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GIS Cooperative Meeting

City of Tucson - Information Technology

Friday January 11, 2002

10:00 - 11:30 AM

Present: Donald Ijams, Mike Honomichl, Cheryl Van De Beuken, Kristi Jenkins, Jessie Sanders, DJ Parslow, Jim Glock, John Keefer, Andrew Acuff, Paige Hamner, Anna Sanchez, Mary Szczepanski, Russell Riblett and Christine O'Connor

Enterprise GIS - Where We Are and Where We're Headed

Don used a Powerpoint presentation to describe Enterprise GIS and the benefits obtainable within an organization by using GIS technologies and data.

The focus must be on enhancing business processes through appropriate use of GIS capabilities. As City employees increase their GIS knowledge through training and exploratory projects, they become better able to bring the possibilities of GIS to the forefront when attempting business process improvement. Examples of this effort include the incorporation of GIS into a number of current projects, including CityScan and the City Development Services Permitting Support system. The PowerPoint presentation on Enterprise GIS is available on the City's GIS intranet website.

CityScan/Master Address Database Project Update - John Keefer

In early December 2001, GIS Cooperative members were asked to review the development version of CityScan and provide feedback. Very little feedback has been received to date. John observed that the user interface is a little confusing, it is too text driven, perhaps it needs to be put into a more user friendly format. A new front page is under design, and several improvements are under way based on input received over the last several months. Don asked again that the group take a look at the application and provide reactions and suggestions.

General discussion followed John's review comments, with some good exchanges on CityScan's original purposes and what several Cooperative members were hoping to realize from the application. Concurrent efforts related to database development and web site platform set up are also now under way.

Development Services Permitting Support System

Jessie Sanders gave a PowerPoint presentation showing technical details of the finished application he and DJ Parslow have developed. The web-based application, demonstrating very effective incorporation of GIS, was developed using IBM's WebSphere Studio and related software.

Javabean connection to ESRI's ArcIMS provides maps of current building permits of various classes, while the data frame shows a variety of related information. Jessie traced detailed diagrams of the program's operation, showing other web developers a good example of how GIS can be incorporated. This application has been constructed in a way that it can be used as a template for many other projects. The PowerPoint presentation is also available on the GIS Cooperative intranet.

GIS Training

Don will be repeating his 16 hour course for beginning users of ArcView 3.2. He will provide training in half-day increments, on February 12, 13, 14 and 19, 2002. There are a few seats left, so please let him know if you have the software and are interested in attending.

Current Events

Pima County Development Services Address Section Report - Andrew Acuff described the review and update process used by several sections of Pima County DSD for managing the official address base for the County, which underlies the master address database effort being sponsored by the Cooperative. Andrew reported on continuing progress in the Addressing Section's review of the November 14, 2001 Business License address-matching reject file. Solid Waste also has 2000 addresses that have been validated and sent to Pima County for review.

Solid Waste Management - Solid Waste has requested and received financial support from the Cooperative for purchase of a copy of ESRI ArcInfo.

GIS/Emergency Preparedness Web Cast - Presentation is to be broadcast on January 16, 2002. Question - is there interest among the membership to support a group viewing? At present, insufficient interest has been expressed to support Cooperative sponsorship.

Other Business

The next GIS Cooperative meeting is scheduled for 10:00 - 11:30 AM, Friday, February 8, 2002.