OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen The Town of Hanover will have a revamped website in the coming months. Town of Hanover Supervisor Lou Pelletter authorized American Rescue Plan Act funds to be allocated to cover the startup costs for a new website.

HANOVER — The Town of Hanover has come a long way in a couple years to improve its official website. With a recent item on the Town Board’s agenda passing without objection, the website will continue to improve.

As part of the makeover for the Town of Hanover website, residents will be given an option to receive instant notifications for any updates to the website. Mass notifications for incidents such as road closures, building closures, meeting changes, or other Town news will also be available to residents if they so choose. Town Clerk Elizabeth VanCheri said she is “really excited” about the website updates.

In 2022, the Town of Hanover received a failing grade in a study by the New York Coalition For Open Government, an open government advocacy organization. At the time, Hanover’s government meeting documents and minutes were not posted online and accessible to the public as required by the state Open Meetings Law.

The Town made an effort to improve its website after it received criticism. The Town Clerk at the time, Tim Crino, characterized improving the website as his “number one project” for his final year in office before retirement, with the goal of “making it much more user friendly with a lot more information on it.”

At the recent meeting, Crino was in the audience as the Town Board approved a payment for its website to be redesigned by Town Web Design of Madison, Wisconsin. The initial setup fee of $3,000 for web design, data entry, content migration, and citizen communication platform will be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act funds. An annual maintenance and operating cost of $3,020 will be a budgeted expense for the Town of Hanover moving forward.

Also of note, the Town reallocated $1,200 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover the cost to survey Bicentennial Park for the installation of a playground. The cost was originally set to be covered by the King Road Park Funds account. Town of Hanover Supervisor Lou Pelletter previously urged spending proposals to be submitted to make sure American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated appropriately for the Town’s needs and ongoing projects.

The playground at Bicentennial Park has since been completed, while additions to the pavilion are still being evaluated. The Town also hopes to install a security camera at the park once the Town Hall’s security system is upgraded. Additional security measures at the Town Court and Clerk’s office are being evaluated, as well.

The Town is also seeking a Motor Equipment Operator for the Highway Department. The position has been available for several weeks following the resignation of Kyle Barthel, who was named the Director of Facilities at the Forestville Central School District.