Eureka City Staff recommends local company for marketing services

Eureka, Ca., (KIEM) The city of Eureka has some big decisions to make regarding bringing more tourism and money to the city.

Tuesday the city council will have to decide on two companies that will take over marketing and promotion for some city businesses.

In a staff report, the Eureka City Council had two proposals. One, from a national firm out of the state of Virginia. The second, a local firm called Humboldt Made, a non-profit organization.

Eureka City Manager, Greg Sparks said this week the council will have a difficult decision. Sparks also said, it’s an annual contract worth thousands of dollars, so he and the city want to make sure to do it right and spend those public dollars as effectively as possible.

“It’s a $375,000 contract so we bring around three million dollars a year from our transient occupancy tax,” said Sparks. “70% of our visitors don’t live in California. If they live in the Bay Area or escaping the heat from Redding and the Central Valley, it’s important how we market to those people in those areas.”