Some residents don’t have time to attend Oakley City Council meetings, but now there are new ways to keep in touch with what’s new in the city – and it’s just a click away.

Oakley recently launched its renovated website, www.oakleyinfo.com, with a brand-new interface that makes accessing information easier. Reggie Decker, public information coordinator, said the new site has been enhanced to make navigating simpler so residents and potential Oakley visitors can effortlessly find the information they’re looking for.

The new site features a welcoming photo montage of Oakley highlights. Navigation buttons on the left plus drop down menus at the top right connect users with department, services and recreation links. While the site is more user friendly, the city is taking online communication a step further by dabbling in online network communities such as Facebook and Twitter. According to Decker, Facebook has surpassed Google as the most-visited site on the planet, managing 7 percent of all Web traffic.

“We wanted to improve the website so that we have a way to get the latest information out to our residents as soon as possible,” Decker said. “We redid the site’s design to improve navigation, but we’ve also entered the online social networks by creating Twitter and Facebook accounts. It’s easy and it’s free, so we can get updates out to the public quickly so our residents know what’s going on in their community.”

Oakley’s Facebook page, “City of Oakley,” is a fan page that offers the latest in local and regional news. Since the launch of the new website, Decker said the fan page will be updated at least once a week and eventually, as the fan base grows, the page will be refreshed daily.

For a more informal update center, Oakley has created a second Facebook page for Oakley mascot Val E. Oak. By friending Val E. Oak, Facebook users will find city updates as well as information about special events, recreation opportunities and other fun facts about the city. Val E. Oak is also available to take your questions and share his decades of knowledge with the community.

Decker said Val E. Oak is a kid-friendly persona who will crop up at Oakley events in the future, but for now, the community can get to know the beloved cartoon oak tree online. “We wanted to create a fun way to spread news about Oakley. Now that the oakleyinfo.com has been updated, information is easier to find, but people won’t necessarily check the site daily. Val E. Oak is a way to get the information out, because once you become his Facebook friend, updates will regularly appear on your Facebook homepage.”

Twitter is an alternative to friending a tree while still getting informal splashes of information that are easy to digest. Oakley’s Twitter account, CityofOakley, features city information in 140 characters or less and provides direct links to oakleyinfo.com for specific information. Twitter and Facebook are also easily accessible through smart phone applications, so people can get the latest as soon as it’s posted.

By being a part of the Twitter or Facebook communities, you can connect and network with those who live and work in Oakley. But if you don’t want to participate in the social networks, links on Oakley’s homepage will directly connect you to the Twitter and Facebook pages without requiring you to log in.

Decker said creating accounts on these social networks allows for the city to connect with its younger residents and reach out to the tech-savvy generation. But for those who aren’t computer literate, the city’s quarterly community newsletter, The Oak Leaf, will still be delivered to mailboxes throughout the city.