Gateway to the Springs: A joint partnership

      HIGH SPRINGS – The City of High Springs and Visit Gainesville, the official tourism sales and marketing organization for Gainesville and Alachua County, entered into an agreement to conduct a joint project named “Gateway to the Springs.” The project came together at a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21, when City Manager Ed Booth and Mayor Byran Williams met with John Pricher, interim director for Visit Gainesville.

      Their agreement will assist the city to produce a six-page brochure promoting downtown High Springs and the nearby springs themselves.

      “The brochure will not center on any one business,” Booth said in an interview after their joint meeting, “but will showcase all of the downtown area and our local springs and feature High Springs as a great place to live and visit.” The agreement allows the city to be in charge of designing the brochure. Visit Gainesville will pay to print the brochures.

      The agreement will also provide assistance in production of a billboard on Interstate 75 advertising the downtown shopping area and nearby springs as a vacation destination. The city will be in charge of designing the sign itself. Visit Gainesville will pay half of the monthly cost to rent the sign space.

      “Money is already earmarked in our Community Redevelopment Agency budget for production of the brochure and billboard,” Booth said. “The completion of both of these items will go a long way towards meeting the city’s economic development goals.”

      “We are delighted with this joint agreement and appreciate Visit Gainesville for partnering with us on these projects,” he said. “We have a great city, great natural attractions, an interesting and vibrant downtown shopping area and we want others to know about us.”

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