ORANGE — The town launched a new municipal website last week, representing an upgrade from the company that designed and serviced the previous one.
Assistant Town Clerk Rachael Fortier addressed the Selectboard on Wednesday to explain the new layout and show members some of the website’s features on a projection screen, with navigational help from Brianne Bruso, administrative assistant to the town administrator.
“We [received] a technology grant to do this upgrade. We’ve been working on this project for a very long time — it’s been at least eight months. I believe we got the grant last September, so we were working on it at least a month prior to that, just to apply,” Fortier explained. “The website increases our [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliance and offers new features while increasing communication and access for the community to information the town is looking to give.”
The website is townoforange.org. The web development business CivicPlus is the town’s provider.
Fortier said the town received $15,366 in a state Community Compact Information Technology grant last year to cover the upgrade’s cost. Orange finalized a contract with CivicPlus on Nov. 30 and the project started shortly after that.
At last week’s meeting, Fortier noted town news is on the homepage, as is a link to a community calendar.
“This is something really exciting that I worked really hard on,” she said, “because residents and business owners and other community members submit community events right on our calendar.
“We’ve already tried it out,” she added. “It’s pretty awesome.”
Fortier said much of the layout is similar to the old website, just “cleaner.” Links will bring users to the same mytowngovernment.org webpages to view municipal meetings and agendas.
One addition is a page consisting of photographs and contact information for town facilities. Fortier said Town Clerk Nancy Blackmer drove around and took photos of cemeteries and parks for this page.
She also said the website has a new business directory because the one on the previous website was “about 20 years old, and not accurate.” Anyone who was previously subscribed to the website will have to resubscribe via the “Notify Me” option on the homepage, which includes a rotation of local photographs submitted by residents.
“This is beautiful,” Selectboard member Jane Peirce said to Fortier. “Thank you.”
“I know that everything could look prettier, but Orange has what it has money-wise, and I thought this was a good option,” Fortier replied. “Nancy and I really spent a lot of time looking at it and making sure that it would work.”
Town officials also tested the new website on smartphones to ensure it would still be user-friendly.
Before Fortier left the meeting, Selectboard Chair Tom Smith thanked her and Blackmer for their hard work and expressed gratitude to those who submitted photos.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.