Municipal Monitor - May/June 2008 - (Page 11)

the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre, Pensink and ESRI Canada. By 2005, Michipicoten had completed orthophotography for the entire region, and was working with Chapleau, Dubreuilville, White River, Hornepayne and Manitouwadge to create a database system that would not only handle the orthophotographic maps of the area, but also store and manipulate many other kinds of records. With this early start, the six municipalities are “ahead of the curve” in making changes to their asset accounting and management processes, in the words of Chris Wray, Chief Administrative Officer, Clerk and Treasurer for the Municipality of Wawa. “We were actually able to implement these changes before we were required to account for our assets in this manner,” he says. “Once we enter all the information into the GIS system, the municipalities will be able to track every piece of inventory that they own, and they’ll be able to project when things need to be replaced,” says Jason Morrison, GIS/IT Manager for the Municipality of Wawa. Morrison has been working with the six municipalities to implement NITGC for about three years. “The big push for it in the beginning was because there are a lot of employees who are reaching their retirement. Their knowledge, if they ever leave, would go with them,” he says. Now, however, the six municipalities are able to load every scrap of land and asset data into NITGC, and it can all be retrieved by anyone allowed access to the records. The potential uses of the collected data are infinite, and the implications for saving time and money are vast. Among the data being collected are all asset management records, parcel fabric data and additional attribute data such as sewer and water systems, street lines, telephone lines, fire hydrants, sewer access, trails and even tourismrelated points like ski hills and historical plaques. The information is handled with a suite of programs provided by ESRI Canada. “We have what they call an enterprise solution, which is the highest software solution that you can have,” says Morrison. It uses a database software program called ArcSDE, a web server program called ArcIMS and a desktop solution called ArcGIS Desktop. Data is edited and stored in Wawa, but is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection at www.nitgc.on.ca. Members of the general public are only allowed to view a selection of data. “If need be, any information that we have, with the right approvals, could be opened up to anybody,” says Morrison. However, normally a large proportion of the data can only be accessed by authorized persons working with the member communities. “Within the municipality we have specific security protocols,” says Wray. When the information is needed by other parties, “we can burn all the data onto a CD. We get requests from contractors all the time, and we get requests to buy the orthophotography.” Enormous Potential The potential uses of the collected data are infi nite, and the implications for saving time and money are vast. “The base data and the base work are done, and on top of that it’s as far as your imagination can bring you,” says Morrison. For instance, “We do quite a bit of work with outside environmental agencies, with the building of all these new water treatment plants. They’ve had to do environmental assessments, so they need to know the location of all the hazardous waste areas like gas stations municipal MONITOR · 11 May/June 2008 http://www.nitgc.on.ca

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Municipal Monitor - May/June 2008

Municipal Monitor - May/June 2008 Contents President's Message: On Messages and Milestones Viewpoint: Much Ado About Nothing? Again Mapping the North: Municipalities Team Up to Create Sophisticated Geographic Information System The Clean Water Act: Let's Make it Perfectly Clear Developing Trend: Communication is Essential During Large-Scale Projects Water Under the Bridge Municpal Memos Index to Advertisers

Municipal Monitor - May/June 2008

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