Delaware town blog?

By TOM KANE

HORTONVILLE, NY — The world of cutting-edge technology is coming to a local town government.

The newest member of the Town of Delaware Board, Cindy Herbert, is attempting to bring the town into the 21st century with the creation of a blog-based social network. Along with resident Paul Hindes, a scientist and retired Wall Street worker, Herbert is proposing the development of a new communication system for town officials and residents that will utilize the newest blog technology.

“We’re proposing the development of a computer-based social network in order to improve communication between town government and town residents,” Hindes said at the December 17 town meeting. “This is very preliminary, but we’re moving ahead right away.”

Hindes pointed to hot current issues like NYRI, the controversial electricity transmission system, and gas drilling, where residents want to know new developments and would like to make their opinions known.

“It’s a two-way system that we are aiming to develop,” Hindes said. “The first step is to research the most effective and least costly technology mechanism to use,” he said. “We will investigate possible funding sources such as government or non-government grants, partnering with neighboring towns and gaining support from local businesses.”

Hindes said that the New York State Office of Technology could be a valuable resource in developing such a project. “There are services available from the state that assist rural communities,” he said.

The second step is to develop an easy-to-use prototype blog that would go on the town’s webpage, www.townof delaware-ny.us. “We would utilize off-the-shelf software like Google and Yahoo,” Hindes said.

A third phase would be to conduct a survey of residents about their familiarity with computers and if they have a high-speed capacity. For those with low or no knowledge of computers, training programs could be initiated.

The project, which will be called OurTown, will develop as people get interested and as funding is available, he said. “We can utilize this technology to preserve the town’s culture and assist with farm preservation and the like.”

“I think this is an exciting project that could enhance communication in the town and keep residents informed,” said Jim Scheutzow, town supervisor.