New Oak Park Website





By Lori Porter
Acorn Staff Writer

When Brett Garrett moved to Oak Park from Glendale two years ago, he fell in love with the community and began attending Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meetings.


Over time, he noticed that important issues were being discussed and recommendations made, but few residents took interest because they were unaware of the MAC meetings.


Garrett came up with a plan to bring the community together and maximize contact with neighbors and local businesses—a community Website for Oak Park.


Anxious to get the ball rolling, Garrett approached the MAC and asked for their input about the components needed for a community Website.


MAC members told Garrett that they couldn’t finance the Website but said they would support the concept. At last week’s meeting, the MAC formed a committee which will include Deena Parry, David Chatfield, Ron Stark, and of course Garrett, for the purpose of overseeing the Website.


The committee will meet periodically to discuss what’s working and what isn’t and to create new ideas for the Website.


Garrett invested $3,800 to purchase the Internet Website www.oakparkupdate.com and also an additional $2,000 for advertising, he said.


His concept for the Oak Park Website is simple. For example, there will be a real estate section to click on, which will include all homes for sale and rent in Oak Park. On that same page will be the phone number for prospective home-buyers to call for information about the dwellings that are for sale.


When the call comes in to Garrett, he’ll refer them to a local realtor who’s agreed to contribute up to 25 percent of any sale that’s generated through the Website. That money will go into an official Oak Park fund used for community concerns such as improving schools, parks, signage, community gardens and so forth.


But fundraising isn’t the only reason for the Website. Garrett wants the venue to become a diverse source of information for the community. The Website currently includes the history of Oak Park, local government, schools, parks, real estate, news and events, community issues, details about local groups and clubs, event calendars and even a chatroom.


Garrett is married to Laurie Garrett who works in the San Fernando Valley as an office manager. They have two children. After having grown up in Glendale, Garrett said he fell in love with Oak Park’s small town atmosphere.



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