COEUR d'ALENE - Goodbye Lake City Development Corp. Hello ignite cda.

On Wednesday evening, the Coeur d'Alene Urban Renewal Agency board of commissioners voted to change the name it does business under to ignite cda, removing the previous LCDC moniker. In addition to approving the rebranding, the board also approved a $54,269 "public education campaign" to inform the public about the change.

"The name, 'ignite cda,' is symbolic of the energy the agency has helped create through our projects," said Dave Patzer, a board member.

Patzer added that the rebranding effort is connected to an effort launched a year ago, when the urban renewal agency hired Range NW to get input on how to better communicate the organization's message and work in Coeur d'Alene.

The first part of the process, he said, was commissioning Robinson Research to conduct a 600-person phone survey to assess the public's perception of the agency.

"They identified a significant shortfall in awareness of our agency's role in the projects we've helped to achieve," Patzer said. "With a new trade name, and more robust communication with the community, we intend to garner the community's attention and build understanding of what we do."

Chairman Denny Davis told his fellow board members that the LCDC acronym doesn't say anything about what the agency does, and the concept of rebranding to a more contemporary name is not unique to Coeur d'Alene.

"But I will admit that it took some time for me to get comfortable with this," he added. "The more I see it, the more I use it - ignite cda is what we do. It's not just to look better, it's not just to be prettier or more exciting; it's to connect better to the community."

But the new identity of the urban renewal district did not sit right with Board Member Deanna Goodlander. She told her fellow board members that the name doesn't feel very businesslike, and said she would prefer to test it out with the community before completely abandoning LCDC.

"We've finally garnered quite a bit of recognition for the value LCDC provides and more and more people have become aware of the projects we've done," she said. "I really don't think we've done a good job of making LCDC the name it could be."

Goodlander and Board Member Brad Jordan were the only two to oppose the rebranding.

Eden Irgens, of Range NW, described the upcoming marketing push as a "blast campaign." The campaign, she said, will cover a variety of media, including Facebook and local news outlets.

Families in the lake city will be the target demographic of the campaign, which Irgens said will last from July 4 through Sept. 30.

"We are going to launch the new name out there during the 'happy season' when everyone is out there enjoying what you've helped build," she added.