The city of Joplin has created an interactive website for citizens to view various rebuilding projects in areas affected by the 2011 tornado.
“We figured that a website would be pretty easy. Everybody can access it for either a computer, or a cell phone, smart phone, to see the different statuses of the project,” says Tony Robyn, assistant director of planning development and neighboring services.
Robyn says the city of Joplin and its consulting firm call it a front facing public website for the community.
The projects are made possible through $158 million provided by the Community Development Block Disaster Recovery program.
“They can look to see what the project statuses are, the timelines, how much is being spent, how much is been spent to date, and what the projected completion date is,” Robyn states.
A map allows visitors to even zoom in on different areas of the city for project details. Robyn says in addition to understanding a project’s timeline, it’s important for citizens to know if they need to plan for road closures and detours.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback both from the community and our federal entities that help manage and oversee our funds,” Robyn adds.
Robyn says they will continue to share project details through traditional channels in addition to the new website to keep everyone informed.