EDA recommends Tulip Tree for Oronoco branding, asks staff to scope a $15,000 option

The Oronoco Economic Development Authority on March 25 recommended that city council consider hiring Tulip Tree to develop the city’s new brand identity and asked staff to host a work session with the firm to narrow the scope and lower the price to a target of about $15,000.

The board’s recommendation follows a review of three responses to an RFP for community branding. Staff said Tulip Tree’s proposal most closely matched the EDA’s request for a logo, sub-branding for departments and an identity package intended for consistent use across city materials. The full Tulip Tree proposal was estimated at $18,000–$22,000, with staff citing an expected cost near $20,000; a $10,000 grant has already been awarded toward the work.

Board members and staff spent the meeting discussing ways to phase the work and remove higher-cost line items so the core deliverables — logo, color palette and basic application templates — could be obtained within the EDA’s funding constraints. Members proposed asking firms to submit an option that would show what could be delivered for $10,000–$15,000 and to identify which items (for example, full brand rollout or monthly promotional management) could reasonably be deferred.

During discussion, members noted Cracker Jack’s phased pricing (phase one cited at $7,500) and described Seers Creative’s proposal as higher-cost because of travel-related fees. Several EDA members said their primary goal is a reusable identity package the city can apply to letterheads, signage and web templates, while larger promotional campaigns were agreed to be lower priority for now.

A motion to recommend Tulip Tree to city council and authorize staff to convene a work session to tighten the scope and seek a negotiated price passed by the board; staff will prepare a memo and an updated packet for council consideration at the next meeting. The EDA indicated it would ask the city to consider contributing additional funds (the board discussed $5,000 as a possible city contribution) but emphasized they would first try to reduce the vendor scope and price.

Next steps: staff will invite Tulip Tree to a publicly noticed work session with EDA representatives to define a reduced scope, request a revised cost estimate at the targeted level and then forward a recommendation and supporting memo to city council for final action.