September 29, 2009 Minutes

These minutes were posted by the Website.

Pittsfield Website Committee
September 29, 2009

The Pittsfield Website Committee was called to order @ 7:10 pm.
Members present:
Clayton Wood, Chair
Bob Legg
Bill Provencal
Matt Goodwin
Jen Elliot (Alternate)
Harry Vogt, Secretary

1. Minutes of July 21, 2009 were approved.

2. Scott Spradling attended the meeting as a representative of the Economic Development Committee. Scott noted that the town’s website can serve a key role in the Town’s on-going efforts to promote economic development. The following ideas/topics were discussed.

A. Hooksett and Claremont town websites were sited as models for effectively promoting economic development.
B. Simplicity of website layout is key to welcoming outside visitors. Information should be available in 2 or 3 clicks. The EDC has suggested limiting the home page to four categories: Town Departments, Then and Now, Get Involved, Economic Development.
C. Committee, Town, and Economic Development Committee all need to address the issue of cost. What is the value of what the Website Committee currently does? How much would associated hardware, software and development costs be if contracted out? What is the cost of the changes being discussed?
D. Existing content is valuable and should remain. How information is organized is key.
E. New content related to EDC would be provided by EDC.

3. Following the presentation, the Committee discussed the potential impact of these ideas on the current website. There was a general consensus that the Committee should look at a simplified home page and how content is organized/categorized. Changes should be made progressively and purposively. To support the EDC’s efforts, the Committee should try to have any changes implemented in early 2010.

4. Historical Society: The Society has asked if they can list items for sale on the Town website. The site would serve essentially as a catalogue, actual transactions would occur independently from the Town’s Website. Committee supported the idea. Matt suggested that the Historical Society setup a PayPal account to handle transactions on line. Clayton will look into setting up a PayPal account and review with the Society.

5. Next Meeting: Tuesday October 20, 2009. This meeting was called as a special meeting to address the EDC’s proposal with the focus on developing a plan based on the key points outlined in Item3 of the minutes.

Meeting Adjourned @ 8:35 pm

Minutes submitted by Harry Vogt, Secretary.