County Web Site To Be Redesigned
By Karen Gould

A new Web site for Mackinac County is expected to be completed in about two months. It will contain general county information and resources and eventually could include election results and property assessment information.

An older site at the same address, www.mackinaccounty. net, has sat incomplete and idle since commissioners eliminated the county administrator position in 2005.

Now armed with a new program that will be easier to update, the county is moving ahead with a new design. It is at the same address, and new information is being added daily.

County commissioners received on update on the site during their Thursday, January 10, meeting.

"It's just a matter of getting it going, getting it in place, and getting the main changes done with all the departments," Jim Fenlon, equalization director who is managing the project, told commissioners. "That will take the bulk of the time, and then the routine maintenance after that should not be too bad."

The county is working with eChamberConnect of Ann Arbor and paid $2,500 for its Web site management program. Becky Paul, a part-time secretary with Michigan State University Extension, has been assisting the county five hours a week to revise the site.

The program will be easier to update by county departments than the current system, said Mr. Fenlon. The Web site offers information about the roles of various county departments and general information about Mackinac County that may be useful to residents and visitors.

In the future, such information as meeting dates and election results could be posted there for the convenience of the public.

"Hopefully," Mr. Fenlon said, "we'll get more departments on board making regular updates."

Eventually, Mr. Fenlon said he would like to add tax maps and assessment information on the site.

County Clerk Mary Kay Tamlyn said her goal is to post election results on the site and she is hoping to test such endeavors during the May election. Local city and school elections are May 6, the state and county primary election is August 5, and the presidential election is November 4.

"We're getting close to finishing the home page, the basic look," Mrs. Paul told The St. Ignace News Tuesday, January 15. "It is the most important part because it sets the format for the entire Web site."

The goal of the site, she said, is to allow visitors to easily find information.

"They need to get to where they are going quickly on the site," she said, "reduce the clicks."

Once the site is up and running, Mr. Fenlon estimates it will take about an hour of work a week to keep the site current.