Thursday, June 01, 2000
City examines its Web picture
New page could be created
By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — The city is rethinking some of its Internet-related services.
City Manager James Patrick has asked council to let him hire Web Design Possibilities to create a new city Web page. There is also talk that Lebanon might want to take more control over its high-speed Internet service.
Both are now provided by local company Go Concepts Inc.
The city site — at www.ci.lebanon.oh.us — is a year out of date and, some say, antiquated.
“It was OK for the time, but I think we need to move on,” Mr. Patrick said.
A new site with streaming video and audio would cost about $2,500, he said.
Council members said they wanted to make sure first that their deal with Go Concepts — which set up the site about 11/2 years ago for $5,500 — doesn't cover updates.
Most on council agree that the current page is “garbage,” as Councilman Mark Flick has said. It lists council members who quit or were ousted months ago; it lists job openings with December 1999 application deadlines.
Go Concepts tried to get new information from the city, President John Gambill Jr. said. The contract did not include updates, he said, but Go would make changes for $65 an hour or teach city staff to do so.
“We really value that relationship and were unaware of any problems,” Mr. Gambill said. “We on numerous occasions requested that they provide that information, and it was not provided.”
City Council likely will vote on whether or not to give Web Design Possibilities the contract Tuesday.
Officials also are looking at exerting more control over the Internet-access portion of their unique, city-owned telecommuni cations system. Butch Snyder, deputy director of computer systems, proposed at a utility committee meeting last week that when the city updates its equipment, it be housed with the city rather than with Go Concepts, according to Mr. Patrick.
He denied that the city is angling to take over from Go as the Internet service provider (ISP) for customers of the city system. The city has a five-year contract with Go for that service.
“In the future we may” consider becoming an ISP, Mr. Patrick did say. “We're looking at all possibilities.”
Mr. Snyder said he could not comment on the proposal without the city manager's approval.
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