Vendor presents model site designs to the council.
By: Cynthia Koons
ALLENTOWN The Borough of Allentown could find itself online in the coming year if the Borough Council decides on a vendor to create a Web site for the town.
"Its primary service would be to expand the communication to all townspeople on an ongoing basis," Mayor Stuart Fierstein said.
"We’ve been talking about it and trying to get it to the top of the list and we’ve had a lot of requests from residents for that kind of interactive ability. It’s time for us to do that," Councilwoman Margaret Armenante said. "It would be a time saver for us as well as the constituents."
The Allentown Business Community Association currently manages a Web site at www.allentownnj.com, which lists various community events and services in the borough. The site doesn’t include features or services tied to the municipality or the governing body.
At last week’s Borough Council meeting, Scend Technologies Inc., based out of Waterbury, Conn., presented model Web site designs to the council and attending public.
"All of the features that were presented would be a benefit to what we have today," Mayor Fierstein said. "That includes being able to post meeting schedules, being able to take polls if necessary, being able to provide emergency information if necessary, being able to communicate with the residents of the community."
He said another company will present its model site to the council in the coming weeks.
"Then we’ll have to look over the numbers and see whether it can be incorporated in the budget and how it can be paid for," he said.
The Web site has not yet been budgeted for, and the council is open to many options, including on-site advertising to finance the venture.
"(The timing of the launch) depends on whether it would be included in this year’s budget or a future budget depending on the cost of it . . . and what the implementation period would be," Mayor Fierstein said.

