The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), approved the signing of an agreement to combine the County’s website with the City of Atlantic, CADCO (the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation), and Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

Atlantic Chamber Director Ouida Wymer said the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission (CPC) has approved $7,500 for the discovery process in creating a combined website, toward the shared cost of the website’s development, which will decrease the combined entities’ cost of $14,500…or $3,625 each. There’s also an approximate $2,000 expense for “technical configuration,’ depending on what the County elects to have on its page. Wymer said there are several benefits to combining the County’s website with the other three entities.

All the information for the communities and County are in one place, making for a more unified presence on the web, and possibly drawing more young professionals as well as entrepreneurs. Wymer said it will also be more efficient and reduce duplication of information. County Deputy Auditor Sherri  Karns said cost-wise, it will be less to run the site over the next five-years than it currently is, aside from the one-time set-up and development fees. The page would be developed and hosted by 5Q Communications, in Atlantic.  5Q’s Chad Williams will meet next with each of the four entities to determine their individual needs.

The hosting charge would be $50 per month for each entity. Chad Williams said maintenance would be charged by the hour. The hosting covers physical location of the website, security updates and related features, such as measures to protect against hacking. They will also provide training on updating and accessing the website.

The County is served by Solutions, Inc., out of Spencer. The Supervisors are expected to meet with Solutions’ Vice President of Operations, Max Elg, next week. Until the new, combined website comes online and is functioning later this fall, the County will continue to utilize Solutions’ system and services on a month-by-month basis.