The Cornelia City Commission met for a brief, special called meeting Thursday evening to act upon two items on their business agenda, including the designation of a new firm to develop a better website for the City of Cornelia.
First, the Commissioners voted to award a contract to Civic Plus Inc., a web design firm located in Manhattan, Kansas. The firm is an enhanced capability website provider with municipal clients all over the United States. The contract was for approximately $12,500, for the creation of a new website for the City of Cornelia.
Civic Plus Inc. specializes in building municipal internet websites that are user friendly to the public. In addition, their designs allow for flexibility and easy adaptation for the city employees who manage the site. The new site will also be “web responsive,” meaning that the site adjusts itself to on-going changes in use and needs of the customers.
“The new website will allow our municipal staff to do their own text and photo updates day or night, whenever they want or need to, the other bidder, Southfire, based in Augusta, Georgia, did not offer that capability,” explained City Commissioner, Don Bagwell. The new website should be on-line and available by March 1, 2016.
In other action, the City Commission voted to publicly post proposed plans for a new sign ordinance for the City of Cornelia. The current ordinance applies to the entire city limits, but the proposed change allows for overlay areas, each having different sign regulations according to the need and use of the areas.
The first area is the downtown section of Cornelia (shown in red on map), the second area includes the area surrounding Camp Creek Road and Business 441 (shown on map in blue), and the third area includes the Level Grove area and the Bypass (shown on map in yellow).
The proposed regulations could prohibit certain signs like portable rolling signs and flashing light signs that could distract drivers in particular areas of Cornelia, as well as billboards. The different areas within the City of Cornelia have specific needs and concerns, which will allow for regulation of signage in the three overlay areas.
The Cornelia City Commission is expected to take up the proposal at its October 6th meeting.
