Lake Orion’s Downtown Development Authority discussed their brand marketing contract options at their June 9 meeting.

Currently, the DDA is contracted with New Moon Visions through June 30.

The DDA sent out a request for quotes on May 29 and received proposals from 13 businesses at costs ranging between $18,000 to $275,000.

The four bids that fell within the DDA budget were: The Hoffman Agency (annual fee of $18,000), The Birney Directive (annual fee of $18,000), Agile Zone (annual fee of $20,000) and New Moon Visions ($21,000).

“My first choice would be Brian (Birney, The Birney Directive),” said Chairman Deborah Burgess. “I like the fact that he said what we should do and then he told us how we should do what he told us we should do.”

Village Manager Joe Young expressed his gratitude with New Moon Visions for all the work they’ve done and the progress they have made as far as brand marketing for the DDA.

The board voted unanimously to hire The Birney Directive. Board Vice-Chairperson Anthony Reigherd abstained from the vote, saying he had personal relationships with two of the applicants and wanted to avoid a conflict of interest. — By Megan Kelley