I could not attend this meeting of the NJGF Municipal users group, but Don Mayer-Brown from Princeton Borough generously offered his meeting notes (also distributed via the NJMunicipalGIS mailing list). This is not an official meeting transcript -- just Don's personal notes. I am sure they will be of much interest to this blog's readers. Thanks, Don!

PS An item I found interesting, from Bernards Township's presentation: "Decisions are in process to transfer "ownership" of the system from theIT department to Engineering, which is probably better suited tomaintain and create further expansions." In my experience over the years, migration of most municipal GISs has been steady in the opposite direction -- towards IT from various municipal departments, where the GIS might have originated. What do you think?

The Municipal Users Group of the New Jersey Geospatial Forum convened a meeting on October 2, 2008 at the Bernards Township Municipal Building. 19 people attended this meeting. This was to bring together various municipal users so as to share information and to develop ways to bring relevant issues to light. As part of this initial effort, several municipal representatives presented brief reviews of their particular uses of GIS. From my perspective, here are summaries of those presentations.

Basic-level – City of Garfield: Brownfields Site Inventory

Presented by Mehmet Secilmis (Environmental Engineer / GIS Specialist, Dewberry)

• To determine areas of City that could qualify as Brownfields for redevelopment purposes
• Then overlaid plan of commercial / industrial areas
• Conducted site inspections to observe signs of actual abandonment
• Took digital photos to be able to [identify] those sites that were occupied or not occupied
• Photos were linked to records on each property for future reference
• For those communities not as built-up, a similar type of analysis could be done for open space inventory

Mid-level – City of Trenton: Overview of City's System

Presented by Trish Long, Sr. Planner for the City

Basic system is composed of maps of various types.

Intermediate uses, bringing in and overlaying certain data:

• Summary of Zoning decisions – showed the number and type of variances, so that district boundaries or definitions could be analyzed.
• City-owned property

To build momentum for more wide-spread use and acceptance, need to convince decision-makers by:

• Show the Return on Investment (ROI)
• Link benefits to strategic goals and objectives;
• Build a community of advocates for GIS;
• Ensure that decisions are business-led rather than technology-led;
• Establish a structured program that delivers value, not applications.

Mid-level – Township of West Milford:

Presented by Rob Sparkes, GIS Specialist for the Township

• The primary emphasis has been on "maps, maps, maps";
• Has prepared an Inventory of Natural Resources;
• Runs updates of Parcel information and Ownership records;
• Planning on doing a Build-out Analysis related to COAH requirements;
• Has acquired a vast amount of data from the DEP website for their use
• For Stormwater Management purposes, has acquired a GPS unit for field surveys of storm drain inlets;
• To assist with understanding the bear problem in town, has overlaid "bear problems" data on map;
• With Septic Maintenance information, has overlaid with depth-to-bedrock, soils, etc. to develop priorities for upgrades;

As ways create better chance for success:

• Consider use of ArcExplorer
• Listen to people's problems;
• Transfer paper map information to databases, to integrate with maps later;
• Need to be careful about mixing "good data" with "less good data", with the example that FEMA flood maps have not been as precise in the past as survey-grade data that may be acquired for road improvements or site development purposes. Results can be deceiving and exasperating.

Advanced-level – Township of Bernards:

Presented by Chris Kyriacou, IT Director for the Township

Several important building blocks:

• A big key in developing their system was standardization – used street addresses entered in a particular format as a foundation;
• Purchased a GPS unit so that departments could locate features themselves without outside consultants;
• Created a GIS Township Committee, composed of representatives from several key departments, the governing body, and volunteers from the community – this group met weekly to build prepare a needs assessment, to do long-range planning, and set up in-house training;
• Set up kiosks in Township building enabling the employees and the public to get familiar with the software;
• Bought modules for various departments customized to their particular needs;

Particular uses thus far include study of deer issues, open space needs, natural resource inventory, computer-aided dispatches for emergency services, and vehicular accidents;

Another important step in development was Document Imaging of all Lot & Block files from Engineering Department – started with 15 record fields – now have added other departments' records;

Developed a "Digital Submission" ordinance and required filing of Development Escrow Accounts, applicable to all non-residential subdivisions, variance applications, and site plans – funds collected allow for additional expansion of GIS for other uses and projects;

Public kiosks now in three departments, so public can find the information they desire, file an OPRA request, and print-out the document right at the kiosk;

Decisions are in process to transfer "ownership" of the system from the IT department to Engineering, which is probably better suited to maintain and create further expansions;

The Director is seeking to "hot-link" the document imaging information to the GIS, to enable greater utility;

Will also be seeking to add more layers, through interventions of the workflow of various departments;

Another goal is to add the GIS to the website, for greater access by the public.

Public Works Director Pat Monaco demonstrated the Complaint and Service Request tracking module, that was implemented on April 1, 2008, thus enabling greater transparency and accountability to the department's operations.

• Each telephone complaint/request is logged, and assignments for service are tracked according to materials needed, equipment and vehicles used, manpower expended, etc.

• Analysis of these records allows for setting of priorities, proper maintenance scheduling, and documentation of actions performed to complete the requests. These results can be shown graphically on a map or in a chart.

Summary prepared by: Donald Mayer-Brown