Chamber seeks $30,000 utilities-backed retail-marketing allocation and highlights regional outreach

Representatives of the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce asked the council to continue a $30,000 allocation (funded through Hastings Utilities) to support retail marketing and downtown promotions.
The chamber described coordinated campaigns—holiday shopping guides, shop-small promotions, social-media and video content—and reported digital reach and impressions across multiple campaigns (presenters cited combined campaign impressions in the hundreds of thousands to more than 1.3 million for multiple initiatives). The chamber said a 64-page printed holiday shopping guide was distributed to support local retailers and that promotional efforts for Shop Small Saturday and other events included direct community incentives such as $2,000 in Hastings dollars distributed to encourage local spending.
The chamber said it and partner organizations (HEDC and others) continue to work with Retail Coach to update data used for recruitment and gap analysis. The presentation stated the chamber’s primary retail trade area is roughly 60,000 people—a figure the chamber said raises Hastings’ competitive appeal to regional retailers—and the chamber offers the data for local businesses to use.
Councilors asked whether the council or a council member has voting representation on the chamber board; presenters said the chamber typically uses a nonvoting council liaison and noted the chamber’s board composition is largely private-sector and organization representatives. The chamber confirmed it does not receive county funding and that the county contribution to economic development is $20,000 annually.
The council took no formal vote on the report; councilors asked for continued coordination and for the data the chamber referenced to be made available to local businesses.