Chili expands website features

The Town of Chili has added new features to their town website. Most recently, the 2006 Town of Chili Resident Survey was added to the web.

"As Chili experiences growth, we want to make sure as local leaders we are guiding that growth in the way best suited for town residents," Supervisor Tracy Logel said in a press release. "We created the Master Plan Update Committee to evaluate that growth, and form an opinion as to how growth and development within the Town of Chili should proceed."

The Master Plan Update Committee created a survey that allows residents to voice their opinions on a number of growth and development topics Chili currently faces; among them is the proposed development of a Target and other retail stores and restaurants near the intersection of Chili Avenue on Paul Road.

Chris Levey, the Director of MIS for the town stated: "The resident survey was added to the website to provide town-wide access and distribution at little to no cost. In addition, the web allows for automatic tabulation of the survey results, saving the committee many hours of paperwork. A system like this is a win-win for residents and government alike."

Chili also recently added interactive maps to their website. Users can open a map and view satellite imagery and street details of the area. The maps are also zoom-able, so users can zoom in and see a photo of their house or zoom out and see the entire area.

"We actually have multiple interactive maps in the works" Levey said. "We now have a map of town facilities where users can click on a park, for example, and have the park indicated on the map complete with a description of the park facility."

Chili is also working on maps of area churches and civic organizations as well as a map of area businesses. "To be added to these maps, a local group or business need only click on the link provided to make the request to be added to the map," Logel said.

Chili also maintains a web-based calendar that allows residents to add their own public events. Richard Brongo, Chili's Town Clerk, said, "We post our public meetings and events online already, and it was easy to open that service up to the community."

Calendar requests are processed through the calendar on the town website, found at http://www.townofchili.org. "All calendar requests are evaluated for appropriateness before being added to the calendar," Levey said.

January 29, 2006