Cooperation - Diversity Keys to Success in McLean County, Illinois
Abstract
McLean County, Illinois GIS also known as McGIS began in 1994 as a joint cooperative effort of several local governments in McLean County.
A key to success is the cooperation of all the participating organizations. The McGIS slogan is "Cooperative Resource Management for a Better Future". Efficiency has been gained through cooperation.
This paper talks about the organizational structure and the diversity of backgrounds that has been an asset to the McGIS. The paper also addresses standardization issues regarding software, hardware, data and data exchange.
Location
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McLean County is located in the heart of Illinois and is the largest county in Illinois in area totaling 1184 square miles. The population is 139,000 with 100,000 residents in Bloomington/Normal. Bloomington and Normal are twin cities sharing a common boundary.
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Background
The current GIS in McLean County got its start as a spin off of an effort to update aerial mapping of the Bloomington/Normal Metropolitan Area in the Fall of 1994. The local city engineering departments along with the regional planning commission and several other local government agencies worked out an intergovernmental agreement to fund the aerial photography and to produce digital data for use in a GIS. This group of leaders and managers evolved into the McGIS steering committee. The steering committee now meets on a monthly basis to guide and coordinate the GIS efforts in McLean County. A McGIS technical committee meets as needed and makes reports and recommendations to the steering committee. The technical committee is made up of representatives from the local participants.
The McLean County Regional Planning Commission serves as a neutral coordinating agency for the McGIS. The commission's GIS operation is jointly funded by the local governments and the State of Illinois and was already coordinating other efforts among the local governments. The director of the planning commission serves as the Chairman of the Steering Committee.
Participants
The GIS local government participants in McLean County include:
- McLean County
- City of Bloomington
- Town of Normal
- McLean County Regional Planning Commission
- McLean County E911
- Bloomington/Normal Water Reclamation District
Each of these government units has their own governing board of elected officials. Within some of the governments unit are many different departments which are realizing the benefits of a coordinated GIS effort.
Overcoming Limitations through Cooperation
The group has learned that limitations in local resources (such as personnel, equipment, expertise and budgetary) can be overcome through cooperation.
One of the first decisions made as a group was to standardize on a GIS software platform. The decision was made to stay PC based with Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT. Esri products were chosen for GIS operations. Esri products in use locally include ArcInfo for NT, ArcView 3.0, and ArcExplorer.
Training in Introduction to ArcInfo and ArcView was able to be done at a local facility by bringing an Esri instructor on site. This saved money and time for the local governments as they did not have to pay travel expenses. Money was saved in buying software by pooling resources and buying software in bulk quantities.
The group also standardized on Iomega Zip drives as a way to facilitate the transfer of larger data sets.
GIS Improves Information Management
A GIS (Geographic Information System) is an IS (Information System). An Information System is about managing data. The thing that makes GIS so special is the integration of spatial data and tabular data. Traditionally most spatial data is stored in the form of maps. Tabular data has been traditionally stored in card files, but more recently in computerized databases. We were amazed as the GIS project gathered steam at all the different local government units needing the same or very similar information and how much redundancy there was by the government units maintaining duplicate maps and duplicate data.
Coordination Efforts
One example of local cooperation is with the McLean County E911. The County E911 is in the process of addressing the county. Their consultant is using planimetric data from McGIS to assist in the rural addressing process. In addition, the cities, county, E911 and Post Office are working together to standardize local addressing.
Technical Committee - Diversity
The core of the technical committee is made up of individuals with different backgrounds and different levels of education. This diversity has served to help us understand and solve the various technical issues that arise when establishing a GIS. One person is a Professional Land Surveyor who has lent his expertise in such areas as control, accuracy, and monumentation. Another member had prior experience in GIS and as a recent graduate was more current with the technology. A third member had experience in databases and still another had a considerable background in CADD (Computer Aided Drafting and Design) and knowledge of aerial surveys.
Accomplishments
During the first two years the GIS committees not only did QC (Quality Control) on all the data coming in from the aerial mapping project, but also established a
- McGIS Product Guide and Price List
- License Agreement for Contractors working on Government Projects
- License Agreement for Private Use
- Published a GIS pamphlet and put on promotional displays to local governing boards in order to show the usefulness of GIS in local government
- Set up a temporary local training center twice to hold Esri classes locally.
- Restructured delivered data into more useful forms.
Future Plans
The McGIS is continuing to plan for the future. Current and future efforts include:
- Countywide Digital Cadastral Coverages
- Expand use of GIS among the desktops of local government employees
- Complete a GIS users manual including metadata
- Publish some data to the Internet
- Link local government offices via fiber optic network
- Training - have a local person become a certified ArcView Trainer
Conclusion
No one local government unit in McLean County has the resources to do all the things that been accomplished to date in the McGIS. It has been through cooperation and diversity of expertise that the McGIS has been successful and continues to grow. In the end everyone benefits from the cooperation.
Kevin Kothe, PE
Information Systems Engineer
City of Bloomington - Engineering Department
401 1/2 S. East St
Bloomington, IL 61701
Phone: 309-434-2435
Fax: 309-434-2201
e-mail: kkothe_cobeng@compuserve.com
Todd Plahmer
GIS Coordinator and Transportation Program Manager
McLean County Regional Planning Commission
211 W. Jefferson St
Bloomington, IL 61701
Phone: 309-828-4331
Fax: 309-827-4773
e-mail: mcrpc@dave-world.net
Randy Nydegger, PLS
Land Surveyor/Engineering Technician
Town of Normal - Engineering Department
100 E. Pheonix Ave
Normal, IL 61761
Phone: 309-454-9575
Fax: 309-454-9729
e-mail: rnydegg@normal.org