FARMINGTON — Information about the Franklin County area is now available at a kiosk at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce office on the Wilton Road.

Volunteers helped construct a lighted foyer where visitors can stop anytime and check the chamber’s website at the kiosk and find the Chamber Welcome guide, brochures and maps, Lorna Nichols, executive director, said.

There are still a couple things to finish, but visitor information on lodging, restaurants, local events and real estate is available with the touch of a finger.

The foyer will be open and lit all night and there are plans for a lighted sign to announce the availability of visitor information, she explained.

A public event to showcase the new kiosk and foyer is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 4, she added. Volunteers who helped create the kiosk included chamber President Ivan Gould of Windowman company, members of Rotaract at the University of Maine at Farmington, Ryan Morgan from RDM Electric, TNT Construction, Dennis O’Neil, Greg Davis, Sue Atwood, Al Feather and members of Sugarloaf Security. They all donated their time and some supplies, she said.

Technology is also part of another new option for gaining insight to the local area. The chamber was the first in Maine to tap into the new “My Chamber App,” Nichols said. A chamber member directory can be downloaded through smart phones. Other chambers in Maine are starting to add the service.

By downloading the chamber app, maps, one touch dial phone numbers are available and a GPS system can route a map to a business from the phone’s location, she explained.

In other business, state legislation, including one that bans a list of more than 1,700 chemicals that can’t be used in manufacturing items for children, will be discussed during the chamber’s Monthly Business Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, in North Dining Hall at the University of Maine at Farmington. Local legislators will listen to what area businesses are facing for challenges and any ideas on what they should work on while in session in Augusta.

The public and businessmen interested in attending may notify Nichols at 778-4215.

The chamber is also working on a change for the upcoming 17th annual Home and Leisure Show. Held the past few years in March at the Western Maine Expo (Nichols building) in Wilton, it is planned for May 21 at the Farmington Fairgrounds. Admission will be free for the general public, she said.

The move provides the space available at the fairgrounds and is still early enough to precede vacations and is at a time when people are thinking about doing things outside, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com