Revamping the city of Sammamish’s website is a top priority for the communications committee this year.

And while the back-end upgrade the City Council unanimously approved last week for $65,000 won’t meet all of the committee’s goals, it’s a start.

“There’s a lot of stuff we can do on the communications front,” Councilmember Christie Malchow told the Reporter.

Malchow also serves as the chair on the ad hoc communications committee. Other members include Councilmembers Tom Hornish and Bob Keller.

The contract with Crabtree + Company, which was on the council’s March 1 consent agenda and allocated for in the 2015-2016 budget, will help streamline the city’s outdated site.

The current site, built in-house and first initiated in 2004, hasn’t been updated for about 10 years.

“(The website is) not organized for the public,” City Clerk Melonie Anderson told the Reporter. “We get public records requests for documents that are on our website.”

In the last year, the city’s website has seen an average of 580 visitors, with a high of 4,312 visits (on July 4, 2015) and a low of 164 views, according to IT Director Joe Guinasso.

The systems upgrade council approved last week is slated to launch in June, Guinasso said.

“It will look brand new,” he said.

The website redesign features a new content management system, which will then allow for more visually appealing, easy-to-navigate content.

“That kind of stuff can easily be added,” he said. “There are other options down the road once we get the website stabilized.”

Part of the communications committee’s talks at its last meeting in February regarded a range of ways the city could improve its reach.

Malchow, who campaigned last year on bettering city communications, wants to take a closer look at some tools already available, such as the city newsletter or the city’s social media pages, and discuss how to better utilize them. She points out the Sammamish City Hall Facebook page has slightly more than 400 likes — and in a city of more than 60,000 that’s a fairly “limited” reach, she said.

She wants to better use the city’s Channel 21, hosting information or a website redirect during the off-hours, when City Council or Sammamish Planning Commission meetings broadcast. She also wants to discuss the future of the Sammamish newsletter.

“We’re trying to get an idea of readership,” she said.

For now, it all comes back to the website. The city plans to use Google Analytics to narrow in on popular links and information. Moving forward, Malchow also said the city would look to its southern neighbor, the city of Issaquah, on ways to best engage with the community through social media.

“It’s very flattering the city of Sammamish is looking to us as a model,” said Issaquah Communications Coordinator Warren Kagarise. “That’s a huge compliment from our neighboring city.”

The city of Issaquah revamped its website in late 2012; by April 2013, it launched its social media presence. It’s now on 10 social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” Kagarise said.

One of the recent additions to the city of Issaquah’s website, for which the city’s received positive public feedback, was the option to “report a concern,” such as a pot hole or downed tree limb, he said.

The public has also approved of the city of Issaquah’s use of Instagram — that it automatically updates to the city’s home page.

“We also try to keep it fun,” he said.

The next Sammamish communications committee meeting is at 9 a.m. March 24 at City Hall.

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