City of Marion may upgrade Web site

Marion City Council members expressed interest in upgrading the city’s Web site following a presentation to council Tuesday night.

City Administrator Robert Anderson said there has been a site online for the past four or five years, but that not much attention has been paid to it.

“I think one of the main reasons for having a Web site is to present an image to people,” he said, adding that the plan is to focus on showcasing and providing services. During a presentation from VC3, Larry Mattox proposed a plan that uses the Columbia-based company to design and host the City of Marion Web site.

Mattox said VC3 works with 200 companies and 110 cities, including a tech partnership with the S.C. Municipal Association. Keeping information fresh and up-to-date is a need, identified by Mattox. “You can promote local business and drive more business,” he said, adding that Web site navigation and function wouldn’t be hard to grasp.

“It’s a manageable project,” he said, adding that the cost would be nearly $10,000 and that within an average three-month time frame, the site could launch.

“It is the staff that is going to need to work on it and keep it fresh,” Anderson said, adding that it could be possible to identify funding to help pay the cost.

Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Davis said the information was something to think about and hoped to move forward on the project in the near future.

In other business, council members presented a resolution praising the championship season of the Marion High School varsity girls’ basketball team. Lady Foxes head coach Leon Sturkey and one of his stars, Geneika Brantley, said they were thankful for the outpouring of support.

With the seat of the late Mayor Bobby Gerald left open with a black ribbon, displayed in front of the podium, all in attendance inside the council chambers of City Hall took a moment of silence for remembering Gerald. Gerald died on March 22. He had served as mayor for 24 years and was seeking reelection at the time of his death. Tuesday was also the day of city elections, which saw Rodney Berry defeat Nancy Harelson to become the city's next mayor.

Council members said they intend to have a special resolution prepared to honor the longtime mayor.

The council also approved a motion to declare the month of April Fair Housing Month and Vernelle Simmons presented information regarding the upcoming 2010 U.S. census.

Simmons said the nation has kept track of census information since 1790 and that all of the information taken for the 2010 census will be confidential and sealed for 70 years. She said South Carolina is lagging behind when it comes to counting residents.

“We must count everyone,” Simmons said. The census will be mailed on March 2010 with 10 questions, she added.

In a report to council, Anderson said he was working to address drainage issues in the city. He also suggested to council members that the city discontinue its practice of cutting the grass on private lots.

Cutting grass on private lots is becoming a growing concern fiscally, Anderson said, adding that the city may not be able to sustain the workload.

“You need to think about cutting back on the amount of private grass that we cut.” In my opinion, he said, the city shouldn’t be cutting any private lots. Anderson said possibly the city needs to draw up an ordinance to deal with the matter.

Council also learned during departmental reports that old tires can no longer be disposed of by transporting them to landfills due to an order from DHEC. Tire service centers charge a disposal fee and council encouraged residents to use that as a means to dispose old tires, instead of having the city pick them up.

Scheduled to speak before council were Johnny Mason from IST2 Integrated, regarding a presentation on a citywide surveillance system; Mariel Ford regarding a taxicab service and Janell Davis regarding city recreation department policies. The three did not appear before council and no reason was given for their failure to show.