Infitec will design city website
Marion may become a beta site for Infinitec
Staff writer
A Hays company will be designing and maintaining the new City of Marion website.
Monday, Mayor Eloise Mueller and commissioner Larry McClain voted 2-0 to approve the Infinitec proposal, based on a recommendation from City Administrator Dave Mayfield and Police Chief Michel Soyez. Commissioner Jim Crofoot was unable to attend the meeting.
"Michel and I put our heads together and he educated me about these proposals," Mayfield told commissioners. "It's our belief that Infinitec is the most desirable."
Specifically, Mayfield said Infinitec's was the most inclusive and cost efficient since it would provide design, setup, and maintenance. For instance, Infinitec will host the website on their server, supply the domain name, and will provide maintenance and security.
"The others (bidders) would build a website but we were going to have to go out and find a server and do some of those other things," Mayfield said. "And (Infinitec) has security. If our site were somehow destroyed they'd be able to reload it. If we want something on we can put it on ourselves."
Infinitec also offered to drop the $795 website design and setup fee if the city allowed the website to be used as a beta site. The proposal also includes a $600 yearly maintenance fee (based on $50 per month).
"We probably need to find out more about that (beta site proposal)," Mayfield said. "But we'd like to have the latitude to allow that. It could save $795. Michel says it means we would be a proving ground or testing ground for them (Infinitec). But I have a lot of questions on that."
Mueller questioned how soon the city would need to determine whether or not it would be a beta site.
"We'd probably have to decide soon," Soyez commented. "It's more of a timing issue. But I have some questions about what types of software they'd like to run."
"It may be something we're not interested in," Mayfield added.
Besides approving the Infinitec proposal, commissioners authorized Mayfield and Soyez to decide whether or not the city would become a beta site, after further research.
In other matters, the commission:
— approved a contract from APAC-Kansas Inc. to pave Country Club Drive at a cost of $8,694 and Kellison Street in the amount of $17,010. The paving consists of a 4-inch hot mix asphalt surface. The project will begin next Wednesday.
— approved plumbing and electric license applications for Willard Glasgow d.b.a. Glasgow Construction from Hillsboro.
— approved warrants amounting to $51,087.54 and payroll in the amount of $23,729.07.
— signed a proclamation declaring Nov. 8 as Premature Birth Awareness Day at St. Luke Hospital.
— heard from Mayfield that he and Mayor Mueller had attended a Resource Conservation and Development Advisory meeting last week at the Marion USDA Service Center.
There, they heard a presentation from Stan Thiessen regarding enterprise facilitation, a regional community development program involving multiple counties.
Mayfield said Thiessen is proposing Marion join with Dickinson, Chase, and Morris counties to form a multi-county development group.
— heard from Mayfield that he and Linda Holub, city clerk, will be attending a Nov. 13 meeting to pursue a Rural Development Loan/Grant.
The city hopes to attain a loan or grant funds to help it complete state mandated improvements at the city's water treatment plant. Mayfield said engineers would be preparing the proper reports for the paperwork and would send out environmental letters just as they had done previously for other grant applications.
"Hopefully we'll know by the first of the year whether we get this or not," Mayfield said.
— heard from Harvey Sanders, public utilities director, that city crews would begin hanging Christmas lights next week. Sanders said it was a time consuming process and noted the lights would be turned on the day before Thanksgiving.
