ASHLAND — The Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Ashland land bank, is without a website.
The board let the website host subscription lapse, rendering the website extinct, in April. Some information, however, remains.
The domain, ashlandlandbank.org, was then bought — meaning that domain is now unavailable, said Bill Harvey, the nonprofit’s executive director.
“I was told that happens all the time. People wait for domains to expire and then buy them, hold them hostage and increase the price to make money,” Harvey said.
But he was able to purchase “ashlandcountylandbank.org” for $35, he said.
On Friday, the board discussed the possibility of spending up to $5,000 on a new website host and service. Harvey said he received a $4,600 quote from Spire, a website-design firm based in Ashland.
Land bank board president Matt Miller said he thinks it’s a good idea to spruce up the look of the website.
Harvey said the new website would feature more robust information on properties up for demolition and those that have already been demolished, among other pieces of information.
Land bank member Denny Bittle encouraged Harvey to gather quotes from other website service providers.
The land bank unanimously voted to allow Harvey to research other service providers before pulling the trigger.