Sally SwartzThe good news about Martin County’s new $275,000 website: It displays nicely on mobile phones and tablet computers. There’s also a lot of bad news: No staff directory. No easy way to locate agendas, minutes, documents or just about anything else. And so many complaints and disgruntled users the county could use another website just to list them all.
This wasn’t the outcome Kevin Kryzda, the county’s chief information officer, envisioned for the redo, which has been more than a year in the making. A group of “seven or eight” volunteers, another 125 who responded to a questionnaire asking for ideas, and a few folks who meet the public at the county’s front desk all helped shape the website. Promet Solutions Corp. did the revamp.
The county offered two “how-to” sessions when the site was launched several weeks ago at www.martin.fl.us.
Three major problems have surfaced, Kryzda said.
First, there’s no directory of county staff, making it nearly impossible for residents to call or email anyone at the county. Kryzda’s staff is “working on” a new directory.
Next, the search engine on the site is “strange,” he admits, and “not intuitive.” For example, a search for county commissioner emails provides 9,000-plus results, with no clear way to scroll through recent emails. Or a search for a particular document includes hundreds with the same key words and no clear way to sort out what’s wanted from what isn’t.
The staff is developing a way to sort items by date, he said.
Finally, people are unhappy that the site is so “bland,” Kryzda said. Others call it ugly. They complain that no photos show Martin’s ocean beaches, rivers, wildlife, and natural beauty. They complain the county’s logo has been ditched for a generic design used by an area development and a giveaway shopper.
Kryzda said the staff is working on making the site more “pleasing and localized.”
For now, residents who have problems can click on “Contact,” he said, to send staff members an email.
I tried that when I had problems with the new site. When I didn’t hear back the next day, I tried, without success, to find Kryzda’s phone number or email on the site. I finally used Google to locate it.
That’s a strategy Kryzda actually recommends. “People have gotten more savvy” in locating things through a variety of methods, he said. But why use Google if the county has already paid to create the website, plus $45,000 a year for data storage (cloud-hosting) costs?
While residents miss the old website, there’s no going back. “It was at the point we were concerned it would fail,” Kryzda said, “and there was no backup.” The new website, he said, “is one we can grow with.”
“The system is not good,” environmental lawyer Virginia Sherlock said. “Look at other websites that work — the city of Stuart or St. Lucie County. Find a new technology. Find one that works.”
Since each county department enters its own information for the site, there’s no consistency in the way things are listed, Sherlock said, which makes finding anything difficult. Like most users, “I want an answer now, not in 47 steps.”
In the past, Martin has been in the forefront of online technology. Kryzda, whose wife, Taryn, is Martin County administrator, was largely responsible for that. That’s why this user-unfriendly site is surprising.
Kryzda said a video to teach residents how to use it is being developed. “We want to make sure folks can get what they need,” he said.
Residents who have trouble with the site can email Kryzda at [email protected].
Or call him on his cell phone: 772-285-9750.
If you lose the number, Google it.
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Sally Swartz is a former member of The Post Editorial Board. Her e-mail address is [email protected]. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
