By Mark Wineka

mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — The Board of Aldermen approved $18,000 Tuesday night toward a total redesign of the town of Granite Quarry’s website.

Granite Sky Civic of Huntersville will develop and support the new website. It also has done work for Concord, Huntersville, Kannapolis and Anderson County, S.C.

The web redesign itself will cost $12,280, and the company adds $5,340 to $5,506 annually for support costs.

The total cost of work for this year will be $18,120; and over five years, $39,146.

“Our site now is only bare bones,” Town Manager Phil Conrad told aldermen Tuesday night. “We can only go up.”

Conrad said a redesigned website will provide better communication to citizens and be more cost-effective. In economic development terms, Conrad said, it could help raise the town’s visibility and might help in attracting more people and business to Granite Quarry.

Some of the cost savings occur in not having the print and postage costs of mailed newsletters to residents. But Conrad said, “We don’t want to discount the value of paper” for people who don’t use digital technology, and aldermen agreed.

They said there still might be value in quarterly newsletters or flyers with important information distributed in key locations in town. Arin Wilhelm said the town also might want to investigate a new electronic marquee at Town Hall that could provide information almost instantly as needed.

The $18,000 toward the redesigned website will come from the fund balance. Conrad said the costs might be able to be divided over two fiscal years. The new website could be up and running in about six months, Conrad estimated, and Granite Sky Civic provides a free redesign after four years.

Mayor Bill Feather read an email he received in the middle of Tuesday night’s meeting to illustrate how the town’s current website just isn’t providing the information residents need.

The email from Boy Scout Zach Huddleston, who usually leads aldermen in the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each meeting, said the Scout didn’t know the date had been changed to Tuesday (instead of Monday) because of the New Year’s holiday.

The website still had Monday as the meeting date.

In other business Tuesday, aldermen:

• Gave final approval to the town’s 2016 audit, which received all the necessary approvals from the Local Government Commission.

• Approved a budget amendment for $33,500, reflecting the purchase of a new police cruiser.

• Approved a budget amendment of $1,070, reflecting the sale on GovDeals.com of an old police car as surplus property.

• Heard from Conrad that an entrance to future town athletic fields off Faith Road has yet to be built, though aldermen have approved a contract. Conrad said the town may look at another vendor if the work isn’t started soon.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.