Urbana Council Discusses Tourism Promotion Efforts

Urbana City Council members started a discussion Monday night of plans for a city-run tourism and marketing program. The proposal comes after Mayor Laurel Prussing vetoed city funding over the summer for the Champaign County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The proposal would convert the city's part-time Public Arts Coordinator into a full-time job, and create an additional part-time Community Marketing Associate position to handle promotion of city events. Mayor Prussing said a graduate student from the University of Illinois might fill the position. The price tag --- $37,320 a year --- would be about half what the city of Urbana previously provided to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

During discussion at the city council's Committee of the Whole meeting, Alderwoman Diane Marlin questioned if the city could really afford the extra expensive, and wondered if the city could make better use of resources it already has. Meanwhile, Alderman Dennis Roberts wondered if the effort was enough. He says he'd like to see efforts to promote Urbana run by a professional marketing director.

"And it has to be a person who has more experience than a new graduate student", said Roberts, "however talented we have a pool of. I think that the key person needs to be a professional person, because we're hoping for professional results."

But Mayor Prussing said keeping expenses down was one of the underlying goals of the proposal.

"Ideally, it might be nice to hire someone for $75,000, but I don't think we're in that position", said Prussing. "We have nine vacancies right now." In addition to cost, Mayor Prussing had questioned the Convention and Visitors Bureau's effectiveness, when she vetoed its city funding.

Urbana City Council members will continue their discussion of ways to promote tourism and convention business for the city at future meetings. Meanwhile, council members gave preliminary approval to renewing their annual $95,000 agreement with the Urbana Business Association, for their marketing and promotion activities, including oversight of the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival.