Charles Oliver
Dalton city clerk Bernadette Chattam says some people have asked why there’s a video of a jet taxiing down the runway at the municipal airport on the city’s Web site (www.cityofdalton-ga.gov).
“It shows companies that might want to locate here that we can accommodate those types of airplanes,” she said.
The video is part of a new and ongoing effort to improve the Web site.
“If a business is looking to relocate or a student is looking at a college or someone is looking for a place to visit, the first place they go to usually is the Internet,” said Mayor David Pennington. “There was nothing wrong with our Web site. But it was the typical, sterile government Web site. And we wanted to make a better, ‘Wow’ impression. We want people to think ‘That’s a place I’d like to visit, live, go to school, start a business.”
All the information on city government — council meetings, contact information and other details — is still there. But the look of the Web site has been improved, say city officials, and Chattam says she has added many videos and photographs, with many, many more to come.
“We will constantly be adding current videos and pictures, so if you are in California you can look at our Web site and see what is going on in Dalton,” she said.
And not just in the city itself. The Web site already has photographs of Prater’s Mill, and Chattam says she plans to add some shots of the Conasauga River, among others.
She said Bruce Frazier, the public relations specialist at the Dalton Police Department, has taken most of the videos, while a local private photographer has been used for some of the footage.
In December, CGI Communications, based out of Rochester, N.Y., will come to Dalton to tape seven one-minute videos on various topics picked by the city, such as education, quality of life and real estate and relocation.
“They show off assets we want to show off. They’ve done this for several other cities, and they do it for free in return for being able to sell ads before the videos,” she said.
