LONE TREE

With matching funds in hand, having received $2,000 each from the City of Lone Tree and the Lone Tree Chamber of Commerce, the Lone Tree Economic Development Group was ready to move forward Monday with their next set of expenditures. They have until the end of June to submit receipts for marketing materials, a condition of the Community Branding Grant they received from Greater Iowa City, Inc earlier this year.

Up to $7,000 must be spent, half grant, half matching funds. The board previously decided to contribute $3,500 toward a mural in collaboration with the Chamber; seeing Hills’ new mural unveiled June 3 had board members excited.

“It catches you right away,” board treasurer Sam Nelson said. “It is very cool, vibrant colors, and it pops.”

However, how to spend the remaining $3,500 was on the table at the board’s June 16 meeting, and they don’t have much time to decide. Christina Magruder looked into pricing for t-shirts and crewnecks, and Gus Jones obtained quotes for stickers, can koozies and temporary tattoos. All of the items will feature the new logo design the board selected earlier this month.

The board discussed how, when, and to whom the marketing materials might be distributed, ultimately agreeing that they wanted them in the hands of new and existing Lone Tree businesses, and that they’d like to share them with the public, perhaps at Fall Fest in August.

However, they also didn’t want to end up with a box of unwanted plastics.

“It’s just trash to me,” Jones said of some promotional items.

“I don’t want to get overloaded with stuff,” board president Caitlin Ford agreed.

“I’d rather have more t-shirts that people can wear and use,” Macgruder said. “That also promotes [us beyond Lone Tree].”

Board members agreed, deciding to allocate most of their budget to t-shirts and crewnecks, which could potentially be sold to raise funds, and also a table cover and banner that could be used for events.

“I think that’s something that we can use continuously, and it makes us look more polished,” Ford said.

The board would also like to have a list of available commercial properties on hand that they could share with interested entrepreneurs looking for a space to lease or buy. To that end, they decided to direct some of their funds toward a lien search.

The Lone Tree Economic Development Group will next meet on June 23 to approve final pricing and orders.