Election Day Tomorrow!

Well I am on pins and needles today as the election approaches. As of yet, I'm still running unopposed, so unless there is a huge last minute write-in campaign, I think victory is assured. Good thing too...it will be good for Affton. Remember to cast your vote tomorrow.

Today's beef is brought to you by the Affton Chamber of Commerce website. While I love the fact that you can drop by the office (behind Sam's Steakhouse on Gravois) and buy a map of Affton for only $1.00, it seems there are better ways to go about improving the area without spending much more money. The site itself looks like it came out of a Fisher-Price box for ages "3 and up".

Now clearly the Chamber's goal is to drive business to the area and improve the chances for existing local businesses to thrive. While many folks might like to do business on the phone, I'd like to know, among other things, why the database for available commercial property (developed by an independent contractor apparently in 2004) is only located "on the Chamber computer". Wasn't the Internet running in 2004? Who sold the Chamber on a database that runs on a 1.44MB floppy disk in 2004? (More importantly, who in the Chamber paid for it?) Perhaps a call to Elliott Davis is in order because YOU, AFFTONIANS, PAID FOR IT!

In fairness, there is a list of commercial properties listed but there are no clickable links, no photos and no links to development incentives for potential buyers. There is no indication as to how old the information is. Most importantly...the page counter has a measly 1061 hits since September 2004. Is this the best we can do? Can't this be database be online and made to look more..."sexy"? I know that web developers are expensive, but sites can be developed that are easily updated by simpletons. At the very least, it would make us look more legit to residents and potential visitors. As part of my myriad reform policies, I call for sweeping changes to the "official" Affton websites. I think the residents should be made aware of more than the Open Luncheons and the "Bunny Hutch" at the Oakland House.