Tucson GIS Co-op

(Apologies if your name is misspelled or not shown – If you didn’t sign the “Sign-in” sheet or your handwriting isn’t clear, it won’t appear correctly.)

Bill Timmins, Director of GIS Services. MAP2PDF allows GIS professionals to publish and distribute maps and geo-collaborate with colleagues or with the public with no need for the recipients of the GeoPDF to have any knowledge of GIS. User permissions can be set for view-only capability or to enable annotations, markup/redlines, and symbol creation that are stored in the GeoPDF. These can be exported as small shapefiles with metadata back into ArcGIS. All active layers and attributes in ArcGIS become available on the GeoPDF allowing query and access to the associated tables. All of the expense is borne by the map author, who will need MAP2PDF to export the GeoPDF from ArcGIS. If the author wants to enable the user to make entries, the MAP2PDF Bundle and Adobe Professional will also be required. The software the end users need is free and available by download – Adobe Reader and GeoPDF Tools. The cost of MAP2PDF for ArcGIS for government agencies is $995 and for the MAP2PDF Bundle $1,995. For a free thirty-day trial version of the Bundle email Bill Timmins at info@gisservices.net or call 991-0727.

Business

• Training - Jennifer Sborov of SAIAT: There are two classes coming up; a 4 day class in geodatabase design and linear referencing on August 27-30 and an introduction to GIS class.

Cody Cohn: The Co-op is working with DM (Cody Cohn) and Pima County (Steve Whitney) to conduct an Intro to ArcGIS class. This class is full but a waiting list for the next time it is offered is being compiled. DM can only justify Cody to teach the class when there are DM personnel who need the training. Cody has been so effective in training at the base that there aren’t many people left who still need the training.

• GDB Subcommittee - Steve Whitney: They haven't met in awhile, but will try to get together within the next couple of weeks. PC DOT has a set of pavement management data that will serve to test different Linear Referencing Systems on the street network.
• ePortal Subcommittee - Steve Whitney: Steve is in the process of adding data retrieval information to the PowerPoint presentation. He will notify the membership when a new version of the presentation is ready for review.
• GIS Intern - Dave Koss: The Coop has received 30 applications for the GIS intern position. Peter Johnson, Johanna Kraus, Ben Wilder-U of A Arid Lands, Aaryn Olsson–UofA, Blanca Espino, Dave Koss, Alix Rogstad - Az Sonora Desert Museum, Linda Coon-Pima County volunteered to screen the applications.
• Request for GIS Intern Services –Alix Rogstad et al.: The U of A Office of Arid Land Studies and the Desert Museum are cooperating to map buffel grass in the Tucson Basin. They have gathered lots of raw data, which now needs to be standardized, organized and synthesized in one database. They would like to use the Coop intern on a part time basis to help with this effort. Dave Koss said that the Coop would evaluate all requests for the use of the intern when the position has been filled.
• PAG Ortho ’08 Project- Manny Rosas: The range of the ortho project has been expanded this time to include a corridor along I-10 near Benson in Cochise County as well as the Red Rock area in Pinal County. The photos will also include the town of Sahuarita and part of the Tohono O’odham reservation in addition to areas that were photographed in 2005. The level of detail that they will be able to achieve in more urbanized areas will depend on financial resources at the time of the flight, which is scheduled for next spring.
• IT GIS Core Action Items- Gage Andrews: The City’s IT department has been given the task of providing a plan for emergency response planning as it relates to IT and GIS resources within City government. To this end, Gage will be sending Coop members a questionnaire asking them to identify resources and support staff critical to their GIS applications. Rafael Cancino, who used to work at DM, pointed out that the base has done a lot of work in this area and might be helpful as the City proceeds with its effort.

• Manny Rosas would like to schedule a presentation that was recently held by GITAz in Phoenix on GIS and Surveyors. He offered to hold the meeting in the PAG conference room and is going to talk with Jesse Reyes about scheduling it as a meeting of the Coop.