By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Chelsea City Council heard a presentation during a pre-council meeting Dec. 1 about a software program the city could use to keep track of commercial property available in Chelsea.

Shelley Shores, director of client services and sales for Xceligent, a commercial real estate information provider, talked about the company’s services and demonstrated how to view property information with a website tool.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Kansas City, Xceligent collects a variety of information and maintains a database of available properties in different cities.

In 2010, the company launched its Birmingham market, which includes more than 80 member companies, Shores said.

“We track what’s for sale, what’s for lease,” Shores said. “When we decide to open a market, the very first thing we do is a virtual site inspection.”

The company also acquires and processes data; produces quarterly market reports; conducts physical site inspections; identities listings and tenants; compiles all availabilities in the market; places brokers on a 30-45 day call cycle; builds advisory board members with local collaboration; and builds robot armies to search thousands of assessors and media sites for sale transactions.

Eight employees are required to operate a population market of 1 million, Shores said.

“Another product we have is a website tool that will only pull available commercial listings,” Shores said. “It’s just a way to market your listings. It’s a map-based tool.”

Shores and another employee comprise the Birmingham market team. Shores is responsible for managing local research strategies, maintain relationships, facilitate advisory boards and drive revenue.

“All of this is information that we’re maintaining, that we’re getting from the brokers themselves,” Shores said. ” What’s nice about it is it’s embedded in your website.”

If the council approves the program, it would cost the city $250 per month, plus a one-time activation and set-up fee of $250.

The program operates on a 12-month agreement that auto-renews each year unless a city gives written notice at least 60 days prior to a new year.

Mayor Earl Niven said the council would discuss the program in the coming weeks.

“If we can get it worked out, the first of the year would be a good time to start,” Niven said.

In other business, the council:

•Approved a retail beer and retail table wine license for Circle K, formerly Kangaroo Express, located off U.S. 280 in Chelsea.

•Approved a donation of property from Liberty Baptist Church to the city. The parcel of property is less than half an acre at the corner of Liberty Road and Shelby County 47, adjacent to a parking lot the city owns at the Chelsea youth ball fields.