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Council debates Wander Maps tourism app; members question redundancy and cost
Summary
Malia Collins presented a proposal to buy a Wander Maps tourism platform to host curated points of interest and QR codes. The council expressed concern the service duplicates existing county and local business-owner efforts and did not approve purchase; members suggested supporting the Business Owners of Bluff or county resources instead.
At the work session, councilmember Malia Collins outlined a proposal to subscribe to Wander Maps, a commercial app and mapping platform, to create a curated guide of local points of interest for tourists.
Collins said the platform would host QR codes linked to trailheads, businesses and attractions; the town (or a joint account with the Business Owners of Bluff, “BOBs”) would control which points appear. She said the vendor charges approximately $6,000 per year for up to 200 points of interest, with a $2,000 one-time implementation fee the first year and an optional analytics add-on of about $2,000 per year that could raise the total to roughly $8,000 annually. Collins proposed splitting costs with the BOBs.
Council discussion raised concerns about redundancy with existing county materials and the town’s own website project. Several members noted the county already provides kiosks/tablet displays in some locations and that personal interaction at visitor lodges drives repeat visits. One member said the BOBs are already building a town website and that adding Wander Maps might pull traffic away from that effort. Others said the potential data and analytics value was interesting but that they would want measurable return-on-investment before committing town funds.
No purchase decision was made. Councilmembers suggested continuing to support the BOBs’ work, relying on county resources for certain visitor services, and reviewing the proposal further if the BOBs request town assistance. Collins agreed to share details with the BOBs and the council to determine whether to pursue a shared subscription in the future.
