SPARKS — Visitors to the city of Sparks’ website can expect to see something new in the coming years.

The City Council agreed Monday to pay local company KPS|3 Marketing $44,500 to redesign Sparks’ website from the ground up. A new Flash-powered homepage, easier-to-access menus and a mobile phone version are all on the KPS|3’s to-do list.

“I can’t underscore enough how important a good website is for our city,” community relations manager Adam Mayberry told the council before its unanimous vote.

Web surfers will now search for city information on a site that reflects Sparks new branding efforts.

The city adopted an energetic orange and green theme for its new logo and a city committee has been formed to convince locals and visitors that “it’s happening here,” which is Sparks’ new tagline.

“We do immediately begin to incorporate your very energetic colors and you did choose to use two very energetic colors so that makes it easier for me,” said KPS|3 president Stephanie Kruse.

City Council members were then guided through a slideshow tour Monday of what a prototype Sparks website could look like.

New features could include a calendar widget that consistently updates with a scrolling list of currently running Sparks events. A horizontal list of dropdown menus will line the top of the homepage, just beneath rotating pictures of Sparks events. According to Mayberry, these menus would be the items for which people most frequently visit the current site.

Paying city bills through the site is an add-on option, according to KPS|3. However, it is a convenience the city would have to pay to implement. Officials did not have a specific cost estimate.

Other items on the site would include Facebook and Twitter postings for those who do not subscribe to the two social networking sites. City employees would also be able to add or modify content through a back-side content management system.

“This was our preliminary prototype, developed as our vision to best meet all the goals that the city wishes to accomplish with a new site,” Kruse said Monday.

The next step in developing the site will be to hold meetings with city department heads regarding what they want implemented, Kruse said, adding that the process could take a while.

According to Mayberry, locals will see the new site no sooner than early next year.