Wendy Cleveland
Special to the Sun

AltaOne Federal Credit Union announced last Wednesday that in an effort to accommodate the needs of the communities of the Kern Valley, AltaOne’s Management Team and Board of Directors approved new hours of operation for its Kernville and Lake Isabella Member Service Centers.

Beginning Monday Feb. 1, the Kernville MSC will be open for limited services Monday through Friday 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. each morning, and will continue to offer 24 hour ATM and Night Deposit drop services. The full service Lake Isabella MSC will be open Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “I fully recognize that this decision of limited weekly hours is not going to be of full convenience for all our member-owners, yet it is the best we can offer and still provide while staying true to our stated objective to reduce our total operational expenses in response to these troublesome economic times,” said Robert M. Boland, AltaOne’s President and CEO. “On behalf of the AltaOne Board of Directors and Management Team, as well as our dedicated staff, I want to again sincerely express that we are honored by the deep loyalty and expressed concern of the many community’s residents.” Kernville members had rallied to save their MSC from the closure that AltaOne had planned. “This limited hours alternative is in response to those members, a move which demonstrates how the member-owned credit union is different from a bank,” Boland said. “I want to emphasize that AltaOne continues to be a financially safe and sound financial institution. Proactively undertaking such cost-cutting measures now will improve AltaOne’s financial fitness, and benefit our membership as a whole, both today and well into the future,” he added.