Township unveils revamped Web site
Springfield Township's new municipal Web site is up and running.
The site, designed by InCommand Technologies, of Corning, N.Y., replaces the old one, which was launched in 1999, and according to township officials, it will make following local legislation and planning easier for township residents.
"It's an update, that's for sure, [and] there are additional features that were not available before," Assistant Township Manager Mike Taylor said Tuesday.
One of the new features is an e-mail alert system that will notify residents when items they have selected from the site — such as refuse and recycling collection schedules or township meeting dates — are updated, Taylor said.
Residents may subscribe to the service.
While the list of items is limited at present, township administrators will have the ability to expand them, Taylor said.
The site also includes a large documents library that includes township plans, legislation currently under consideration by the board of commissioners and application forms for community activities and permits.
Unlike the old site, which required a third party — the Web site company — to make any alterations, the new site can be managed locally by township employees.
"It's more dynamic," Taylor said. "News and events will get updated more frequently."
While simple changes will be made by Taylor, and eventually department heads at the township, others would be determined by the board of commissioners, he said.
"If we find that from a navigation perspective that people are having trouble finding a page, we can make those changes," he said. "In terms of making the decision that we should have a blog on there about issues — that's certainly a board decision."
The flexibility offered by the site has at least one commissioner excited.
"A Web site is never finished. A Web site is a process," Commissioner Doug Heller said Tuesday. "From a management perspective, it's a tremendous improvement and will continue to improve over the next few months as we get the kinks out."
Heller, who was involved with the communications committee that established recommendations for the new site prior to becoming a commissioner, said he was "very pleased" with the initial launch.
"Being a Web guy myself, there are many different ways to render a site," he said. "I find this rendering easy to use, attractive, and the framework is there for it to really become a community resource ... It has the back end to support any decision we make."
Taylor said he likes the new site and found it easier to use, but the real test will come from how useful the community finds it.
"Public comment is going to tell if it's an improvement or not," he said. "You'd like to think it is. We have the ability to make it more interactive and keep people better informed, which I think was one of the goals."
The address of the township's Web site is springfield-montco.org.