A group of 10 government employee credit unions,caught in a bitter standoff ayear ago with the Missouri Department of Transportation andforced to relocate as a result of a state budget squeeze, is makingheadway in finding new sites, with one CU rebranding and opting fora community charter.

Choosing the renaming route effective this week is the former$13.8 million District 4 Highway CU of Lee's Summit, now calledSummit Ridge CU with a state- approved community charter and in afacility two miles from its former headquarters.

“We're in a good location, but we look at what happened as apositive opportunity,” said Brenda Rempe, president/CEO who was oneof the CU managers of the small highway CUs unsuccessfully fightingthe state order to vacate the old site by December 2012.

Rempe said four other Division Highway CUs with district officesin both rural and metro areas of the state have also relocated, buthers is the only one so far that applied with the Missouri Divisionof Credit Unions for a community charter.

“I am not sure if the others will, but it is an individualdecision based on their own markets,” said Rempe, noting that anumber of the very rural CUs may simply decide to move withoutapplying for a community charter.

During the battle with the state over the highway CUs, theMissouri Credit Union Association had also tried to musterlegislative support to block the relocations and the payrollcutoffs on grounds that it would cause undue financial injury inthe communities. A number of the workers were employees of thestate receiving government paychecks.

“Right now we are in a hunt for a new site, and we'll decidewhether we rent or buy,” said Linda Klaproth, manager of the $11million Division 10 Highway Employees CU of Sikeston, who a yearago described the “nightmare” of the budget cutbacks.

Just how many of the CUs might also apply for a communitycharter was uncertain.