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Council approves intergovernmental tourism agreement with Cochise County partners to pursue cooperative advertising and matching grants
Summary
Sierra Vista will serve as administrative agent for the Cochise County Tourism and Economic Council under a multi-year intergovernmental agreement to pool advertising funds, pursue the Arizona Office of Tourism Rural Ad Coop (50% match up to $50,000) and coordinate visitor-center activity across participating towns.
The Sierra Vista City Council on Feb. 27 approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Cochise County Tourism and Economic Council (CCTEC) to pool advertising efforts among Benson, Wilcox, Bisbee, Douglas and Sierra Vista.
A staff presentation said the agreement — previously approved by the Cochise County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 — lets the participating communities consolidate marketing, maintain a shared website (explorer.cochise) and pursue cooperative advertising grants from the Arizona Office of Tourism. The staff report said a county-city contribution of nearly $45,000 can yield an additional $89,000 if the rural advertising cooperative grant (a 50% match up to $50,000) is secured.
Sierra Vista will act as the administrative agent for CCTEC: half of a tourism coordinator position is reimbursed, graphic design and production costs are reimbursed and staff time for grants administration and social media support is included, staff said. The city’s tourism coordinator position was identified in the presentation as Lauren Healy and the communications lead as Adam Curtis; the grants administrator will verify expenditures.
The staff presentation reviewed recent cooperative advertising activities, including international outreach to Canada and Mexico, a Smithsonian video, streaming ads and placements in specialty publications such as Bird Watchers Digest and Arizona Highways. The staff member said the IGA runs up to four years but that participating communities will reaffirm contributions annually through their budget processes.
The council approved the IGA by voice vote. Staff said the agreement will be forwarded to the other participating city councils for their approval.
What’s next: If the IGA receives the other jurisdictions’ approvals and the cooperative grant application is successful, the pooled funds will support regional advertising and tourism coordination.
