Mountain

Utah is looking to hire a PR firm for a strategic communications program to promote the Point of the Mountain area, a region that includes the relocating state prison. The jail in Draper, which is 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, is being moved to a site west of the city.

The legislation in 2018 created the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority to develop the area from Sandy to Lehi. POMSLA envisions “an economic powerhouse for a growing tech economy.

The land is located midway between the University of Utah and Brigham Young University and features “rapidly expanding housing for all pay scales.”

The Authority maintains that much of the development potential “exists even with the Utah State Prison in place, but the anticipated relocation of the prison opens land that could be used to catalyze the growth of the entire area, providing the site characteristics that will appeal to employers and employees.”

The purpose of POMSLA’s RFP is to enter a contract to provide “a communications strategy, create and maintain a website, regularly inform the public about our activities, proactively share the message with key stakeholders (ensuring openness and transparency), prepare for and respond to public concerns and criticism, create communications materials (including presentations and videos), advance our relationship with the media, monitor and maintain a constructive presence on social media, and develop and implement public involvement opportunities (including designing appropriate public involvement, publicizing those opportunities, preparing materials for public events, and helping to run public events.”

Interested firms should be familiar with the local press and culture and have experience in dealing with potentially controversial projects, especially involving issues of growth such as development, transportation and environmental impacts.

The contract will last five years, or until the project is complete.

Proposals for POMSLA Public Relations Firm, Solicitation #NH20-40 are due Dec. 9 and go to the sciquest.com procurement site.

Download RFP (PDF)