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Parks staff presents sponsorship sign program; board agrees to seek bids and move forward
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Summary
Columbia City Parks staff brought a tiered sponsorship and signage pricing program to the Dec. 22 meeting. Members voiced support, asked staff to collect competing quotes from local vendors and discussed staggered payment options for multi-year sponsorships.
Columbia City Parks staff presented a new sponsorship agreement and a tiered signage program at the Parks Department meeting on Dec. 22, asking the board to approve the form and provide direction on pricing and vendors.
The proposal, shown to board members as a set of Royal, Premier and Gold sponsorship tiers, would offer double-sided banners and pole-mounted signage in a range of sizes. Staff said the current example pricing includes a 3-by-5 double-sided banner at $300 per year and a 4-by-8 double-sided fence banner at $500 per year, and suggested multi-year installment plans so businesses could spread payments over four years. "We feel as if we should always do double sided," staff said, explaining the intent to increase visibility and offer installments for larger sponsors.
Staff identified Blue River Digital as the vendor that produced the department's recent samples and noted prior relationships with other vendors, including Graphics 46 and Heining Printing. "This is what we got from them," staff said of the Blue River Digital pricing, and asked the board to authorize soliciting additional quotes. Board members responded favorably to the concept and asked staff to gather competing estimates: "Darn Blue River, but you gotta see what else is out there," one member said.
Members discussed sign materials (flexible banner materials vs. hard-sided signs) to reduce wind and mower damage and reviewed placement options — baseball and softball fences, pole banners and the concession trailer. Staff said they plan to avoid single sourcing and to work with multiple local suppliers where feasible. One member recommended rounding prices to simple dollar amounts for easier public purchase.
The board moved to consider the sponsorship agreement that evening; a member made a motion to proceed with the agreement as presented and the chair sought assent. Members expressed general approval and asked staff to return to the next meeting with competitive quotes and any recommended price adjustments. No formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; staff will compile vendor bids for the next meeting.
The sponsorship program is intended to raise modest revenue for parks programming and facilities while offering marketing exposure for local businesses. Staff said the effort aims to distribute work locally and to generate more predictable sponsorship revenue for the department.
