Committee names Perla as official ribbon-cutting contact, seeks volunteers for business welcomes

The Sunnyside City Business & Economic Development Committee agreed to designate Perla as the committee—s official contact for business welcoming and ribbon-cutting events and discussed assigning one or two members to support those activities.

Why it matters: committee members said a designated contact will streamline outreach to new businesses and reduce the burden on city staff who now handle event coordination.

Committee members described an informal process they already use: committee members or staff notice a new business, submit a city ribbon-cutting request online and the city staff contact the business. One committee member said, "When me or my staff notice a new business in town that hasn't had a ribbon cutting ... I submit in, the request online, and then I create their flyer on Canva. I send that and upload it to Jackie, and then Jackie takes over from there and contacts the businesses directly." The committee then agreed to make the contact role explicit: "let's make that official that Perla is the ribbon cutting contact," a member said.

The committee discussed practical steps including sharing Perla—s contact information among members and having multiple members serve as "eyes and ears" to alert the contact when a new business opens. Members said the contact would be the first point to reach out and set up events; staff would continue to handle flyers and direct business contact once a request is submitted.

What happens next: Perla will be the point of contact for ribbon cuttings and members were asked to save her number and notify her when they become aware of a new business. The committee also discussed developing a small list of volunteer liaisons to share duties and reduce reliance on a single staff member.