president’s column a clear vision - urisa.org gis... · reviews the association’s strategic...

Sha r i ng i n fo rma t i on t e chno logy so l u t i on s t o u rban and

reg iona l cha l l enge s s i n ce 1963 .

Issue 205

January/Febuary 2005N E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SN E W SU r b a n a n d R e g i o n a l I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s A s s o c i a t i o n

Each year the URISA Board of Directors reviews the association’s Strategic Plan with a desire to strengthen and grow this great organization. This year we did something different - we asked you, the membership, to become more involved in developing the vision for URISA. Many of you participated by providing your opinion by responding to an on-line member survey. That information was analyzed and provided input to a visioning session that was held in late January. With the assistance of facilita-tor Lonnie Weiss, the Board of Directors and a number of URISA members spent a day intent on broadening our shared vision of URISA’s future, building on our existing core strengths and focusing on strategies that can leverage our organi-zation even more.

We started the day determining who we are as an association and what is at the core of URISA. In small groups, we discussed the fundamental beliefs and characteristics of the association and its membership. We concluded we are a group of diverse individuals full of passion and a contagious energy for what we do. We are inspired by our interactions and relationships with others. We favour life-long, continuous learning, and want to share our collective experience and knowledge with others. We are problem solvers seeking intellectual satisfaction, with a desire to proactively change the world. We are called to public service in communities, and want to have an impact on life and on others. We are a professional family that is open and

supportive, connecting communities of interest.

Lonnie then asked us to individually refl ect on our goals for the association – what did we hope, dream and want URISA to be in 2010, without any consideration for how we would get there. It is as if Lonnie gave us permission, for a short time, to dream as a child – the weight of reality being lifted from our shoulders. Some remarkable themes came through the subsequent discussion, including that URISA would be THE association, THE organization, for the GIS Professional, with global infl uence and respect.

And then Lonnie brought us back to earth, and asked us to consider what steps we could take to achieve those goals, and in particular, what could be done in the short term – within the next year – to reach those goals. Numerous ideas were discussed; many ideas were related. In the end, we were asked to ‘vote with our feet’, and form groups to discuss specifi c action items that allow us to achieve some measure of success in the coming year moving toward our goals.

While we focused those discussions on two areas, I really think there are three that will be tackled with some gusto this year.

■ We need to celebrate our successes, and make the accomplishments of URISA and its members more visible. We need to inform others of some of the very special things we are doing. While GISCorps is a perfect example of a URISA initiative that now has public recognition of the extraordinary work being accomplished by volunteers, there are many more URISA activities that deserve more worldly exposure as well. We need to start tooting our own horn, and make the world sit up and take more notice.

■ We need to ‘revamp’ our website, and use it as a method to enhance delivery of services to both members and non-members. URISA as an organization has an enormous knowledge base, and we need to tap into the power of the web and the power of our membership to share that knowledge base. URISA staff has initiated a redesign of the URISA web page already, but the ideas that came out of this session will require additional strategic planning. Still, we have commitments from some of the session participants to pull together a committee and plan the functionality and requirements of a new, improved website.

President’s Column

A Clear VisionBy Dianne Haley, GISP, URISA President 2004-2005

Dianne Haley

continued page 5

Important URISA Dates to RememberFebruary 25, 2005Abstracts due for GIS in Addressing Conference

March 11, 2005Abstracts due for Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) Conference

June 6, 2005Deadline to submit Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Award applications

July 31 – August 2, 2005Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) ConferenceCleveland State University, OH

August 14 – 17, 2005GIS in Addressing ConferenceAustin, TX

October 9 – 12, 2005URISA 2005 Annual ConferenceKansas City, MO

The Urban and Re gion al In for ma tion

Systems As so ci a tion (URISA) is the

premier pro fes sion al as so ci a tion for

those in volved in im prov ing our urban

and regional environments through the

ef fec tive use of in for ma tion tech nol o gy.

Professionals in planning, eco nom ic

de vel op ment, in for ma tion systems,

emer gen cy services, natural resources,

public works, transportation, and other

de part ments within state and local

gov ern ment have de pend ed on URISA

for professional de vel op ment and

educational needs since 1963. Through

its in ter na tion al, national and local

chap ter op er a tions, URISA serves nearly

8,000 professionals.

About

URISA BoardPresidentDianne M. Haley, BSc, MScGIS, GISP, Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, [email protected]

President-ElectCindy Domenico, Boulder County (CO) Assessor, [email protected]

Immediate Past-President Daniel M Parr, GISP, Daniel Parr Associates, Inc., [email protected]

TreasurerMark J. Salling, Cleveland State University, [email protected]

SecretaryKathrine Cargo, Orleans Parish Communications District, [email protected]

Eric Bohard, Clackamas County, OR, [email protected]

Shoreh Elhami, GISP, Delaware County (OH) Auditors Offi ce, [email protected]

Allen Ibaugh, Data Transfer Solutions, Orlando, FL, [email protected]

Stephen W. Kinzy, GISP, ESRI-St Louis, [email protected]

Lisa Lubeley, GISP, City of San Diego, [email protected]

Kim H. Mc Donough, GISP, Tennessee Dept of Transportation, [email protected]

Nigel Roberts, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, ON, [email protected]

URISA Head quar ters 1460 Re nais sance Drive, Suite 305Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone: 847-824-6300 Fax: [email protected]://www.urisa.org

Wendy FrancisURISA NEWS Production [email protected]

Article submissions, calendar items and in dus try news should be sent to the attention of Wendy Francis.

IN THIS ISSUE

3 Expanded Digital Orthophotos Products From High Altitude Photography

4 Welcome New URISA Members

5 Chapter News

7 Welcome New Business Members

8 Industry News

2 January/February 2005 • URISA News

As budgets have tightened, more and more partnerships have evolved in an attempt to optimize the available funding for geospatial data acquisition. These partnerships, or consortiums, often involve multiple levels of govern-ment. As with any partnership or con-sortium, there is often some amount of give-and-take required to arrive at a middle-of-the-road solution (products) that fulfi ll the majority of the require-ments for all of the parties. This paper is intended to present alternatives such that partnerships are aware of a more expanded set of products.

High Altitude Photography ProgramsFor several decades, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has funded and part-nered with states, other federal agen-cies, and local governments to build and maintain a baseline set of Digital Orthophoto Quarter-Quadrangles (DOQQs). Originally focused on 1:40,000 scale panchromatic (black-and-white) photography, this 1 meter resolution product has truly become the baseline set of data for many us-ers. In more recent years both color and color infrared (CIR) photography have been utilized. Nearly all of this photography was acquired in “leaf-off” seasons (generally spring time) to minimize obscuration from vegetation.

In recent years, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has expanded their National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). This program supplies imagery products to a number of USDA agencies, principally supporting the administration of the Farm Compliance programs. Though primarily funded by the USDA, the program is increasingly attracting state and other federal agencies interested in more up-to-date DOQQs. NAIP products include DOQQs, but also involve Compressed County Mosaics (CCMs). These products are available

to the public for a moderate fee. NAIP photography is acquired during the peak crop growing seasons to support the crop analysis. This “leaf-on” photography and its allowance of scattered cloud cover as high as 10% on any exposure, is objectionable to some traditional users. However, the relatively low production cost of the data and its timely availability has attracted a number of interested partners. The NAIP products are based on nominal 1:40,000 scale photography at resolutions of 1 or 2 meters in either color or CIR form. The program also allows the use of digital cameras and satellite imagery.

Since the inception of the NAIP in 2002, Surdex has served as one of the USDA’s prime contractors. The company is now gearing up for the second of a three-year Indefi nite-Delivery-Indefi nite-Quantity program along with nine other contractors representing the top aerial data acquisition and mapping companies in North America. In 2004 alone, Surdex employed a total of 14 aircraft involving 6 teammates to acquire photography over roughly 340,000 square miles. Approximately 25,000 DOQQs covering 459 counties in the Midwest were delivered to the USDA. This included the entire states of Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska as well as roughly 40% each of Indiana and Wisconsin. The time from start of acquisition to fi nal delivery of the critical CCM products was only 120 days.

Higher Resolution ProductsUsing traditional guide-lines, digital orthophotos derived from 1:40,000 scale photography are nomi-nally specifi ed to be 1 meter resolution. However, with

the continuing improvement of the fi lm from reputable vendors such as Kodak, and from improvements in im-age scanning technology, scanning at higher resolutions provide extremely good products equivalent to the 0.5 meter resolution level (approximately 1.5-2.0 feet). This was proven to be extremely valuable for parties in-terested in current data supporting Homeland Security initiatives – at a very low price. Scanning photography at high resolutions takes extreme care to preserve quality as the fi lm “grain” resolution is approached. In addition, replicating in digital form a rendition of the high quality photography af-forded by fi lm manufacturers — both quality and colorimetry — is a chal-lenge that can only be overcome with experience and technical expertise.

The following example shows an excerpt of a 1 foot resolution digital orthophoto gleaned from the 2004 NAIP in Missouri. Shown is Busch Stadium in downtown St Louis. (Boston Red Sox fans can note with glee — and St. Louis Cardinal fans with chagrin — the indisputable lack of a presence on the pitching mound — as evidenced during the 2004 Major League Baseball World Series.)

January/February 2005 • URISA News 3

Expanded Digital Orthophotos Products From High Altitude Photography

continued on page 6

Welcome New URISA Members

Wendy Amy, MNC, Calgary, AB, CanadaStephen Nicaise Antsaga, University of

Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI Brian Anyzeski, LBFH Inc, Palm City, FLChristopher Ard, New Orleans 911,

Chalmette, LATim Barker, Queensland Treasury, Brisbane,

QLD, AustraliaEdwin Blaine, St. Lucie County Florida, Ft

Pierce, FLJack BouKnight, City of Charlotte Engineering,

Charlotte, NC Deborah Brannan, City of Concord, Concord, NCMercedes Braun, Urban Systems, Kamloops,

BC, CanadaPatrick Brett, City of North Miami Beach,

North Miami, FLWilliam Brown, Science Applications

International Corp, Shalimar, FLBrett Budrow, St. Croix County, Hudson, WI Kyle Burgoon, Curiosity Quest, San Ramon, CA Michael Chenevey, Vestra Resources, Inc,

Redding, CAAndy Coe, MD ATLANTIC Technologies,

Huntsville, AL Leslie Cone, Bureau of Land Management,

Denver, CO Paul Conner, Bulloch County, Statesboro, GA George Daniels, City of Concord Planning,

Concord, NC Nathan Dansereau, Chas H Sells Inc, Charlton

City, MA Ken Daugherty, GeoSpatial Concepts Inc, Falls

Church, VA Joe Denton, MD ATLANTIC Technologies,

Huntsville, AL Alex DeVine, Oconee County, Watkinsville, GA George Donatello, Mobile Video Services Inc,

North Kansas City, MO Chris Drachenberg, Alberta Energy and

Utilities Board, Edmonton, AB, CanadaMichael Dueweke, Institute for Geospatial

Research & Education, Ypsilanti, MIPratima Dunn, Lake County Board of County

Commissioners, Ormond Beach, FL Steven Eagen, Palm Beach County, West Palm

Beach, FL Kyle Elliott, Citywide Planning, Kansas City, MOSteve Evans, Secon Surveys, Dunedin, FLColin Forsyth, ESRI Canada, Calgary, AB,

CanadaKevin Gonzago, Yucaipa, CA Thomas Gonzalez, San Antonio Water System,

San Antonio, TX

Michael Hanks, Global Imagery Solutions - SAIC, Broomfi eld, CO

John Hansen, Jefferson County, Golden, CO Steven Horn, Tompkins County NY, Madison, WI Mary Howard, Columbia County Board of

Commission, Evans, GA Dawn Hunter, Van Note Harvey Associates,

Princeton, NJ Robert Jessen, City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Beach, VA Chris Johnson, US Space and Rocket Center,

Huntsville, ALValdis Kalnins, Allegan County GIS, Allegan, MINomair Kashif, Sylogex Inc, Des Plaines, IL Michael Kevany, PlanGraphics Inc, Silver

Spring, MD William King, Texarkana Water Utilities,

Texarkana, TX Monika Korsten, City of Calgary, Calgary, AB,

CanadaJeffrey Krukonis, Visual Geographics, Beverly, MA Kenneth Kuo, Greater Vancouver

Transportation Authority, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Kagan Kuyu, Richland County IT/GIS, Columbia, SC

James Laine, FMSM Engineers, Columbus, OH Heather Landry, Colleton County, Walterboro, SC David Latham, Texarkana Water Utilities,

Texarkana, TX Yves Leger, City of Saint John, Saint John, NB,

CanadaJames Lindauer, Jefferson County IT-

Development, Golden, CO John Linehan, PBS&J, Houston, TX John Little, Geographic Technologies Group,

Goldsboro, NC Erick Lobao, FMSM Engineers, Columbus, OH Douglas Lynch, Day Wilburn Associates, Inc,

Atlanta, GA Heather Malloch, City of Raymore, Raymore, MO David Maurice, Canton Township, Canton, MI Jeffrey J. Mc Call, Lord, Worrell & Richter Inc,

Burlington, NJ Michael Mc Call, ITC International Institute

for Geo Info Science & Earth Observation, Enschede, Netherlands

Joyce Mc Nutt, Forsyth County, Cumming, GA Brian Mladenich, Lane County Public Works,

Eugene, OR Henry Mogileuich, LBFH Inc, Palm City, FLChris Moir, GeoSpatial Concepts Inc, Falls

Church, VA Leslie Morgan, Tulane University, Pearl River, LA

David Murray, Translink, Burnaby, BC, CanadaKayne Neigherbauer, University of Wisconsin

- Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI Paul Ogino, Metro Engineering, Hampton, GA Chris Owen, City of Walla Walla, WA Peter Owen, Intergraph Solutions Group,

Madison, AL Lee Owens, Iredell County, Statesville, NC Jennifer Patterson, Arizona Criminal Justice

Commission, Phoenix, AZ Randal Phillips, Premier Data Services,

Englewood, CO Steven Pohlmann, DeKalb County GIS Dept,

Decatur, GA Bernadette Quiggle, City of Moorhead,

Moorhead, MN Maria Alicia Ramos, Stewart Geo Technologies,

Irvine, CALeonardo Ruiz, Universidad de los Andes,

Merida, VenezuelaHeather Russell, Morgan County Board of

Commissioners, Madison, GALakshmi Sankaran, Seminole County

Government, Sanford, FL Jett Seale, Linn County, Albany, OR Geoffrey Sease, Metro Engineering, Hampton, GARaj Singh, MIT, Cambridge, MA Ralph Spaights, Hillsborough County, Tampa, FLJon Sperling, Housing and Urban

Development, Washington, DC Elio Spinello, Retail Profi t Management,

Northridge, CA Candice Tellio, Delta County GIS Dept, Delta, CO Audrey Thomas, University of Technology,

Kingston, JamaicaJanet Thomas, , Providence, RI Julie Tocher, Earth Tech Inc, Milwaukee, WI James Van Ostenbridge, BAE Systems ADR,

Mount Laurel, NJ Renee Vevea, Geospatial Services Inc,

Winona, MN Karen Vincent, Curiosity Quest, San Ramon, CA Gary Waters, NovaLIS Technologies, Charlotte, NC Kristi Westphal, URS Corporation, Austin, TX Judson White, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Paul Wickman, University of Minnesota,

Minneapolis, MNLeigh Wilson, Geographic Technologies Group,

Goldsboro, NC


Chapter News

up on our Web site today. It’s a very strong program and we’re hoping for a good turn out. See info on March’s GIS in Action 2005 conference at www.orurisa.org.”

URISA’s Chapter Relations Commit-tee is gearing up for another busy year. Ingrid Bruce has taken over the chair position from Eric Bohard and members of the 2005 CRC are: Phil Beilin (BAAMA), Amy Zeller (Georgia), Ken Rubotzky (Chesapeake), Karen Stewart (British Columbia), Phyllis Thomas (Rocky Mountain), and Sanjiv Gandhi (Florida).

Carolina URISA chapter is a co-spon-sor of the upcoming North Carolina GIS Conference. This is being held March 3 & 4, 2005 in Winston-Salem, NC. Information on this conference can be found through our chapter web site at www.carolinaurisa.org

URISA Alberta is please to announce the appointment of Jean-Francois (JF) Dionne as VP - South. JF joins us from the Town of Banff where he is the GIS Coordinator. The Alberta Chapter also recently donated $1,000 to GISCorps!

URISA’s Northern Rockies Chapter is URISA’s Northern Rockies Chapter is URISA’s Northern Rockies Chapterhosting the Intermountain GIS Confer-ence, April 18-22 in Pocatello, Idaho. This year’s keynote speaker, Jennifer Colosimo, will speak on “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” followed by a workshop on management skills. For more information, visit: http://www.intermountaingis.org/

Oregon URISA’s GIS in Action Confer-ence is fast approaching. This annual regional conference is co-sponsored with ASPRS and is coming up on March 28th and 29th. Dick Bolen said, “I think there’s some news here because we plan on “co-mingling” training and panel sessions in a two day event. In the past we scheduled three days with the fi rst day dedicated to training. We just put the program

The Ohio Chapter of URISA is reform-Ohio Chapter of URISA is reform-Ohio Chaptering. A group of members is holding anorganizing meeting in late-February and will host a certifi cation workshoplater this spring.

Thanks to the Chesapeake, Florida, Carolina and Georgia URISA Chap-ters for endorsing the Integrating GIS & CAMA Conference in Savannah, Georgia! If interested in getting in-volved, email [email protected].

Florida URISA is presenting the 2005 Florida URISA is presenting the 2005 Florida URISAFlorida GIS and Mapping Conference “Managing Resources Through Natural Disasters,” May 24–27 at the Hyatt on Sarasota Bay in Sarasota, Florida. For more information, visit www.fl urisa.org.

A Texas URISA Chapter is also or-Texas URISA Chapter is also or-Texas URISA Chapterganizing. If interested in getting in-volved, email [email protected].

A group of members in Arizona is also talking about forming a chapter.Interested? Email [email protected].

■ URISA has grown up over the years, and much of our membership is now looking for more professional development. That is evidenced by the participation at annual conference sessions that dealt not with the technology or specifi c applications of the technology, but with challenges we all face in our daily activities — such as how to deal with and manage change, or how to speak with elected offi cials to ensure they understand what the technology can do for them and why they should fund initiatives. To this end, a

Professional Development Track has been proposed for the annual conference in Kansas City, and a number of the session participants committed to forming the track committee.

We ended the visioning day with personal commitments to move forward with these tasks and although we were individually exhausted, we were at the same time collectively energized by the accomplishments of the day. We will be soliciting your input and participation as we build towards our future. So fasten your seatbelts… and enjoy the ride!

President's Column continued from front cover


GIS Hall of Fame

Beginning with the next issue

of URISA News, profi les of the

fi rst URISA GIS Hall of Fame

inductees will be included. Six

profi les will be featured. An

esteemed group of URISA Past

Presidents will be developing

these features of those who

have shaped the GIS fi eld.

More news to come about this

exciting undertaking!

ColorizingThe conversion of color infrared fi lm to a respectable natural color rendition has been utilized by Surdex in past contracts. In consultation with imag-ery experts from Kodak, an improved algorithm was developed that provides remarkably good results.

The pictures that follow show a DOQQ from the 2003 NAIP (CIR), colorized 2003 NAIP, and natural color from the 2004 NAIP. Though the images refl ect slight differences in season (roughly 2-3 weeks apart in their respective years) and differences in water levels (minor fl ooding in 2004), the colorized product is clearly very representative of natural color. The area portrayed in the pictures is the Canton, area in the northeast part of the state along the Mississippi River. (Hardcopy and digital versions are available from Surdex upon request.)

Seamless DatasetsMany programs dealing with DOQQs specify delivery in a standard format. Normally this format specifi es:■ Each DOQQ overlaps each

neighboring DOQQ.■ Shear (misalignment along linear

features in overlaps between DOQQs) is generally allowed within a specifi ed tolerance.

An alternative is to deliver a truly “seamless” dataset comprised of contiguous (abutting) image “tiles” at an appropriate size. From a production standpoint, this is achieved by truly mosaicking all DOQQs together using “seamlines” that remove the shear between each DOQQ.

With a seamless dataset in hand, data can be re-projected to alternative map coordinate systems, assuring that the resulting products are also seamless. Note that this is not true of re-projecting individual DOQQs, which leaves edge artifacts from missing data.

Potential ScenarioUsing 1:40,000 scale CIR photography as an example, the following array of products is a common example of an application:■ 1 meter resolution CIR DOQQs

for primarily federal agency usage involved in agriculture, resource management, and land usage.

■ 0.5 meter resolution CIR DOQQs for detailed quantifi cation of land usage and feature extraction, also primarily for federal agencies.

■ Colorized 1 meter and 0.5 meter products for general use at all levels of government as general backdrops for GIS systems.

■ Projection of the native Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) DOQQs into state plane

coordinate systems for ease of use at local government levels.

■ 1 foot resolution colorized digital orthophotos over urban areas for use by the general public and supporting Homeland Security data currency.

■ 0.5 meter to 1 meter colorized products for use by private concerns such as environmental engineering companies, utility companies, etc.

■ Delivery in a seamless dataset format.

The colorization of CIR for an entire state generally amounts to only a 5-10% increase in total program costs, since this is largely an automated process requiring only time (and disk space!).

SummaryThe production of multiple products from the same source imagery meets the needs of many government part-nering situations. For only marginal increases in base contract prices – or as an add-on later – the expanded offer-ing makes fi nancial and logical sense for all parties. Little compromise is required to satisfy the majority of each individual partner’s requirements.

Craig W. Molander, Surdex CorporationScott Merritt, Surdex CorporationEdward D’Sousa, Surdex Corporation

2003 CIR 2003 Colorized 2004 Natural Color

ESIG Application Process Opens

URISA has recently posted the ap-plication materials for its prestigious Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Awards. The awards rec-ognize exceptional achievements in the application of information technology that have improved the delivery and quality of govern-ment services. Applications may be submitted in two categories, Single Process and Enterprise Systems. An application is included in this issue of URISA News and is also available online, www.urisa.org.


Expanded Digital continued from page 3

Data Transfer Solutions, LLCwww.edats.com

Data Transfer Solutions, LLC, is a veter-an-owned small business that provides GIS application development, auto-mated web solutions, and associated services for federal, state, regional, and local government clients. Our applications are geared to provide decision support in several subject matter areas including transportation, asset management, environmental resource analysis, long-range plan-ning, socioeconomic and sociocultural evaluations, growth management, and land-use planning. A listing of our GIS and web-based products includes:1. iGATE Data Portal 2. Web-based Automated

Information Management System 3. Dynamic Straightline

Diagramming Application 4. Parcel Normalizer 5. Tax Assessment Tool 6. Web-based Growth Management

Review Tool

For more information regarding our products and services, please contact Jason Amadori, Vice President of Marketing at [email protected] 407-382-5222.

Curiosity Quest2010 Crow Canyon Place, Suite 100San Ramon, California 94583Telephone: (925) 824-3122; Fax: (925) 968-1342http://[email protected]

Curiosity Quest offers highly-focused software (ESRI, Adobe, Microsoft, Crystal Reports) training for law enforcement and government in the form of pub-lic, hosted, and customized training courses. As an ESRI Authorized Reseller, we offer CQ Combo Packs that allow for maximum savings on both the software and the training. Our consulting services and curriculum development services help our clients make the most of their software tools, and we also assist with high quality support services during crunch times. Curiosity Quest is based in San Ramon, California and serves law enforcement and government clients throughout North America.

GISCI Update As of February 1, there are 591 GISPs (Certifi ed GIS Profes-sionals). If you haven’t done so already, make it a point to check out the certifi cation program at www.gisci.org and consider submitting your portfolio in 2005.

The GISCI Board of Directors recently welcomed both the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) and Association of American Geographers (AAG) to the GISCI Board of Governors. This expansion makes GISCI more inclusive and better equipped to meet the needs of the multidisciplinary GIS profession. GISCI was also fortunate enough to receive endorsements of the program from the States of North Carolina and Oregon.

GISCI also now has an Outreach Committee to promote GISCI and the role that GIS professionals play in both the professional community and general public. In 2005, they plan to promote the Institute via an online newsletter that will tackle topics on ethics and licensure and provide profi les of current GISPs working in various sectors.


Welcome New Business Members

URISA Corporate MembersAutodesk BAE SYSTEMS ADR BentleyBowne Management Systems Inc DeLorme DigitalGlobe ESRI Federal Geographic Data

Committee Genivar Geographic Technologies Group GRW Aerial Surveys Intergraph Mapping & Geospatial

Solutions Intergraph Services Company Kucera International Inc LaserFiche Manatron Inc MD ATLANTIC Technologies Merrick & Company Mobile Video Services Inc PCI Geomatics Resource 21 LLC Robinson Engineering Ltd Rolta International Inc Sanborn Space Imaging Surdex Corporation The Schneider Corporation The Sidwell Company

URISA Business MembersBluegrass GIS Inc Colorado CustomWare Inc Curiosity QuestData Transfer Solutions, LLCEagle Computer Systems Inc Geographic Mapping Consultants Inc Geospatial Training & Consulting Inc GIS Planning Inc harGIS LLC Hartman & Associates Inc Imaging Technologies Juniper GIS Services Layton Graphics Inc MGP Inc Orion Technology Inc PJN Consulting Inc Spatial Focus Inc Systems Design Inc

Industry News

Thanks!A special thank you to CDM and Spatial Focus. Both fi rms provided the URISA Workshop Development Committee with websites to conduct reviews and committee work.


GeoDecisions recently acquired the St. Louis-based geographic information systems (GIS) fi rm of Kinetic Solutions.

After a highly competitive procurement process, the Geospatial One-Stop project has awarded a contract to ESRI to update www.Geodata.gov, an existing online tool for combining thousands of geospatial resources from federal, state, local, tribal and private sources. The Web site, www.geodata.gov, enables decision makers to access geospatial re-sources and thus respond quickly in an emergency to protect lives, property and basic services. The full value of the contract, if all options are awarded, will be $2.38 million over fi ve years.

Manatron, Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Bid4Assets, Inc. This partnership will allow Manatron to deliver Internet tax sale functionality to its Florida client base. Manatron has also formed a strategic partnership with DoxTek, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise-wide electronic document solutions.

Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutionsannounced keynote speakers for GeoSpatial World 2005 will be Intergraph CEO and President, Halsey Wise; Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions President, Preetha Pulusani; and The Delphi Group President and Co-founder, Thomas Koulopoulos. Themed “Enabling the Spatial Enterprise,” the fi fth annual conference will be held April 26-28 in San Francisco. Intergraph is also accepting entries for the Intergraph 2005 Geospatial Achievement and Car-tographic Excellence Awards Programs. The com-petitions, which are designed to acknowledge and promote exemplary performance using geospatial technology, highlight innovative and technologically advanced implementations worldwide.

HAI, and Solin & Associates, Inc. received the Award of Excellence from the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association for their work on the Santa Rosa County Joint Land Use Study (JLUS). Tetra Tech, Inc. – HAI provided the GIS mapping, data management and analysis for this project which was used by the County planners and military offi cials to plan for future growth and development.

ESRI announced the release of ArcGIS 9.0.1. With the release, ESRI extends the supported platforms for ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Engine, and ArcIMS ArcMap Server from Windows-based operating systems to the Linux and Solaris platforms. ArcGIS 9.0.1 also updates the ArcIMS Web Map Service (WMS) Connector.

Accela, Inc. announced that the Accela 2005 User Conference will be held on August 22 - 25 in San Diego, California at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. Accela’s explosive growth over the last year is expected to push attendance for the 2005 Conference to well over 1,000 government offi cials.

People NewsGeoAnalytics announced that John Leonard has joined the fi rm to coordinate business development and account management activities for the South Central region out of Austin, Texas. Prior to joining GeoAnalytics, Leonard was the GIS Coordinator for the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Lawrence R. Pettinger has been named the ASPRS 2005 Fellow Award winner. The ASPRS designation of Fellow is conferred on active Society members who have performed excep tional service in advancing the science and use of the mapping sciences (photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying, geographic information systems, and related disciplines). This award will be given in March at the ASPRS 2005 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Geographic Technologies Group, Inc. (GTG) an-nounced the formal opening of its Portland, Oregon regional offi ce. “Our growth as a GIS company that specializes in serving the needs of local government has been remarkable. Our new regional offi ce in Portland, Oregon is already a success. Mr. Andres Farrate is a welcomed addition to GTG. Andres brings exceptional technology and management skills” said David Holdstock, CEO, GTG, Inc.

Project NewsColorado CustomWare, Inc. (CCI) has signed a contract with Rutherford County, Tennessee to provide Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) software. This is CCI’s fourth contract since July that results in over six million dollars in new contract revenues for the year.

Varion Systems, the software development and value-added reseller division of GeoAnalytics, has been hired by Oneida County to implement PV.Web 2.1 to provide Intranet access for County staff to their GIS data. Varion Systems has also been chosen by the City of Robbinsdale, Minnesota to implement Govern Software’s land manage-ment solution, Govern for Windows®. The services provid-ed by Varion Systems include deployment of a prototype, training, coaching, and long term product support. The City will leverage Govern for Windows 8.5 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Initially, Varion Systems will deploy per-mitting, licensing, and code enforcement, followed by the deployment of special assessments. From start to fi nish, the project will take approximately six months.

Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions an-nounced Water Department of Cobb County, Georgia, has deployed Intergraph’s mobile resource management (MRM) solutions to automate the sorting and routing of work orders and to track, manage and assign jobs to field crews performing routine maintenance and troubleshooting on the Department’s network of water and wastewater assets. Intergraph has also announced Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L) has purchased Intergraph’s InService(TM) for mobile workforce man-agement. Kansas City Power & Light Company serves approximately 500,000 customers in 24 northwestern

Missouri and Kansas counties - a territory of about 4,600 square miles.

The City of Lexington, North Carolina, has awarded GTG a contract to perform a complete GIS implemen-tation plan. The three-month project will include a comprehensive GIS needs assessment and the develop-ment of an enterprise-wide phased GIS implementation plan specifying system design, application develop-ment and integration, and geodatabase development and implementation.

Denton County is the third Texas jurisdiction, preceded by Dallas and Lubbock Counties, to contract imaging services from Mobile Video. In the six months required to complete the project, all real property within the Denton County Appraisal District (DCAD) will be digitally photographed and documented. The digital photographs will improve the quality of visual data used by DCAD ap-praisers, provide an inventory of all parcels and assist the public by providing better access to information. Also, as part of the contract, Mobile Video is verifying property addresses and assigning geographic (x,y) coordinates to each property imaged. The project, which calls for the use of two Mobile Video crews/vans, is anticipated to be completed by April 2005.

Manatron, Inc. has received a contract totaling $4.5 million over six years from the City of Virginia Beach for its GRM software and related services. This contract is the Company’s fi fth signifi cant GRM sale, following the $5.5 million award from Gwinnett County, Geor-gia nearly one year ago. Manatron has also received a contract totaling $2.3 million over fi ve years from the City of Jacksonville, Florida for its new Property Tax solution. The software, related implementation services, and ongoing support will be provided to the Duval County Tax Collector’s Offi ce. This marks the 29th County in Florida running Manatron Tax.

Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping, announced the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) has selected Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) as its standard photogrammetric application.

The Village of Wellington, Florida has contracted with SunGard HTE and business partner Geographic Tech-nologies Group, Inc to provide an ESRI ArcIMS-based dynamic mapping solution called LookingGlass Web (LGweb) which allows the village staff to work with database information in conjunction with their GIS. This powerful integration now allows for real-time GIS access to information that was previously only viewable in a database format. Village staff can now access information concerning building permits, work orders, planning and zoning cases, business licenses, and utility customers directly from the GIS.

Buncombe County, North Carolina has selected Accela Wireless™ to be implemented in the Building Permits and Inspections Department. Accela also announced that Fort Collins, Colorado has and Weld County, Colo-rado have both selected Accela Automation™ to be implemented as the organizations’ new enterprise land management system; Sonoma County has selected Ac-cela VelocityHall® to be implemented as the County’s new public access portal for providing contractors, development professionals, and homeowners to access government services on-line; and Pinal County, Arizona has launched Accela Automation™ as the County’s new Central Permitting System.

Preliminary Program for GIS-T ‘05 Symposium Available

The Preliminary Program for the 18th Annual GIS-T (GIS for Transportation) Symposium is now available on the GIS-T Web site. (www.gis-t.org). Sponsored by AASHTO (American Association of Highway and Transportation Offi cials), the sym-posium is scheduled for April 3-6, 2005 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Symposium is being hosted by the Nebraska Department of Roads.

Organized around the theme of “GIS – A Continuous Migration”, the symposium program includes technical, panel, and poster sessions. While emphasizing the diversity of GIS capabilities, the symposium is aimed at improving the understanding of the many uses of geospatial technology that support integrated decision-making in transportation agencies. Presentations on a wide variety of geospatial technologies, applications, and tools are included.

Organized annually by the AASHTO GIS-T Task Force, the symposium provides a forum for transportation professionals from state, federal, municipal, provincial, and private sectors to foster relationships with other GIS-T managers and professionals. In addition to concurrent technical sessions, the Symposium features keynote presentations, map displays, a poster session, 8 pre-conference workshops on Sunday, April 3, and an exhibit hall that has been sold out for the past several years.

The registration information, the Preliminary Program, details on program topics, and additional information on the symposium are available at www.gis-t.org.

URISA Welcomed as an FGDC Partner

URISA was recently accepted as a stakeholder on the Steer-ing Committee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), a long-standing national consortium working to advance policy and standards for the development of the Na-tional Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

Building the NSDI requires partnerships to facilitate the development of technologies, policies, and the sharing of geospatial data throughout all levels of government, the private and non-profi t sectors, and the academic community.

“We welcome URISA in this national effort to improve coordination of geospatial data and information,” said J. Steven Griles, Deputy Secretary of the FGDC steering committee, “Coordination and effective partnerships are key to the development of the NSDI and the sharing of geospatial information. URISA’s unique role as the premier professional association for those involved in geospatial technology in urban and regional environments enhances the work of the FGDC as a coordinating body and adds a critical local voice to FGDC’s partnership efforts.”

The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is an interagency committee, which was organized in 1990. The FGDC is composed of representatives from nineteen Cabinet level and independent federal agencies in addition to state and local governments. For more information, visit www.fgdc.gov


GISCorps — Update on Tsunami Relief Activities Chairs: Shoreh Elhami, GISP and Juna Papajorgji, GISP

We at the GISCorps are working around the clock evaluating the re-sumes of our current volunteers, co-ordinating with several disaster relief international agencies, and setting up strategic partnerships with other sister organizations worldwide. We currently have more than 190 volunteers resid-ing in 20 different countries and in all fi ve continents. Since activities are evolving by the hour, you are encour-aged to visit the GISCorps website for daily updates and news at www.giscorps.org. Following is a list of our current activi-ties: ■ Global MapAid/ MapAction

We have now selected our fi rst volunteer, Frank Chang, for our joint project with Global MapAid and MapAction. Frank

will travel to the affected areas along with GMA’s two volunteers on February 28. He has already started his personal blog.

■ Vietnam Veterans of AmericaWe were also asked to provide volunteers to Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) who is working with CDC and UN’s Joint Logistic Center. They are looking for +/-10 volunteers.

■ SeedsIndia The third project is with SeedsIndia, a large non-profi t relief agency in India. The selection process for this organization will start upon receiving a detailed qualifi cation description from them.

Each of the above organizations is interested in volunteers with experi-

ence in disaster management, remote sensing, and ability to work in harsh conditions. Please fi ll out the online volunteer application if you haven’t done so already. We also need mon-etary assistance to defray the cost of our volunteers’ expenses. Please send your donations to: URISA, 1460 Re-naissance Dr, Suite 305 park Ridge Il, 60068 and make sure your checks are made to: URISA, (with GISCorps-Tsu-nami Relief on the footnote).

Please note that even if you are unable to travel to the region, we can still utilize your expertise. You can help us by either assisting in writing grants to secure funds necessary for expenses of volunteers heading to South Asia, and/or in processing and analyzing data from home.

Following is one of those emails that has made the rounds in our community. Most recently through the Wisconsin Land Information Association and URISA member Alissa Bails…

You might be a GIS professional if:■ you hear the words spatial and enterprise and do not think of Star Trek■ your idea of curling up with a good book is with a Rand McNally Street

Atlas■ you assume that the people around you are yawning because they are

tired■ you are the only person in your organization that realizes the term ‘GIS

system’ contains a redundancy■ you actually care about what datum was used■ FGDC metadata does not put you to sleep■ you fi nd yourself critiquing Mapquest maps■ you see an address and wonder how that codes into the centerline■ you notice inconsistent signage on streets■ you can navigate a southbound trip without turning the map upside

down■ you are not amazed that a dispatcher knows where your cell phone call

is coming from■ the Map Store is your favorite stop at the mall■ when told to turn East you know which way to go■ you can make the wrong turn and get back on the correct route without

anyone else knowing it wasn’t just part of the trip■ you can give directions without mentioning McDonalds or Starbucks


Conference Announcement:4th Annual Public Participation GIS Conference PPGIS

July 31 - August 2, 2005Cleveland State UniversityThe Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban AffairsCleveland, Ohio

Abstract submissions due: March 11, 2005

www.urisa.org

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Urban & Regional Information Systems Association

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