City councilors Monday night tapped a Florida firm to handle advertising and marketing for Bangor International Airport.
The firm, Paradise Advertising and Marketing of St. Petersburg, Fla., was among 14 that submitted proposals in response to a request the city issued earlier this year, according to city documents connected to the deal.
Of the 14 proposals, three were from the local area, another eight were from other parts of Maine, two were from other New England states, and one was from Paradise in Florida.
The proposals were screened by a selection committee composed of airport and city officials, which looked at each company's qualifications, creativity and fees.
Based on recent and projected spending patterns, the selection panel concluded that Paradise came through with the most cost-effective proposal, with a maximum fee of $5,000 a month and projected costs of $3,125 a month.
Paradise's mission here will be to help develop a multimedia marketing and public relations campaign for the city-owned airport.
As members of the selection panel saw it, the Florida firm stood out among its competitors in that it has developed a niche as a marketing company that specializes in airports.
Its clients include Bermuda International Airport, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in Florida, and Southwest Florida International Airport as well as several entities engaged in tourism and hospitality and in transit and economic development.
In a memo to City Manager Edward Barrett, BIA marketing manager Risteen Masters noted: "It is the committee's opinion that [Paradise's] understanding of the airport environment and the issues facing smaller airports uniquely qualifies them to be our agency. The perspective of distance offers them the distinct ability to view BGR and our operating environment objectively. Their location and contacts in Florida, [BIA's No. 1] destination for area residents, offer the opportunity for cooperative marketing efforts."
In other business, councilors amended several ordinances as part of their review of waterfront development goals and pressures.
The review has been conducted during a 90-day moratorium that initially was set to expire Nov. 1, but that was extended by another 30 days during Monday's meeting. The extension will enable the city's planning board to review and make recommendations regarding one last proposed change dealing with a zoning issue.
Changes approved Monday in a series of unanimous votes include:
. Linking the existing exemption for off-street parking requirements to three criteria, namely: the parking demand of the proposed use, the availability of on-street parking to serve that need, and the availability of public parking lots or garages to serve that need.
. Because a portion of the waterfront might be rezoned to parks and open space, the councilors replaced the existing 50-space limit on parking lots with a performance standard that takes into account such factors as green space, buffers, traffic calming and water quality improvements.
. Requiring business signs on the waterfront to comply with the same standards that apply downtown.
. Making private development on the waterfront subject to the same design guidelines the city adopted a few years ago for its own downtown and waterfront development parcels.
