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The following summary outlines important accomplishments made in 1997 to move MetroGIS from concept
to reality by MetroGIS participants, by the Metropolitan Council in support of the goals of MetroGIS, and other related
accomplishments.
MetroGIS Milestones
1. The MetroGIS Policy Board met for the first time January 15, 1997. Over the course of the Board's
five subsequent meetings, the members engaged in a learning process, dialogue about the objectives of MetroGIS, and
found agreement on matters concerning membership philosophy and priority Business Information Needs.
2. Significant progress was made on each of the three strategic components of the MetroGIS work
program -- Business Information Needs Project, WEB Index Project, and the GIS Data and Cost Sharing Agreements
Initiative:
Information Needs Project: A MetroGIS Business Object Framing Model was completed and
thirteen high priority information needs of MetroGIS participants were endorsed by the Policy Board. (Priority
information needs are defined as information important to the internal business operations of most local government
units serving the Metro Area and which require data from other organizations to address the need.)
A consensus-based process was developed and tested to identify data specifications and data caretaker
responsibilities needed to respond to priority information needs; an interim solution was endorsed by the Policy Board
for the top priority information need -- city, township, and county jurisdictional boundaries; work was begun on school
district and watershed jurisdictional boundaries; and work was initiated on the next two highest priority information
needs -- land use plans and addresses of people, places, and things.
WEB Index Project: Design of a prototype internet-based GIS data index is nearing completion. The
prototype will be shared for review and comment in January 1998. A fully functional index is anticipated to be
operational by Spring 1998. This internet-searchable index is critical to providing a cost-effective and efficient
means to search for and obtain data from participating organizations. Compatibility with the National Spatial Data
Infrastructure (NSDI) clearinghouse is a design requirement.
GIS Data and Cost Sharing Agreements Initiative: (see Metropolitan Council Milestones)
3. A document entitled Guidelines for Working with Address Data was adopted by the Policy
Board and will be widely distributed among MetroGIS participants. It is the first of several guidelines anticipated to
be adopted by the Policy Board to facilitate data sharing among MetroGIS participants.
4. Definitions were agreed upon for "location", "legal entity", "space", "positional accuracy".
5. The MetroGIS web site and newsletter "Coordinates" have been become valuable resources
for information about MetroGIS objectives, activities, and contacts. Spring and Fall issues of Coordinates newsletter
were each mailed to over 1500 persons.
6. Over 65 individuals, representing a variety of perspectives from public, non-profit, and private
sector interests, are actively serving on the MetroGIS Policy Board, the Coordinating Committee, and the Committee's
other four Advisory Teams. And, over 40 additional people have participated in the Jurisdictional Boundaries and
Address Information Needs Workgroups.
Metropolitan Council Milestones
7. In 1996, GIS Data and Cost Sharing Agreements were executed with Carver, Dakota, Ramsey and Scott
Counties. In 1997, agreements were executed with Anoka and Washington Counties. County Board approval was received from
Hennepin County for the general provisions of an agreement. These agreements provide funds for local GIS system
enhancements and data development which have regional significance in return for documentation of the projects for use
by others and access by government organizations to the geo-referenced data maintained by each of the counties. All of
the Council's geo-referenced data is also available to the counties and other public-sector MetroGIS participants via
these agreements.
8. Numerous instances of counties sharing their data with other government units have occurred since
the agreements went into effect. These instances are being logged by the Counties and the Council and will serve as the
basis for an analysis of benefit anticipated for 1999 or 2000.
9. The Council facilitated an agreement among itself, Mn/DOT, and The Lawrence Group (TLG) to a
five-year license to the street centerline dataset maintained by TLG. The license secures access by the Council and
Mn/DOT and provides free access by other government organizations serving the area. Delivery of data to MetroGIS
participants began in October.
10. The Council installed a FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site to electronically distribute the TLG
and other datasets to MetroGIS participants.
11. The Council entered into an agreement with the North Metro I35W Corridor Coalition to assist the
Coalition develop an integrated GIS "backbone". Council funds will assist several components of the Coalition's GIS
work, most notably, development of generalization schemes to integrate land use plan, zoning, and existing land use
designation data from the eight cities that comprise the Coalition. These schemes will be starting point for the
MetroGIS Land Use Workgroup.
12. Agreements were reached between the Council and several other organizations to digitize or to
acquire existing digitized soils data which will be compiled by the Council into a digital soils dataset for the entire
Metro Area. The regional dataset is anticipated to be complete by Spring 1998. It will be used as the vehicle to begin
discussion of data distribution policies for datasets with multiple ownership intellectual property right claims.
13. Significant progress was made to create a orthoimagery coverage for the entire seven county Metro
Area based on a 1997, 20,000-foot aerial flight. The Council paid for the flight and conversion of the imagery to a
digital format. A partnership between the Council and several other organizations is nearly finalized to finance
further conversion of the digital data to orthoimagery. The resulting regional orthoimagery coverage will be shared
with MetroGIS participants.
14. MetroGIS officials and staff presented papers about MetroGIS at the National URISA Conference in
Toronto and at the Minnesota GIS/LIS Conference in St. Cloud. Poster sessions were also presented at ESRI's (GIS
software vendor) national users conference in San Diego and at the American Public Works Association's national
conference in Minneapolis.
Other Milestones
15. TIES (Technology Information Education Services) leveraged the Council's investment in the
Council's GIS Data and Cost Sharing Agreements with Dakota and Scott Counties. TIES assisted Lakeville School District
implement a GIS capability using parcel data developed and maintained by Dakota and Scott Counties. The parcel data was
obtained free of charge as a result of the agreements. A purpose of this TIES initiative is to prototype a process to
facilitate wide spread implementation of GIS technology among school districts.
16. The Policy Board submitted comments to the Public Utilities Commission concerning pending rules
for mapping telecommunication utility infrastructure. The draft rules incorporated suggestions of MetroGIS officials
and are consistent with long term MetroGIS interests.
17. The Policy Board endorsed the objectives of the Land Modernization Initiative of the Governor's
Council on Geographic Information.
Text d: 7/6/98
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