The Pike County Commission launched a new website and social media platforms this week to better communicate with constituents.

Commissioner Chad Copeland, District 4, said the county has been working to revamp its online presence over the course of about 18 months.

“This is one of the things we’ve been discussing ever since this new commission was elected two years ago,” Copeland said. “We want to have a way to better communicate with the public and get information out and also for them to communicate back with us … What we want to be able to do is give people an outlet to digest news about Pike County. We want it to be a one-stop shop.”

The county had a website previously, but it was inactive and outdated. The new site features a calendar for county events such as commission meetings, agendas and minutes for commission meetings, community links, county news and more.

“Under the news section, you see road closures,” Copeland said. “We’re revamping that to be more interactive so residents can see what’s closed, but also what projects we’ve got opened. For instance, the new road out at Rex is a project that’s ongoing; the 24-month plan, we want them to be able to see the roads being paved under that.”

Chairman Robin Sullivan, District 2, said the website allows residents to get answers to many of their questions without having to call and talk to someone.

“They can look any time and read the minutes of our previous meeting,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s important that they know what’s going on in Pike County, what we are debating. There are also links to other services provided in Pike County … most of the information is now readily available at the tips of your fingers.”

Residents seeking to speak at a commission meeting can now even submit those requests on the site.

Copeland said the site is still being worked on, but tabs are being added for major issues going on in the county such as the project to build a new jail and the recruitment of Rex Lumber.

“We want tog et the questions about the jail out there, links to our meetings with TCU on there,” Copeland said.

In addition to the website, the commission has launched Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Social media is just the way a large percentage of population gets their information now our job to get it out to them trying to use every means at our disposal to do that. We want to be a part of that.”