Jerome Township officials are hoping to better connect with residents through an improved website.
During Tuesday’s Township Trustees Meeting, officials demonstrated new features of the website, www.jerometownship.us.
Firefighter Sarah Page, who worked to redesign the website, said the goal is to make the site as functional and user-friendly as possible.
“We want people to want to come to our website for information,” she said.
Page said the home page of the site has an option for residents to enter their email address to be sent updates from the township. There is also an area to send a message to the fire department.
Township news and upcoming events are listed below, on the same page.
The home page previously displayed rotating photos from throughout the township. Now, Page said it features links to three links to areas of interest: zoning, fire and trustees.
If a user clicks on the zoning section, Page said they will see photos of zoning employees and contact information. Residents can also access the township zoning resolution and other documents.
The fire page also has information about the department and a message from Chief Douglas Stewart.
Page said the trustees page currently includes each of their photos, but will have updated contact information once trustees are assigned new email addresses from the township. Page said she is also working to create biographies of each trustee.
She said she plans to add links to agendas and minutes from each meeting to the trustees section. Page said the goal is to eventually integrate a media player so residents can view a video of the most recent trustees meeting on the website.
Page said it is important to understand the website will continue to evolve as different needs arise.
“We do want this to be adaptable,” she said.
There are several portions of the website Page said she is currently working to further develop.
She said she is hoping the roads section will eventually include a feedback portion in which residents can message the roads department with concerns. However, she said it will be “very controlled” and allow individuals to select specific options rather than type out their own response.
Additionally, Page said the parks page will be fleshed out so each park and cemetery in the township has its own page with photos and relevant information.
Page said she also worked with the Union County Sheriff’s Office to create a page that features photos of deputies that patrol the area. She said her hope is residents can become familiar with local law enforcement officials.
As sections are completed, Page said she is going to continue to update the website as much as possible.
Trustee Megan Sloat thanked Page for her work and said, “This has come such a long way.” Trustee Joe Craft echoed her sentiments and added the website is “very impressive.”
Stewart also noted that township officials are working to use as many avenues as possible to connect with residents. Beyond the website, he said they are leveraging social media and newspapers to publicize information.
Craft agreed with his strategy, adding, “It could be the best website in the world, but if people don’t know how to get to it…” it isn’t beneficial.
In other business:
– Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden introduced the township’s intern, Kamran Khorshidi.
Khorshidi is a rising senior at Ohio State University studying City and Regional Planning. Snowden noted Khorshidi was recognized by the Knowlton School of Architecture, which houses his major, as one of three outstanding undergraduate students.
He is also a Dublin Jerome High School graduate.
Snowden said he was recommended to intern with the township by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) summer intern program.
Through the program, he will work with Jerome Township through August 14, but Snowden and Stewart said there may be an opportunity for Khorshidi to stay longer.
Snowden said he is “a fabulous addition to the work we’re doing here.”
– Officials scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m. July 7, prior to the regular trustees meeting, to discuss funding for the fire department.
Stewart said he hopes it is an opportunity for residents “to help us move their department forward.”
Any questions about a potential fire levy should be emailed to Stewart at dstewart@jerometownship.us prior to the meeting.
If needed, Craft noted that the meeting could be continued to provide residents another opportunity to ask questions and gather information.