Craig Daily Press / Chamber, MCTA, EDP agree to pursue joint Web site deal

March 20, 2008

Moffat County Tourism Association board members tabled approval of an invoice for contract hours worked by former director Shelly Flannery at their Wednesday meeting.

Flannery submitted a $1,875 statement for time spent on MCTA projects between Jan. 1 and 16. Flannery resigned in December, but the board approved her staying on for a short time.

Although Flannery submitted a list of tasks she performed during that time, board members said they wanted further explanation on what she accomplished and how many hours she worked before approving the funds.

Flannery’s statement totaled about the equivalent of two, 40-hour weeks, board member Cindy Looper said.

Craig — Cooperation is the name of the game.

The Moffat County Tourism Association board approved the principals of a three-way arrangement between itself, the Craig Chamber of Commerce and the Craig/Moffat Economic Development Partnership regarding Web site improvements at its meeting Wednesday.

The EDP board approved the same measure March 12, as did the Chamber on March 13.

“When groups synergize and work together,” MCTA board member Frank Moe said, “everyone benefits.”

EDP board members felt the same way.

“It’s just one more area in which we can all cooperate,” EDP board member Nadine Daszkiewicz said.

The current plan calls for each organization to retain its own domain name — which maintains each one’s autonomy — but to share design and common content, such as a hunting forum for visitors to post questions or advice.

The sites would link back and forth to one another, as well.

Both MCTA and EDP approved the plan’s concept, but neither dedicated money toward the project.

Instead, the groups granted Chamber Executive Director Christina Currie authority to put the project out for bid. Currie will bring back bid results to each board for further discussion.

Any of the groups can pull out of the arrangement when bids come back.

The bids should show how each group can save money by linking with the other two, Currie said, which was the biggest selling point for MCTA and EDP board members.

“For the three of us,” Currie said, “it really saves money. But for our customers it shows we do know where we duplicate, and that we can be cost-effective there, and that we do differ, also.”

Each organization has authority over its pages, and the MCTA board selected board members John Ponikvar and Melody Villard, who attended her first meeting as a board member, to brainstorm ideas.

Which organization would own the finished products was a concern Wednesday, but, Currie said, each group would be able to walk away from the agreement with its own site intact.

“If we ever get a divorce, this three-agency marriage we’re all contemplating,” she said, “you would still own your site.”

There is no definite timeline for the project, as the three organizations still have to submit ideas and businesses need time to return bids, but Currie said her personal goal is to at least have bid requests sent out within a month.