Covid-19 pushes Lower Burrell to develop better city website for residents

Lower Burrell Council has agreed to pay a national company to create a new city website offering more information and services online, including delivery of city council minutes and easier access to information.

The city is contracting with CivicPlus, of Manhattan, Kan., to set up and develop the website for $8,700. Licensing and support will cost $10,771. The company specializes in websites serving multiple levels of local government. It says it has 3,500 customers around the country.

City council and administrators have been wanting to update their website for years. But when covid-19 hit, the need for more timely messages to the public became more important, said Amy Rockwell, Lower Burrell city administrator.

“Sometimes waiting for a newsletter to go out is too long,” she said.

The current website has access issues, among other issues, and is not secure, Rockwell said.

The new website will provide users with self-serve options and a quicker turnaround for processing reservations. Instead of mailing in paperwork, it can be completed online.

Residents can register for as many or as few updates as they want. It will include city council meeting minutes, announcements, meeting reminders and other information.

“People in the town are hungry for information and will eat up this program,” said Councilwoman Rosina Albanese.

When the city sends out messages on the new website, officials can have the option of sending the same information to its social media pages, eliminating duplicate work.

“The website pulls all of the information together with Facebook and in other ways,” said Councilman Robert Hamilton. “This will save time and money.”

Additionally, the website can connect with, in effect, the National Weather Service for local weather reports and alerts.

Residents without internet service, or who choose not to conduct business online, will still be able to reach city officials for in-person transactions, Rockwell said.

It will take about six months to complete the website and get it up and running, she said.