Should Alamedans brand Alameda? Many local businessowners believe the answer is "yes."

Earlier this year, the city of Alameda contracted Rips Consulting and Graphtek Consulting to help freshen its image. Graphtec will receive $74,800 to help make the city's website more accessible and help change the city's logo. Rips Consulting will receive $51,000 for, among other things, the "management of the creation of the city's green identity, which includes working with a graphics partner selected by the city to produce a brand audit and positioning platform, develop a green logo and tagline, and overseeing consistent use of the to-be-developed identity in green marketing and communication materials."

It is likely the two businesses will cross paths, as Deputy City Manager Lisa Goldman says, "Consultants frequently collaborate on projects."

Neither Graphtek nor Rips Consulting are local businesses. While Graphtek does hold an Alameda business license, it is located in Brisbane. The lack of local flavor has upset the Greater Alameda Business Association (GABA). GABA spokesperson Patty Jacobs says, "No GABA members have mentioned being consulted about the re-branding. That doesn't mean they weren't. The GABA board of directors was very upset."

Jacobs added, "The city has a policy to put out to bid for consultants as well as brick-and-mortar projects. I was not aware that an [request] had been sent out. It didn't come to GABA." In the city, contracts for personal or professional services, such as the ones for Graptek and Rips Consulting, can be signed off by the city manager without a bid process if the contract calls for spending under $75,000. As Vice Mayor Doug deHaan says, "If you (as a city manager) don't have $75,000 authority, it would really hamstring your ability to do day-to-day operations." As both contracts for the two companies were under $75,000, the city manager had complete authority to not do a bid process. However, that doesn't mean Alameda businesses were considered.

In 2008, the city contracted a San Jose company called M3iWorks to look into how the city could be user-friendlier. Amongst the ways M3iWorks decided the city could be more accessible, is through redesigning its website. According to Goldman, the city contacted local firms to see if they would be interested in giving a detailed analysis of how the city's website could be changed.

However, the local businesses were not given the option to do the changes themselves. Goldman says, "Staff discussed the project with a number of local firms but no one was interested in doing the study unless the site redesign was part of the contract, and it wasn't."

Before contracting with Graphtek to do the site redesign, Goldman claims that the city looked at a number of city website design businesses to determine if any of them were qualified to do the logo and website.

Goldman says of the process, "We did a general search of firms in Alameda and reviewed every site we could easily find online. It was our feeling that if a web developer was difficult to find — that was an automatic disqualification." However, it is unclear, after a few inquiries to city representatives, that the city actually contacted any Alameda businesses personally to do the website or logo redesign.

Ultimately, Graphtek was chosen by the city to do the logo and website redesign because, in part, as Interim City Manager Anne Marie Gallant says, it's an "IBM Business Partner with particular expertise in integrating third-party applications into user friendly, intuitive user interfaces. Their clients range from various SoCal cities to international companies who utilize them for their programming and ecommerce expertise."

Gilmore also claims that Graptek was cheaper than another Bay Area option and its Alameda business license was a plus. The Alameda Sun is still inquiring whether any local businesses were contacted by the city do what Rips Consulting has been contracted to do. However, calls to the Park Street Business Association (PSBA), the West Alameda Business Association (WABA), the Chamber of Commerce and GABA have all yielded little results as to whether any businesses they represent were contacted by the city to do what either Graptek or Rips is doing. The association spokespeople couldn't claim any of their members were contacted, but at the same point they simply didn't know.

A few other details have emerged. Michael J. Swartz, the proprietor of MJS Websolutions, whose company boasts of redesigning the city's Fourth of July race website, was not contacted about redoing the city's website.

Also, Gallant used Rips Consulting's services in a city she previously managed, Desert Hot Springs.

It should be noted that the city sent out a survey to some Alameda residents asking for help in redefining the city's image. If any businesses were also contacted about doing the website, logo, or defining the city's "green identity" work, the Alameda Sun is interested in hearing from them.

Contact Sam Felsing at