Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
EDA asks Essex County for $12,269 to launch Explore Essex tourism website
Summary
The county—s Economic Development Authority requested $12,269 to establish an "Explore Essex" tourism subsite tied to the county website, citing an $8,400 Virginia Tourism grant, a prior $11,000 county match and a $3,400 annual maintenance cost; board members asked for a detailed scope, analytics and a phased budget before deciding.
Woody, representing the county Economic Development Authority, asked the Essex County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 9 for $12,269 to create an Explore Essex tourism website that would live under the county—s web umbrella and be maintained by county staff.
"What I'm asking for tonight is $12,269," Woody told the board, describing the request as the next step to make use of prior investments and an $8,400 Virginia Tourism marketing grant the EDA received with a county match the board approved earlier this year. Woody said Consociate Media is producing initial content under the grant, and Civic Plus would host a secure municipal site. He added the EDA plans to cover a $3,400 annual maintenance fee after the first year.
The request is intended to produce a tourism subsite with itineraries, images, videos and calendars that can be linked from the county—s main site. Woody said doing the site under the county—s Civic Plus hosting would give county staff direct access and better security than previous, ad hoc hosting arrangements and allow staff to maintain content without repeated consultant handoffs.
Board members pressed for a clearer scope of work, phased budget and performance metrics before committing. Members asked whether the EDA or county would review content before posting and whether Civic Plus provides analytics to show site hits and user behavior. Woody and county staff confirmed that Consociate is producing deliverables now, EDA would review content, Civic Plus can provide analytics, and the EDA would provide follow-up budget detail and a migration plan.
Woody outlined an implementation timeline tied to the available contracts: content development by Consociate will continue over coming months and site migration could begin roughly three months after contract execution, with a full Civic Plus build-out taking 6–8 months. He said additional, smaller payments to migrate content may be requested later in the year when phase-two work commences.
Board members noted the county already provided $11,000 as a match and asked whether failing to approve the next step could jeopardize that earlier investment. Woody said the EDA will return with detailed scope and cost breakdowns and suggested the board could see a demo of a similar tourism site Consociate produced.
No formal vote on the $12,269 request was recorded at the session; board members directed staff to obtain a timeline, itemized scope and sample site demonstrations and left the request under consideration.
Next step: EDA will provide a detailed scope and phased budget; the board asked staff to schedule follow-up briefings and a potential vote once the materials and sample site are available.
