Agenda - Council - 05/28/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Administrator Ulrich stated that advertising content could be set through policy in the contract. Councilmember Kuzma asked if the advertising funds generated would reduce the City's contract amount or would be kept by Prime in addition to the contract amount. Communications and Events Coordinator Thorstad confirmed that the City would not receive any of the advertising revenue, and the contract amount would remain at the set amount. She stated that the City would still come out ahead due to the amount of time and funds the City puts into creating the newsletter inhouse. Councilmember Riley stated that it is clear that the version generated by the City exceeds the quality of the example. Communications and Events Coordinator Thorstad stated that the City previously contracted with a consultant to redesign the layout. She stated that with Prime, the City would be able to change the design and layout as often as we want. Councilmember Riley stated that the example from the other city looks more like a sales flyer rather than a newsletter. He stated that there was also mention of a buying guide. He stated that he would prefer the City to retain 100 percent control and keep it inhouse. Mayor LeTourneau asked if there could be an expectation that Prime use the exact design the City currently uses, along with the same amount of advertising. Communications and Events Coordinator Thorstad confirmed that could be done. She stated that if the issue is with the design or quality of paper, those elements can be tweaked. She stated that in regard to advertising, there would be no more than 38 percent advertising. She confirmed that the current Ramsey Resident has a lower level of advertising. She stated that quarterly editions would have 24 pages, noting that is more pages than the current editions, so content would not be lost to advertising. Councilmember Heinrich stated that she was disappointed to learn that Prime is not located in Ramsey and would prefer to support a local business. She stated that she likes the idea of cost savings and time saving. She stated that perhaps the thought of reducing the number of issues could be revisited. She noted that when she visited residents, many were not aware of the publication and simply threw it in the garbage. She agreed that the newsletter is important for those residents that choose to use it, along with having information available online. She stated that perhaps different options for cost savings could be investigated that would still keep the operation inhouse. She stated that she does not see the point in a winter recycling issue and would support only doing that issue in the spring. Mayor LeTourneau stated that it seems that would become a much larger project and he is unsure that a better result would be gained. He stated that the elements of the newsletter have been developed from the input the City has received from residents in the past. He stated that the City Council Work Session / May 14, 2019 Page 5 of 7