A new website is being developed that will host aerial photographs, property tax information and dimensions of all property in Chilton County.

Flagship GIS conducted a public demonstration for the new site Wednesday at Clanton City Hall. The demo was attended by realtors, appraisers, property owners and others who wanted to learn the basics of the site’s operation.

“I hope this is something that’s going to help Chilton County and the city of Clanton to move forward,” said Chilton County Tax Assessor Rex Cleckler. “I hope it’s something that will assist you in your everyday jobs.”

The Chilton County Commission at its June 14 meeting approved a $6,000 contract with Flagship GIS to develop the new site. The commission also granted Cleckler approval to request bids on updated aerial photos for the county’s digital mapping system, which will be incorporated into the site.

The site may be viewed at flagshipgis.com. On that homepage, there is a listing of sites for various counties. There are two listings for Chilton; one is a public access site available for viewing by anyone; another is a restricted-access internal site used by the county. Internet Explorer is required for viewing the site.

Dan Richards of Flagship GIS said a third site may be developed that could be accessed via subscription for a nominal fee. This site would include high-end information such as tools for building a spreadsheet.

The site is intended to be more user friendly than the county’s former site. Information about property can be accessed using various methods. For example, the user can either search for a property owner or simply zoom in and drag the cursor over a parcel of land to see information about that particular parcel. A double click will bring up more detailed information in a box, such as tax appraisal amounts.

Richards also demonstrated how to highlight several parcels at one time.

“If you were going to close a road because a power line was going in, as an engineer, or if you’re a police officer and want to know everyone in that area, this is a spreadsheet you can make with all that information in there,” he said.

Users can also print maps with a few simple clicks. Yet another page contains specifics about each building on a property. Aerial photographs may be viewed with layers of information over them.

The site also benefits landowners planning future projects. For example, if someone wanted to build a fence, he could measure the approximate distance from point A to point B.

“It’s not perfect; it’s just a pretty good guess,” Richards said.

For more information, visit the site or call 755-0155.