Celina approves agreements with Celina Chamber of Commerce

The marketing agreement entails a “cooperative focus on a shop local, bank local, be local campaign with the city,” according to the agreement text. As part of the agreement, the city is expected to pay the chamber of commerce $25,000 per year for marketing services. Strategic Services Director Anthony Satarino said that can include signage and branding, kiosk wraps, website, event equipment, computer software, golf cart rebranding and other costs related to marketing the city.

According to the agreement text, the chamber anticipates the budget to amount to: $6,000 for signage and branding; $2,800 for kiosk wraps; $6,000 for a new website; $2,000 for event radios; $3,000 for a new computer for marketing activities with a task software program; $2,000 for golf cart branding.

“We do market specifically towards businesses, so we’ll be enhancing the shop local campaign,” Chamber President Melissa Cromwell said.

She added that the chamber is increasing signage and getting billboards throughout town for the shop local campaign.

"It’s just things that we can’t afford to do right now in our current budget because we are a not-for-profit,” she said. “And so our funding comes specifically from membership and the events that we do. So this is just helping us to help the city to increase with the economic development and the marketing.”

In response to a question from Celina Councilmember Mindy Koehne, Cromwell said the move was typical for a chamber.

“Out of all the North Texas chambers, we are probably the only one that doesn’t receive funding from their city as of right now,” Cromwell said.

Prior to the council vote, Celina Mayor Pro Tem Jay Pierce asked about tabling the item to a future meeting, saying he still had questions.

The second agreement, focused on economic development, would allow for the city and chamber of commerce to jointly plan events, with the city having sole authority to develop event criteria.

The city would provide the event, park, police and fire staff for each special event, and the city would agree to granting the use of city facilities by the chamber, at the chamber’s expense. The agreement allows for the city to have a member on the chamber board.

In addition, the agreement states that the city will partner with the chamber to share profits of the net proceeds on an equal basis from beer and wine sales at the city’s Cajun Fest, 4th of July, Beware on the Square and Beer and Wine Festival events.

Celina City Manager Jason Laumer said the economic development agreement is a renewal of a previous three-year agreement.

Both the marketing services agreement and the economic development agreement passed in a 3-2 vote of the city council. Councilmembers Mindy Koehne, Philip Ferguson and Tony Griggs voted in favor of the measure. Mayor Pro Tem Jay Pierce and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Wendie Wigginton voted against the two measures. Councilmember Andy Hopkins was not present for the meeting.

Watch the full discussion at celinatx.new.swagit.com/videos/221976