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Copyright©2009 The Millerton News
Reprinted with permission

The Village of Millerton Launches Web Site
By WHITNEY JOSEPH - Editor
May 14, 2009

MILLERTON – At last, there’s a new and improved way to find out all one needs to know about the village of Millerton and it is right in line with the 21st century. That’s right: The village has just announced the completion of its very own Web site, villageofmillerton.com.

The site is the end result of two years of hard work, determination and vision of village Trustee Yosh Schulman, who organized the Web Site Committee in May 2007. At that first meeting the number who attended could have been counted on one hand. But Schulman was not deterred. He continued to work on the site, applied for grants (which were not ultimately awarded) and asked for help wherever he could find it. The final product leaves him with one feeling in particular.

“Relief,” he said. “I feel very relieved. It was disappointing that it took as long as it did to figure out how it was going to get created, but all of those original notes were addressed, so we used as much of that original information as possible, and it was a big help to getting this Web site.”

Another big help was found in volunteer Steven Williams. Williams is a Web developer who was brought on to help with the project, ultimately to be paid for his work through grant money the village was expecting from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation. Things turned out a little differently, however, as the grant was denied and Williams eventually volunteered his time.

“We began talking about it last year and Yosh was seeking a grant, but the grant wasn’t approved and the project was getting extended longer and longer,” Williams said. “Then we met on March 27 and he brought the actual flip charts from his meeting two years ago with what people wanted to see on the Web site.”

“Five years ago I would have said it was a luxury, but recently the Web has become a very useful tool for information and helping people find what they need and what they’re gathering. It became clear... that it’s so important to have a Web site that it should be written into our budget,” Schulman said, adding that the news the village did not get the grant award really made an impact on him. “To hear that from Berkshire Taconic, which is in support of so many projects, really struck home. Having a Web site empowers the citizens — it gives them access to information at all hours, as opposed to limited hours. Now they can have access 24 hours a day.”

That’s why Schulman, himself a computer consultant, said he is immensely grateful to Williams for his assistance.

“It cost the village of Millerton absolutely nothing,” he said. “All of the time for the Web development was donated by Steven. I purchased the addresses and donated them and donated the Web space, and Steven donated his time to create the layout.”

The design support was necessary, because Schulman is what he described as a “general practitioner” when it comes to computers.

“I address the broad issues, from the computer not working to setting up an office network,” he said. “Web site design is not one of the things I do.”

Maintenance of the site, however, is “right up his alley,” and as a trustee he will continue to volunteer his time to do that on a regular basis for the village.

“The initial part of it was the time-consuming part. The layout and everything is in place. Now that that’s done, I’m happy to maintain it,” he said.

Williams, for his part, said he was pleased he could offer his time and energy to the project. The Web developer and business consultant has an office on the second floor at 24 Main St. in Millerton; he can be reached at www.williamsassociates-ltd.com for more information on the village site or Web sites in general.

“I like Millerton a lot and would like to stay here indefinitely and to meet more people in the business community, so what better way to reach out?” he asked. “It’s a great way to contact a lot of people and get a better feel for what goes on in the village. And it’s about service to others and giving back.”

When browsers log onto villageofmillerton.com they can expect to find a home page with a welcoming remark from the mayor, a blurb about upcoming events, meeting schedules, a photo of downtown and links to different sections of the site. The site offers approved minutes from board meetings, the village’s code book, contact information and operating hours for the various village departments, current village projects, registration forms for programs (think summer camp, baseball, etc.), photos from the village and a community calendar. The community calendar will allow users to sign in and post their own events, as well as coordinate the calendar onto their own Web sites, so as to be as useful as possible. Schulman is hoping for the calendar to be a “successful component” of the Web site to help people and organizations decide how to organize their events and avoid overlapping schedules.

To those who are skeptical about using the Internet instead of Village Hall, Schulman wanted to stress that it’s not a replacement, but instead just another option.

“This is just making things more accessible,” he said. “Village Hall is still there, the clerk is still there and the phone and hall are still there. This is just providing more access, at any time, for more people.”

His advice: Try it, you may find you like it.