Scott County receives GIS Data cleanup for NG9-1-1

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When Scott County, Iowa had a recent opportunity to secure grant funding to provide GIS data cleanup for NG9-1-1 they took full advantage and contract with Cloudpoint to compete this work.  The project had a very tight time frame being completed in less than 60 days.  This work involved cleanup of Emergency Service boundaries in the GIS, as well as repairing road centerline geometry, correcting road centerline address ranges, directional errors in digitize roadway directions, and reviewing site address data points that fell out of range with the centerlines.  Cloudpoint was able to complete this cleanup work using tools including curves-to-lines in ArcGIS Pro, creating topologies, and using the 'Align To Shape' tool for aligning emergency services boundaries with road centerlines and administrative or political boundaries where applicable.  Overall the project involved a over of 88,000 address points and more than 2,300 centerline miles.  Cloudpoint continues to provide high quality GIS data services for state and local governments throughout the Midwest.  For more information contact our office at 877-377-8124.

A screenshot of address points, road centerlines, and emergency services boundaries requiring review and data cleanup for improving emergency response and dispatch for NG9-1-1 services in Scott County, IA.

A screenshot of address points, road centerlines, and emergency services boundaries requiring review and data cleanup for improving emergency response and dispatch for NG9-1-1 services in Scott County, IA.

Customer Spotlight - Monte Johnson, City of Sullivan

Meet Monte Johnson, City Clerk and GIS Administrator for the City of Sullivan!

Meet Monte Johnson, City Clerk and GIS Administrator for the City of Sullivan!

Mr. Johnson has been with the City of Sullivan for 21 years filling in many different roles and wearing many different hats.  He graduated from Illinois State University in 1995 with a degree in Business Education, and has since earned an associate’s degree in Information Technology - Network Administration.  He currently severs as the City Clerk and GIS Administrator as well as other roles critical to municipal operations.  He began working for the City when he was in high school as a part time lifeguard and swim instructor. His full-time duties began in 1997 when he was hired as the Assistant Director at the Civic Center. He created the City's first website in 2002 and has been serving as the City's webmaster since.  He began building the City's GIS system in 2007 and has turned that into a City-wide system with remote access through web-based applications.  He began redesigning the City's digital document system in 2012, and it now has a public portal for the public to access documents, allows departments to remotely access documents, has workflows to automate business processes, and has an online forms portal for the automatic submission and handling of web-based forms. He was named the City's Freedom of Information Act Officer and Open Meetings Act Designee in 2013, and the ADA Coordinator in 2017.   Through training and education, he was conferred the title of Registered Municipal Clerk by the Municipal Clerks of Illinois.

The City of Sullivan owns Electric, Water, and Gas utilities and contracted with Cloudpoint beginning in 2014 to implement an enterprise GIS system by collecting GPS data, centralizing database records, and securing an Enterprise License Agreement from Esri which opened the door for providing location-based decision making for each department.  All departments now have iPads helping them access and update their information in the field in near real time.  They also have many web apps available for departments (and the public) to see all of our utility information as well as general public information (Zoning, TIF, etc).

As City Clerk, Mr. Johnson’s responsibilities include preparing agendas and minutes for Council meetings; keeping up with, informing the Council about, and enforcing new municipal laws; preparing and publishing legal notices; handling bidding requirements and documents; handling and coordinating annexations and zoning; tax location verifications; coordinating building inspection and permit reports; assisting the City Attorney with research and paperwork; assisting with and acting as a liaison with engineering firms; IT support for all City departments; administrative support for all City departments and the City Council, including research for health insurance renewals, lawsuits, collective bargaining negotiations, updates to the employee handbook, research for software and technology, updates to policies and procedures; handling of all licenses (liquor, raffle, A frame signs, carnival, golf cart, merchandise on public streets/sidewalks, outdoor dining, peddler's, rubbish, food vendors, waste disposal), and serving as the City's Open Meetings Act Designee. One of the greatest benefits Monte has recognized from the use of GIS is that city staff no longer has to look up paper documents and maps.  Everything is there at their fingertips in digital format.  Mr. Johnson has a gift for administration and technology and he looks forward to continuing to expand in the City’s use of GIS technology and helping them informed data-driven decision in the most efficient manner.  The Cloudpoint team is privileged to have the opportunity to work with him and the City of Sullivan.

Another trip to The Esri User Conference in San Diego

Cloudpoint's Erin Strickler was able to attend the Esri User Conference, the world's largest GIS conference, in San Diego for the first time this year.  This is the fifth time that the Cloudpoint team has been represented at the conference where over 17,000 people gather to hear the latest GIS news and enjoy thousands of hours of one-on-one networking, collaboration, and fun with fellow attendees.  Erin shares some of her highlights of attending this year's conference in this blog.

Village of Burr Ridge receives a GIS face lift!

Burr Ridge is home to over 500 businesses occupying more than 6 million square feet of floor area and employing 10,000 plus people.

Burr Ridge is home to over 500 businesses occupying more than 6 million square feet of floor area and employing 10,000 plus people.

The Village of Burr Ridge has contracted with Cloudpoint Geographics to provide complete managed GIS services.  Cloudpoint's professional staff will act as an extension to the Village's internal staff when it comes to GIS needs and communicating with its constituents.  Here are some resources that the Client will soon be able to take advantage thanks to this newly formed partnership.

ArcGIS Online

Address Buffer Tool

Street Light Collection

Village staff had the foresight to see that a centralized GIS can be a "single source of truth" for both internal and external users to access critical information to help drive decision making processes.  The Cloudpoint team will be working closely with the finance director, assistant administrator, public works officials, and IT staff to remotely connecting to the Village's network to perform GIS upgrades and rolling out new applications for the system as well as providing regular training for their staff.  For more information on how your agency can take advantage of our affordable GIS services you can contact us through our website or call 877-377-8124.

Lake Superior coastal county Moves to parcel fabric

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The Land Records department at Bayfield County, Wisconsin has a knowledgeable GIS staff and land records information system that they utilize on a regular basis for updating assessed valuations, addressing, and public land survey data.  Recognized at the 2017 Wisconsin Land Information Association's annual conference by winning the Government Achievement Award for their flood mapping work, the department is no stranger to success.  Led by Land Records Administrator, Scott Galetka, the department is setting the course for future information management in their jurisdiction by migrating their GIS parcel data to Esri's parcel fabric which will provide tremendous benefit in helping them meet their goal of making this data accessible to professionals and as well as the public. 

The County recently contracted with Cloudpoint Geographics to provide a county-wide parcel data migration into Esri's parcel fabric within the Local Government Information Model.  The project will consist of migrating 35,387 parcels and over 1,600 PLSS corners into the parcel fabric and includes onsite training and remote technical support. 

Cloudpoint's track record of the highest professional service level along with its knowledgeable staff keeps them in the forefront of today's GIS -technology experts. For more information regarding our parcel fabric land records services you may contact us through our website or call 877-377-8124.

Erin Strickler Joins the Cloudpoint Team

Cloudpoint Geographics is pleased to welcome Erin Strickler to our staff!  Erin is a 2003 graduate of Bradley University's civil engineering program and earned her professional engineer's license in April of 2017.  She comes with a strong background in engineering, surveying, and local governments and...

Princeville Township Cemetery implementing GIS!

Princeville, IL - The Princeville Township Cemetery was established in 1925 on the site of a former cemetery. There are currently just over 5,000 plots in the cemetery that Cloudpoint will be creating a GIS cemetery management solution for.

Princeville, IL - The Princeville Township Cemetery was established in 1925 on the site of a former cemetery. There are currently just over 5,000 plots in the cemetery that Cloudpoint will be creating a GIS cemetery management solution for.

We're excited to announce that Princeville Township has contracted Cloudpoint to create a GIS cemetery mapping solution to increase their Cemetery mapping abilities! The township cemetery is located on the Northwest side of the Village of Princeville, IL and has over 5,000 grave sites. As with all organizations, they were looking for a better way to keep an inventory of what is where and adding information such as new graves, grave site availability, any maintenance records, and more. Joe went to the township building in beautiful Monica, IL to present Cloudpoint's cemetery mapping solution and the board was interested. Last night the board unanimously voted to accept the proposal and get the ball rolling on the project! We're very enthusiastic about getting this work, and we'll keep you updated as it progresses. 

Thanks for the business Princeville Township!

Cloudpoint Geographics

Where. IT MATTERS

Taking care of Illinois Townships' Sign Inventory

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Completing a Township-wide Sign Inventory for the Monticello Township Highway Department!

This week Joe and Tyler ventured to Monticello, IL for a township-wide SignOps implementation and data collection. They were able to inventory all of the Monticello Township Highway Department (MTHD) signs both in the field and in their shop in just 2 days! This allows for a turnkey sign inventory solution for the MTHD. No longer are they required to mark up paper maps,only to then send their notes to be edited on their maps on someone else's timeline. They can now easily swap out a sign that has failed inspection (let's say for instance a right curve ahead sign, W1-2R, has been shot). All they have to do is pull a new sign out of the shop, head to the sign that needs replaced, scan the barcode on the back, select "replace", and then scan the new sign. It's really that simple! This not only speeds the process along, it creates a maintenance record for the completed work as well.

In addition to being home to the Piatt County Courthouse, Monticello is home to the 1994 State of Illinois Airport of the year, and the best guard cat in Central Illinois, Shop Cat!

Want to find out how your township or municipality can benefit from SignOps? Check out our SignOps YouTube channel for helping hints and tutorials, or visit our SignOps web page for more information!

SignOps: There's only one way!

What a great time at WLIA!

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Last week Jon and Joe headed north to Elkhart Lake, WI for the annual Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA) Conference. It was a great event and we were able to connect with current clients and new county officials. We had a wonderful time talking about a variety of projects ranging from migrating to the parcel fabric to completing county-wide inventories. Congratulations to everyone who won a Cloudpoint Titleist or camouflage hat by showing off your putting skills at our booth. We've said it before, and we'll say it again, "WLIA is one of the best conferences that we go to each year!" That said, we look forward to seeing you at future WLIA regional events and at the 2019 annual conference!

Waushara County Land Information Officer Zach Newton won a camo Cloudpoint hat by going two for two in our putting competition! Looking good Zach!

Waushara County Land Information Officer Zach Newton won a camo Cloudpoint hat by going two for two in our putting competition! Looking good Zach!

Customer Spotlight - Scott County, Iowa

Meet Ray Weiser (left) and Sunny Shang (right) of the Scott County, Iowa GIS Department!

Meet Ray Weiser (left) and Sunny Shang (right) of the Scott County, Iowa GIS Department!

Ray has been with Scott County longer than he can remember, but not long enough to retire. Before that he worked at Shive-Hattery and Bi-State Regional Planning Commission just across the river. Sunny has been with the County for just over 3 years. Prior to that, she completed her masters degree in Geography at the University of Iowa. 

Ray manages all aspects of the county GIS, and Sunny provides backup while also focusing on department support and web programming. The County has two ArcGIS server installations and a multi-versioned parcel database that replicates weekly into a publishing geodatabase. They support innumerable public users of the GIS websites which pull layers and data from both ArcGIS Online and an ArcGIS Server instance on Amazon Web Services. Sunny recently built a web-based Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) application which tracks native and invasive species along County roads. The two help the Conservation Department maintain maps & layers of the county’s recreation areas, assist the Health Department to determine at-risk parcels for lead contamination, guide County Assessors to recent permit locations, delineate watersheds and erosion in County ditches for the secondary roads department, and support emergency first responders & computer aided dispatch operations for the Scott Emergency Communications Center. 

Here you can see some of the maps that Ray and Sunny have compiled for Scott County.

Here you can see some of the maps that Ray and Sunny have compiled for Scott County.

Since Ray and Sunny are the only two full-time GIS personnel in the IT department, they are constantly using the technology to solve problems for other County departments. The best method of isolating issues for County departments is a simple conversation with County staff. A recent Check-Up from Cloudpoint has helped analyze these relationships and created an opportunity for additional outreach and support actions. 

The technology is always changing and updating. Ray and Sunny are involved in several regional GIS user groups and have attended large Esri conferences in the past. It’s difficult keeping up with all of the templates, data models and applications available from Esri but, with some help, this dynamic duo is looking forward to a bright future of GIS with Scott County leading the Quad-City region in GIS and the geospatial field!

Thanks for sharing your experience Ray and Sunny, and thanks for allowing Cloudpoint to assist Scott County in reaching its goals!