“Island County’s official Web site is at www.islandcounty.net. It offers an array of information about county programs and community services, as well as data on specific departments and work projects.The county’s new graphic service, MapCiti, will provide a a fully-automated mapping service that allows site users access to digitized maps and graphics, without having to buy special software.Over the next few months, the MapCiti service will be used exclusively in the ongoing process to develop a non-incorporated urban growth area in Freeland.Island County government is getting a new, online look that could last, if Internet users like – and use – what they see.The county board of commissioners voted Monday to try out MapCiti, a new graphics service that enables governments to provide online information about topics ranging from governmental infrastructure, planning and zoning, utilities and emergency services.The service is designed to make online data available to users, both in and out of government.The commissioners agreed to a six-month, $2,000 trial use of the service, developed by Boston-based Syncline. The money will come out a state grant, according to the planning department.Commissioner Mac McDowell said MapCiti – the only fully-automated service of its kind on the market – offers a relatively inexpensive way to provide data to the public…not historically made available.We’ll see if we buy into this concept … if it gets a good evaluation, McDowell said. The company’s product Website asserts MapCiti eliminates the need to print and manually distribute maps, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Instead, online users are able to create their own maps, using data provided through the site.MapCiti service subscribers may also freely update map information, as well as create maps with different data combinations, the company site says.Perhaps best of all, said planning department Director Phillip Bakke, MapCiti is supposed to make the county’s mapping and database information available to those with common computer programs. Geographic information once only readable online with expensive software programs will accessible to anyone with Microsoft Explorer, said Bakke.During the six-month trial, which ends in November, the county will exclusively use the MapCiti service in conjunction with the development of a non-incorporated urban growth area in Freeland.We want to see if people actually use it, said Bakke about MapCiti. Is it as useful as we believe?The county Web site – at www.islandcounty.net – provides aerial photos and electronically scanned county zoning maps. With MapCiti, Bakke said, the viewers will also be able to see fully-digitized parcel maps. I want to see that one, Bakke said.Both McDowell and Bakke said MapCiti will be judged not only on how accessible it makes information to the public, but how useful it proves to county workers. Bakke said MapCiti promises to make exchanging information between county departments easier. In fact, those departments would need to agree on the service’s effectiveness, before a decision could be made, he said. It would need to be an inter-departmental effort. If the commissioners decide to buy the service, it will cost the county $20,000 for the first year and $15,000 every year thereafter.McDowell said he was cautiously optimistic about MapCiti. We’ll see if it gets any hits or not, he said, referring to Web site page views from readers.Bakke, however, summed up his enthusiastic feelings: It’s really cool. “