MEGUG Winter 2004 Meeting

8:30AM - 9:00AM

Registration

9:00AM - NOON

The City of Biddeford decided in 2001 to implement GIS. After budgets came out and GIS was not going to be fully funded, one of the decision's that was made was to build layers in-house, including parcels. This discussion will focus on the use of ArcGIS 8.3 as a tool for parcel development and mapping. Specifically, the talk will center on the varied editing tools that are available as well as the use of topological rules for data validation.

GIS and a Tale of Twin Cites
Jim Ward, GIS Coordinator, City of Lewiston; Mike O'Brien, GIS Coodinator, City of Auburn

GIS and Asset Management in Old Orchard Beach
Sandra Lie, Town Planner in Old Orchard Beach; Gary Volta, Woodard & Curran

Woodard & Curran has been working with the Town of Old Orchard Beach for the past year to implement a GIS and asset management system. The Town had very little existing information to start with so our implementation was from the ground up using ArcGIS. We started with a flyover and have developed various data layers, completed a comprehensive storm and sewer field inventory this past summer, selected an asset management software to integrate with GIS, and are beginning custom application development. In this effort we have worked with multiple departments including planning, finance, public works, assessing and IT.

Using VersaTran for More Effective School Bus Routing
Lennie Goff, Director of Transportation, MSAD 47

The presentation will feature the application of computerized routing software that incorporates the use of GIS. maps for school bus routing and related school administrative applications. MSAD has used VersaTrans software in conjunction with E911 road centerline data to improve school bus routes.

The Pine Tree Zone Application for Kennebec Valley Region
Jeff Hewett, Economic and Community Development, Town of Skowhegan

The Town of Skowhegan will make a presentation on the Mapping we are doing regional and local basis. This would be covering the Pine Tree Zone Application for Kennebec Valley Region. The project shows how we have coordinated with 16 towns and pulled their tax maps and other information together to create one map for the region application.

NOON - 1:00PM

Lunch

1:00PM - 4:00PM

MaineDOT has developed a website that helps Maine Surveyors get information regarding the location of benchmarks and points. The site will be available to the public, hopefully by the end of this year. It allows surveyors to use a map interface to zoom into a particular area and then view details about specific control points in the area. Included in the data are NGS Vertical and NGS Horizontal points (with a link to the NGS data sheets), USGS points and MaineDOT set control points. There is also a reporting functionality with the MaineDOT and USGS points where the surveyor can view and/or print a report of the directions to the particular point and other data about the point. This web service is designed to replace a process where Surveyors call in to Maine DOT for this information and then wait for the paper copies of the reports to arrive in the mail.

GeoLibrary Update - GIS Parcel Data Standards and the Municipal Parcel Development Grant Program
Jon Giles/City of Portland/Maine GeoLibrary Board; Paul Mateosian, City of Bath/Maine GeoLibrary Board

Jon and Paul are Board members of the recently created Maine Library of Geographic Information, representing municipal government. They have agreed to share their experiences and discuss the status of Parcel Grants program and the Proposal for Standards for Digital Parcels.

Implementing York's GIS Program
Brett Horr, GIS Manager, Town of York Planning Department

The Town of York, the York Water District, and the York Sewer district combined budgets and teamed up with Camp, Dresser, and McKee to create a GIS System for all of the agencies to use. As with many towns, budgets decreased and the GIS system was facing significant financial restraints. Through a change in the building codes, the GIS system is now funded primarily by user fees rather than tax revenues. The discussion will center around the the systems creation, some of the things that York did right and might have done differently, the way the funding changes have effected the system, and also the future direction of the system.

Using Data to Make Data: Leveraging Existing GIS Data Sets to Make More With Less
Jim Thomas & Donna Larson, Town of Freeport

The Peaks Information Exchange: A Community Geolibrary
Will Mitchell, President of Mitchell Geographics and PIE VP of Technology; Art Astarita, Geologist with RCAP and PIE President

A group of volunteers on Peaks Island, a neighborhood of the City of Portland, has formed a technical organization dubbed the Peaks Information Exchange. The mission of the Peaks Information Exchange is to serve as a 'community geolibrary' by generating, managing, and sharing information to foster deeper appreciation for the unique human and natural aspects of Peaks Island and strengthen cooperation among island organizations. The Peaks group is one of 3 island community geolibraries working in partnership with the Island Institute and the towns of Isleboro and Vinalhaven. The Exchange has obtained hardware, GIS software, GPS equipment, GIS training, and more, and is offering technical assistance and GIS training to local community groups such as the Neighborhood Association and the Land Preserve.