When life gives you lemons, you can make lemonade…or, a Micro-Information Center!
In 2021 Cass was met with a request to relocate the Tourism Office. After dialogue with the Tourism Board of Directors, she began looking for a new space for the office.
Cass looked at office spaces along Miner Street in Idaho Springs, on Floyd Hill, and even co-working spaces in Georgetown, Colorado. Nothing was reasonably priced or seemed to fit the best interests of the Board.
The New Space
In 2022, after a meeting at the County Courthouse building in Georgetown, Cass stopped in to visit with career-long colleague Beth Luther and the two discussed the dilemma. A couple of days later Beth called Cass and let her know she found a solution!
The former Health Clinic building had room to share with the Mountain Youth Network! This exciting news was then brought to the Board for consideration and was approved! Cass then packed up the office and prepared for the move in July.
The west wing of 1531 Colorado Boulevard in Idaho Springs, Colorado would be the new home to the Tourism Office!
Cass met with the County attorney and signed a 3-year lease agreement on behalf of the Tourism Board. Once finalized, Cass was tasked with furnishing the office and seeking approval for final design plans for the new conference room, office space, storage area, and break room.
Making of a Micro-Information Center
During this process, Cass observed the former Health Clinic Airlock was vacant and her imagination began to envision use of the space…
Cass prepared her ideas and brought them to the next Board Meeting where she presented a concept of a micro-information center with plans to write for grant funding to support the effort.
The Tourism Board was excited and supported the idea in its entirety! Cass then worked on an OEDIT + Colorado Tourism Office grant application and received $40,000 in funding to support the project!
Creating the Space
From office furnishings to a state-of-the-art digital kiosk, Cass brought life into the vacant space. The airlock would be equipped with a ceiling mounted television for advertising space, brochure racks for rack cards, a display case for infographics, decorative plants, seasonal holiday decor, outside barrels with seasonal plants, beautiful signage, and window graphics!
Cass was even able to coordinate with the County IT Department on automating the airlock door locking mechanism to ensure the space would be accessible during weekends as well as business hours.
Digital Kiosk
One of the biggest investments the grant funding provided was the purchase of an interactive digital kiosk to serve as a wayfinding tool. After interviewing locally sourced vendors, Cass proposed working with Touchsource out of Lafayette, Colorado.
Cass worked directly with designers to bring to life the 55” interactive display that incorporated the Tourism website as well as local maps, services, and a directory of merchants, attractions, and points of interest. Every component was managed and uploaded by Cass after the design team completed the overall template to match the website in conjunction with the Tourism Board and directed by Cass.
Overall the space was a success and averaged 2,000 visitors per month. Many businesses were represented with rack cards as well as visitor guides and other materials. Cass managed the space and replenished materials as needed.
Moving… Again
Unfortunately, in the spring of 2025 the Tourism Bureau was notified that the County was planning to repurpose the building and could not guarantee space for the Tourism Office. Sadly, the Tourism Office was again forced to relocate and close the micro-information center.
The Tourism Office and the digital interactive kiosk now reside at the Idaho Springs Visitor Center: 2060 Miner Street in Idaho Springs, Colorado.
Cass truly embraced the location changes and brought creativity and out-of-the-box ideas to the County whenever possible.
