County Likely Moving Forward with Revamped Website

By Chris English

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — A proposal from a Michigan company for a revamped website has gone over well with Schoharie County officials and it appears they are moving forward with the idea.

At the Thursday, Aug. 29 meeting of the county's Economic Development Committee, members approved a motion from Chair Werner Hampel of Cobleskill to use $44,600 from county sales tax money set aside for economic development on the proposal from Revize Web Services. It made a presentation at the Aug. 16 Board of Supervisors meeting.

The $44,600 represents the first year's costs from Revize, which would then charge $6,900 a year for the next four years after the first. The motion approved at the Aug. 29 meeting now moves on to the county Finance Committee and from there to the full Board of Supervisors, which has the final say.

"An updated website would have a very good way of reaching out to people," Hampel said at the Aug. 29 meeting. "It will help bring us into the 21st Century."

Fellow county Supervisor and Economic Development Committee member Donald Airey of Blenheim agreed and said it's probably time for a new and fresh county website.

"I was impressed with their presentation and it seemed like the cost for what they are offering is quite reasonable," he said. "I think the website really does need updating and needs to be a lot more user-friendly. I am all for it."

In other news from the Aug. 29 committee meeting, county Economic Development Coordinator John Crescimanno brought members up to date on the status of various grant applications and initiatives.

He said a contract not to exceed $65,000 awarded to MIDTEL of Middleburgh for Wi-Fi installation and five-year system operation in the Village of Middleburgh has been delayed. Crescimanno said the reason for the delay is that New York State stepped in and said the county needed to make double sure it was giving minority and women-owned businesses a fair shot at the contract.

"It's just their process now," he explained. Crescimanno said revised requests for proposals have already gone out and are expected back soon.

"This should only push things back about a month," he said.

A county request for $30 million from the state's Municipal Infrastructure Program for broadband buildout in Schoharie County is still pending, Crescimanno said. It is hoped that the $30 million, if granted, would lead to 100 percent broadband coverage in the county, he added.

A note on the Aug. 29 meeting agenda regarding the MIP request read "Have not heard a response in some time. Believe a decision is coming soon. More to follow."

Crescimanno said he is working with Schoharie County Public Transportation Director Christine Kraemer on a grant application that will hopefully fund a study on public transportation in the county and how it can be improved.