of any board member plans to resign before the special meeting. If there are enough valid signatures and a meeting is scheduled, the board members under scrutiny will have a chance to address credit union members and defend their actions. Then the members will vote about whether to recall or retain each director.

If the directors are recalled, the remaining directors can appoint members of the credit union to fill the vacancies.

“We have some people lined up,” said one member who asked not to be identified.

Board members deferred calls for comments to Van Vleet or Chitwood.

Hafeman, who has been on the board for a little over 11 years, said he “always thought it was important to give something back to your community (by volunteering).” After the turmoil of the past month, he said he’s been having second thoughts.

“I’m disappointed, I feel that as board members we tried to do what was in the best interest of the credit union,” Hafeman said.