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Highland council to print summer issues of Gazebo, will test QR-code and digital delivery
Summary
The Town of Highland discussed its contract with The Idea Factory and agreed to print monthly Gazebo issues in May–July 2026 while adding a QR code to test digital readership; councilors debated print access for seniors and cost savings from moving more content online.
The Highland Town Council on Jan. 12 reviewed a proposed communications contract with The Idea Factory and reached a compromise to print monthly issues of the Gazebo in May, June and July while adding a QR code to those issues to track web engagement.
Theresa Badovich, a partner at The Idea Factory, presented pricing and service options and told the council that late approvals sometimes caused events to be missed in print. "It was a little bit of a problem getting everything approved in time to go to print," she said, arguing that more frequent publication would reduce per-page costs and allow fuller web versions of stories.
Councilor Alex Robertson proposed moving to a digital-first approach and placing a QR code on the water bill, saying, "Let's rip off the band-aid and put a QR code on the water bill. The residents are still getting the Gazebo monthly but not in print. Everyone has a cell phone anyway." Councilors Philip Scheeringa and George Georgeff pushed back on a full elimination of print, noting that many seniors value a physical copy. "A lot of our residents, especially the seniors, like to receive a physical copy," Scheeringa said.
Under the plan recapped by councilors, the January–February issue—already completed—will be followed by a combined March–April edition; May, June and July will be printed as monthly issues and will include a QR code and explanatory blurb directing readers to the website. The town will monitor QR-code usage and review the data before deciding whether to discontinue other printed issues.
Badovich provided the council with The Idea Factory’s 2026 price sheet. The handout listed a bimonthly (six-issue) Gazebo option priced at $2,600 per issue (or $650 per page) and a monthly (12-issue) option priced at $2,000 per issue (or $500 per page), along with itemized fees for stock images, custom graphics, weekly website maintenance, web hosting and web security as presented in the document. The council discussed three additional summer-only print issues to better capture events such as Fourth of July activities and the fall leaf schedule.
Next steps: March and April will be combined; the town will publish printed issues in May–July with QR tracking; staff will return to the council with usage data for a final decision on further print reductions.
