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Tucson Area GIS Cooperative

March Meeting Agenda - 03/21/2006

3:00 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.

COT IT - Pueblo Room

481 W Paseo Redondo

Attendees: Autumn Figueroa - TPD, Laura Pinnas - TEP, Linda Coon - PC DSD, Andreas Molin - Town of Oro Valley, Jim Robinson - COT Parks & Recreation, Christine O' Connor - COT IT, Manny Rosas - PAG, Steve Whitney - PC DOT, Rob MacArthur - U of A, Mike Schrade - Town of Sahuarita, Laura Pinnas - TEP, Yvonne Morken - TFD, Jesse Reyes - COT UPD, Kaoru Johansen - GIS Coop Intern, Teri Schultz - TFD, Mary Szczepanski - COT UPD, Bryn Enright - TW, Chris Mack - Town of Marana, Dee Korich - TW, Anna Sanchez - COT UPD,

Agenda

1. Presentation: "Integrating ePlans with GIS" - Walt Coleman - IDT

    - Purpose of this presentation was to demonstrate the meshing of electronic building plan files (or other relevant files) with GIS (Google Earth was the demo software), such that when an example location was clicked on, the available plans attached to that location would appear as well. The ability to draw/place text on these plans (overlay) was demonstrated as well

    - Walt mentioned that this activity had secure storage and encrypted transmission

    - Login is similar to the GIS portal

    - There are different levels of administrative access available

    - Walt introduced a base level "test" system for local jurisdictions - the 100 most critical locations/buildings as designated by each jurisdiction will be free for those jurisdictions that wish to participate as an incentive to try and test the application for their respective uses

    - It is necessary to have a viewer in order to see drawings/plans

    Thanks to Walt Coleman for his presentation!

2. Future of the GIS Cooperative and Its Leadership - Larry

    - Although this topic has been discussed before to some capacity, the next few weeks appear to be a good time to start thinking about (and possibly acting on) how the Tucson Area GIS Cooperative will be lead in the future

    - Several people have noted that it may be time for the GIS Cooperative to take the next step in the process of becoming a mature professional organization

    - Larry's present term as Chairperson ends on June 30th of this year. A new chair or leadership structure will need to be chosen by the June 20th GIS Cooperative meeting

    - Larry presented arguments that favor a more structured GIS Coop leadership role. Those arguments are included below

    - Proposed Future GIS Coop Leadership Structure Options (as proposed by members present at the March GIS Coop meeting as well as by the Chairperson at this moment):

      (Remember, these are suggestions. The real decision on what actually happens depends on what each GIS Cooperative member chooses. I am assuming, at the moment, that the ultimate decision of which path the GIS Cooperative chooses to take will depend on how the majority of GIS Cooperative members votes. Any financial and legal issues that arise may have to be decided upon by COT IT and/or participating organizations)

      1) Continue with the present situation - one volunteer coordinator to guide the organization

      2) Develop a multi-volunteer effort to guide the GIS Coop, possibly chosen by member votes. (The structure proposed by the Executive Subcommittee last fall included a Chairperson, Vicechairperson, Treasurer, and Secretary)

      3) Develop a full-time paid enterprise-level "Geospatial Data Coordinator" position that would handle more than just GIS Coop meetings. This position would possibly handle grant research, data issues between organizations, emergency data planning, etc. Larry has a list of sample tasks that could easily fit the intended duties of this position. If you are interested in hearing some of these tasks, adding, changing, or deleting them, please email Larry

      4) A multi-volunteer board to oversee and guide a full-time paid position

      5) A one-year trial paid coordinator position to determine if the position is truly necessary and capable of supporting necessary functions

      6) Gather regional GIS community leadership together to decide on whether or not such a position would be feasible or to make recommendations on alternative solutions

      7) Hire a consultant to determine what type of leadership would be most beneficial

      8) Bring in GIS User Group/Cooperative/Enterprise organization peers from other locations (City of San Diego, City of Phoenix, City of Las Vegas/Clark County, etc.) to determine if a leadership structure change is necessary, and if so, what type

    - Approval of an FTE (Full Time Equivalent) position - , the "geospatial data coordinator", may require the efforts of several people. Funding may not be as difficult as some may think

    - It is important that each member consider what the pros and cons of this proposal are

    - Should this whole topic be put to a vote?

    - If you have any ideas or suggestions concerning this matter, please submit them to Larry at Lawrence.Cassen@tucsonaz.gov

    - This is probably the most important issue the GIS Cooperative will have to deal with for the present duration. I hope we, as GIS Cooperative members, can come to an agreeable and beneficial solution

3. Future Directions of the GIS Parcel Layer - Steve Whitney

    - PC DOT maintains CAD files using ArcCAD, but will be moving the AutoCAD Map for future parcel maintenance

    - New polygons will be much smoother ("less chunky" when viewed at large scales)

    - Slivers will be cleaned up

    - They are looking at getting someone to work exclusively on this effort

    - PC DOT is looking at purchasing ArcGIS Server

    - PC DOT is working with COT DSD on developing a regional GIS engine (geodatabase) that:

      1) Enables data to be published across jurisdictional boundaries

      2) Allows for customized and focused applications

      3) Allows for a real time and seamless environment (being a geodatabase)

      4) Can connect to AutoCAD and ArcGIS clients

4. Membership definition - Larry

    - It may be time to develop a more substantial definition of GIS Cooperative membership. Perhaps a more vested interest by members would help this concept along

    - Some ideas are that were mentioned at the meeting:

        - Attend at least six meetings per year

        - Attend at least one meeting per year

    - This was in from our Executive Subcommittee Draft Leadership structure document from late 2005: "Any person may participate as a GIS Cooperative member as long as he or she maintains a professional interest in using GIS and/or geospatial capabilities for the public good. A prospective member would need to be employed by a legally recognized jurisdiction, organization, or business that physically operates within Pima County."

    - Other ideas mentioned were:

      - Bylaws should be developed

      - A loose structure may be more inviting to prospective members than a fixed structure

    - There could possibly be other benefits to establishing membership, such as discounts

      on SAIAT classes, but geospatially-related materials (books, CDs, etc), other educational

    curricula, conferences, points towards obtaining GISP certification (Geographic

    Information Systems Professional), etc.

5. PCC Geospatial Education Program - Larry

    - A prior effort to develop a GIS program about three years ago met with a denied grant,

      ability to find and afford someone to support the program full-time, and fund start-up costs, among other things

    - U of A certification program took four years to develop

    - Some GIS Coop members believe qualified GIS personnel are difficult to find

    - What would be the sustainability of this type of program?

    - Possibly get Mesa Community College to make a presentation

    - Possibly work with Mesa Community College in an effort to form a combined program (traditional and distance learning)

    - Possibly develop a 2 + 2 program with the U of A or an alternative where credits could transfer

    - Rob MacArthur has agreed to assist with working on this issue

    - All ideas are welcomed

6. PAG Ortho 2005 Workshop and Project Update - Manny Rosas - PAG

    - 75 people are enrolled

    - Workshop is 3/28 - 9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

    - Posters, such as emission grids, pictometry efforts, etc., will be on display

    - No data sets are being publicly released yet except to TEP

    - First week of April data will be released

    - Will have representation of LiDAR soon

7. ER Mapper - Manny Rosas - PAG

    - Software distribution:

        - ER Mapper

        - ER Mapper Professional

        - Image Webserver - stream images across the web at a rapid rate

        - PAG's Executive Director has signed off on the memo for an ER Mapper workshop for the first week of April

        - PAG will possibly hold an advanced GIS class before the end of the FY

8. Budget - Larry

    - The GIS Cooperative still has $25,886 left in its budget.

    - If there is interest in an advanced GIS course before the end of the FY, please let Larry know at Lawrence.Cassen@tucsonaz.gov

9. Open Floor

    - Anna Sanchez in COT UPD is looking for assistance on physical dimensions for downtown buildings, such as footprints, building plans, etc. Please contact her at Anna.Sanchez@tucsonaz.gov

    If someone has been misquoted or information has been left out, please inform Larry Cassen at Lawrence.Cassen@tucsonaz.gov as soon as possible to reconcile the error(s). Please accept my apologies ahead of time