Tourism director proposes countywide business directory; commission agrees to explore GlueUp demo

A tourism representative presented a plan Jan. 14 to build a consolidated county business directory using GlueUp, a third-party association-management platform, and asked the board to explore a joint demonstration with town administrators.

The presenter said the county and the two towns have inconsistent and outdated listings and that GlueUp would allow businesses to add and annually renew listings, keeping the directory current. "One year later, they get an email that verifies whether they're still in business," the presenter said, describing an automated renewal that removes stale entries.

Costs described included a one-time setup fee of $500 and an annual fee estimated at about $2,500 for year one with small increases in subsequent years; the presenter suggested splitting costs among the county, Westcliff and Silver Cliff and noted tourism might cover the initial setup. The presenter proposed the URL finditinCusterCounty.com and recommended a joint forum for mayors and town administrators and a vendor Zoom demonstration before any commitment.

Commissioners and staff discussed options for administrative access, potential sponsorship ads for revenue, and pragmatic concerns such as ensuring the county designation clarifies "Colorado" to avoid other states named Custer County from appearing in search results. Commissioner Lucas and others supported additional study and a joint demo with the vendor; tourism staff said they would present to Westcliff and follow up with a coordination meeting.

The board did not vote to spend county funds at the meeting; it asked staff to schedule a GlueUp demonstration for officials and return with additional information about cost-sharing and administrative responsibilities.

Next steps: tourism to present to Westcliff on Jan. 20, schedule a joint demo with county and town administrators and report back with recommendations and proposed cost-sharing arrangements.