To: Members of the Castle Rock Water Commission
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Title
ColoradoScape Contest Results
Town Council Agenda Date: NA
Body
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Executive Summary
The third annual ColoradoScape Contest was held July 15 - Sept. 7 with 12 entries submitted for an $8,000 front-yard renovation. The Water Commission chose the top 5 videos which were put on the Town’s social media for voting. The winning entry received 191 votes, twice as many as any other video. The winning family is the Tracewells in Plum Creek (who also submitted last year). The landscape designer is meeting with the couple this week, and the HOA’s design review committee is excited to see the plan. JPL Cares is the contracted landscape professional scheduled to remove the existing turf and install the new landscaping. Most of the $8,000 budget will go to this contractor and our contracted material suppliers, with some labor and supplies donated. The irrigation system is being donated by Toro. The project is expected to be completed before the first frost in October.
The purpose of the social media contest is to spread the word about what a ColoradoScape is. The reach this year did not gain the expected exposure. In fact exposure has decreased each year for this contest. The initial year, 2019, saw 31 entries with up to 1,000 votes for the winning entry. The total reach for the event was 30,000 in 2019 and in 2020, entries totaled 20 with approximately the same reach, 30,000. This year’s event reached 23,000 people. Coincidentally, Aurora Water held their first landscape give-away this year, mirroring Castle Rock Water’s, and encountered similar issues with only 30 entries. Additional outreach avenues, processes and partners are being considered to improve the campaign next year.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
An extensive communication plan was created and has been shared with the Commission. It involves all the Town’s and Castle Rock Water’s outreach avenues including email, bill statement, online portal and extensive social media. No paid advertising was placed.
Budget
$8,000 from the Marketing budget and will be primarily applied to the landscaping contractor and plant and hardscape materials. The professional landscape designer is a Town employee (in an another department) and appropriate account charges will be applied.