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Central Point joins cyberspace By SUSAN JAY Central Point -- Important city information is only a few keystrokes away. Central Point joins its local city cyber neighbors with its own Web site: www.ci.central-point.or.us Several Rogue Valley cities are online, including Ashland, Talent, Medford, Central Point, Eagle Point and Jacksonville. Jackson County also is on the Internet. Central Point's Web site provides City Council meeting agendas and minutes, study session notes and how to contact department managers. It shows a map of each council member's ward, gives a brief introduction of each member and gives the e-mail addresses for department managers and the mayor. In addition, the Web site provides links to regional attractions such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Britt Music Festivals. It lists schools, colleges, hospitals and other local information. "For a city our size I think it's a pretty significant step," said Jim Bennett, city administrator. "The council is very much behind using the Net and serving people more quickly and efficiently that way. We're really excited about it." Establishing a city Web site was one of the first actions Mayor Bill Walton recommended when he started his term. He said going online would save a lot of paper and other office costs. In the next few months the city plans to add zoning ordinances, the comprehensive plan and a variety of city forms "so people can get on the Net and find out what they need to do to live and work here," Bennett said. But that's only the beginning. Within the year, the city hopes residents will be able to send documents such as building plans and planning applications via e-mail to the city. Medford is taking that angle one more step and hopes that by the end of the year residents will be able to make reservations for soccer and baseball fields, sign up for swimming lessons and pay for building permits on the Web, said Jim Pulliam, head of Medford's information system. "Anything we do at City Hall is going to be available on the Internet on our Web page," Pulliam said. "Our goal is to have a 24-hour city hall," he said. "The benefits are just unbelievable," Pulliam said, including saving people driving trips and reducing pollution and parking problems. He said the city will showcase the new Web services at the Jackson County Fair. Talent also recently launched a city Web site this spring. "People love it," said Allison Zigich, the office employee who put it together. "They can find out about anything and it keeps our citizens informed and also allows them to have contact with us immediately." Central Point has contracted with pcI Net, a Jacksonville computer consulting company, to help set up the Net location. The city has budgeted $5,000 to pay for the added service. Beside the consultants, the city has four employees in planning, public works and administration who will work on the Web site. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA