By Julie Johansen
Emery County Commissioners awarded the bid for the county’s tourism website development and maintenance to HUB at a commission meeting on June 19. The travel board highly recommended this company even though the bid was considerably higher than the other bids.
Commissioner Kent Wilson explained that 12 companies responded to a request for proposals for website development and maintenance. The 12 were narrowed down to four and each of the four were interviewed. The companies that were interviewed included Emery Telcom ($13,455), Louder Design ($45,000), Love Communications ($57,125) and HUB ($55,000), the winning bid.
The winning bid will be 50% paid for by the state so the total for Emery County to HUB will be $27,500. This money comes from TRT (Transient Room Tax) funds and must be used for advertising.
Emery County Economic Development Director Jordan Leonard explained that the travel bureau is mandated to spend $300,000 of TRT funds each year, so he felt the travel board had made a good decision.
Board members Rowley and Bacon from Green River (where most of the TRT funds originate from) were strongly in favor as they have found success with branding and advertisement from HUB. Other board members, including Van Wagoner, Guymon and Hunt, also supported this endorsement. They felt that this company was ready to begin promoting Emery County, while other companies would have to build the website.
Commissioner Wilson called for a six-month accountability report from the travel board to determine the success of this company and the website. He also stressed his feelings of supporting local businesses. The Emery County Travel Board requested the commissioners’ support in order for them to continue serving on this board.