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The City of Asbury Park website [cityofasburypark.com] is due for a major upgrade in the coming months.

To gain input from the community, members of the Asbury Park city council will host a forum Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers to discuss what residents and community would like to see on the revamped site.

“We are requesting feedback on which features and functions are needed to make the website relevant and easy to use from residents, visitors, businesses, nonprofit organizations and others in the community,” said Councilwoman Amy Quinn on the Asbury Park Nextdoor social media site.

“The scope of the project includes both the content management system, which controls the functionality of the website; and the design, which encompasses site organization, graphics, and content,” she said.

The council had proposed drafting a request for proposals for vendors to submit bids to upgrade the website during a July meeting, but efforts were stalled while they waited for confirmation of funding.

Within a week of proposing the redesign, the city’s website was hacked.

A “splash page” was constructed in the weeks after the hack, it contains “city contact information, important notices and links,” according to Asbury Park Police Chief Mark Kinmon.

“This is a temporary solution until a new website is designed and implemented,” he said in an email to the Sun.

By Sept.18 the council hopes to have a completed request for proposal, as determined at the Aug. 21 meeting.

“We were surprised to figure out it could take five to six months to put the website together,” said council member Sue Henderson at the meeting.

Anyone who wishes to give additional input about what they would like included on the new website, or who may not be able to attend the forum, can fill out a brief survey by clicking here.

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