Kathy Stephens GISP, an associate GIS specialist at PDS was appointed a member of the Northern Kentucky Emergency Planning Committee (NKEPC) during the group’s January meeting.

In making the appointment, Rodney Bell, Safety Manager for Sanitation District No.1, stated, “It’s great to have a PDS representative on board. It will provide additional capability and credibility for our three-county region.”

Stephens believes that PDS can be of great support to the organization and its goals. LINK-GIS and the mapping services it provides to both Kenton and Campbell Counties is an invaluable resource to those who must respond when emergencies strike the three-county community. Several services provided include: creation of large wall maps of fire hydrant locations, customized hydrant information based on gallons per minute (GPM) data, map books, crime site maps, analyzed data and installed stand-alone mapping programs within the trucks for several local fire departments.

PDS staff also assist Kenton County emergency services manager Steve Hensley with selecting locations for new emergency warning sirens. In the aftermath of the 2012 tornado that struck southern Kenton County, PDS’ GIS team assisted in the recovery process by providing products to aid in surveying the damaged structures for assessment of the storm severity. 

In support of that role, senior GIS programmer Christy Powell, GISP, is developing a mobile app that will allow inspectors to capture field data and directly link them to a FEMA document for easier submittal processing.

In 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act also known as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III). NKEPC was created from that federal legislation as a federally-mandated entity composed of state and local officials, business representatives, and members of the media.

NKEPC members come from local emergency responders, industry, government, education, media, and community groups. The group’s main function is to provide joint emergency planning, training, and public outreach. 

Out of Kentucky’s 120 counties, NKEPC is the only emergency planning group to serve a multi-county area. The other 117 counties in the Commonwealth have individual local emergency planning committees.

The Northern Kentucky Emergency Planning Committee is administered through the Boone County Emergency Management Agency.

The Northern Kentucky mapLAB (NKYmapLAB) initiative wrapped up its’ first year of projects last month, producing 11 high-quality poster map displays, and eight Story Maps. Story Maps are online multi-media applications that allow users to interact with maps, images, videos, embedded websites, and other documents (think PDFs).

NKYmapLAB projects help local leaders and citizens better understand issues affecting Kenton County, while highlighting the analytic capabilities of LINK-GIS. The first year’s topics include:

• Energy Efficient Construction
• Solar Potential
• Urban Tree Canopy
• Parks
• Current Bridge Conditions
• Walkability
• KY 536
• Baseball Across the Region
• Plan4Health
• Buttermilk-Orphanage Road Realignment
• Linden Grove Cemetery and Arboretum

NKYmapLAB products were presented at the 2015 Fall Kentucky American Planning Association Conference in Frankfort and then again at the 2015 Kentucky GIS Conference in Owensboro. In June NKYmapLAB staff will continue to share their work with GIS users from around the world, having been selected to present at the 2016 ESRI International User Conference. 

The NKYmapLAB initiative was recognized with a first place finish in the Map Gallery at the 2015 Kentucky GIS Conference and a third place finish in the Large-Format Printed Map Category at the 2015 ESRI International User Conference.

The initiative’s Walkability Story Map garnered the attention of the Story Map team at ESRI and became part of their Story Map gallery on ESRI’s website. View it here on the LINK-GIS site.

“While getting the attention of the GIS community is great, the real reward is being able to assist a community with an issue when they ask for it,” stated Ryan Kent, GISP, part of the NKYmapLAB team.  

NKYmapLAB has partnered with agencies, where mutually beneficial, in order to improve their collaborative work efforts by leveraging existing GIS capabilities, cartography, and data partnerships. One such project was created in collaboration with the City of Fort Mitchell on a proposed realignment of the Dixie Highway-Buttermilk Pike-Orphanage Road intersection.

As 2016 gets underway, NKYmapLAB has already released two products: “Trails of Kenton County” and “Landslides in Kenton County.” The initiative seeks to continue its goal of addressing one topic per month over the course of the year.

Louis Hill, GISP, the other part of the NKYmapLAB team, stated that “so far NKYmapLAB work has been very well received. It’s also continued to generate requests for technical assistance on projects that require a deeper level of analysis and partnership.”

For more details on NKYmapLAB, email Louis Hill, GISP, AICP, or Ryan Kent, GISP, or call them at 859.331.8980.

NKYmapLAB is available online and on Twitter @NKYmapLAB.

Dozens of people across Northern Kentucky use the LINK-GIS map viewer on a daily basis for business or personal applications. With the system’s new release, users can now access the viewer’s interactive maps on their mobile devices.

“I have to tell you that I don’t know that I’d be able to do half of what I do without LINK-GIS,” said Seth Cutter of the Campbell County Fiscal Court. “It’s a great resource, and the latest release is terrific!”

The newest release of the map viewer has a similar look and feel as the previous version, but with even easier access to mapping information. This easier access to data means the functionality of the map viewer has changed in a few areas. To make users aware of the changes and how to interact with the map viewer on their mobile devices, LINK-GIS staff literally took the mobile map viewer on the road.

The road trip began with a visit to the Campbell County Fiscal Court chambers, where attendees included administrators from Campbell County Public Works, Planning and Zoning, and the Fiscal Court as well as the Cities of Alexandria and Cold Spring. Christy Powell, GISP, Senior GIS Programmer and Joe Busemeyer, GISP, Principal GIS Programmer, showcased the capabilities of the new map viewer for over two hours.

The session allowed attendees to interact with the map viewer, ask questions, and engage in conversation with the Powell and Busemeyer who developed the new map viewer.

The map viewer was received well by Luke Mantle who is director of Campbell County Public Works. “I use the map viewer eight to ten times a day.”

The road trip continued on to the City of Covington, where Powell and Busemeyer showcased the map viewer for several of Covington’s administrators—from Public Works, Urban Forestry, Zoning, and Code Enforcement. Covington officials were very excited with the new map viewer.

As Jessica Moss of the city stated, “As the City of Covington moves toward mobile implementation, the LINK-GIS map viewer has become increasingly beneficial to city workers, both out in the field and in the office.”

She added, “Recently we provided many city staff with iOS devices for work phones, and the improved JavaScript map viewer allows our employees to work more efficiently and effectively thanks to having such a great resource in the palms of their hands.”

The road trip concluded with a visit to Thomas More College. Students from ecology and environmental science attended an afternoon session showcasing the new map viewer. More than 20 students spent two hours with the developers and asked a variety of questions about data and applications.

If you would be interested in having PDS’s website developers speak to your group, please contact the PDS office.

The importance of the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for the Commonwealth was highlighted by Gov. Steve Beshear's declaration of October 12-16, 2015 as GIS Week.

The Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP) fosters the understanding and improvement of the management and use of geospatial information throughout the Commonwealth in all levels of government, academia, and the private sector. Continuing its tradition from previous years, KAMP has organized the 22nd Annual Kentucky GIS Conference from October 12-14 in Owensboro.

KAMP President, Lance Morris, said that hundreds of professionals in the geospatial industry from Kentucky and neighboring states are expected to attend the conference. This year's event highlights the use of unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying, mapping and emergency response.

Geographic Information Systems are computer-based tools for mapping, analyzing, and understanding our world and the events affecting it, through combining the power of a database with the visualization capabilities offered by maps and web applications. Thus, GIS provides a unifying framework to help resolve complex issues in the fields of environmental protection, pollution control, land use, natural resources management, preservation and conservation.

GIS mapping and information management serve our communities in cities, counties and regions through activities such as transportation, construction, facilities and utilities management, tourism, archaeological and historical preservation, economic development, education, health care, emergency preparedness, response and mitigation planning.

KAMP will also present awards to individuals making significant contributions to the GIS and mapping community, for outstanding services to KAMP, and to an exemplary GIS system implementation, this one presented last year to the Cabinet for Economic Development's Select Kentucky website.

For more information about the 2015 Kentucky GIS Conference, please visit the KAMP website.

LINK-GIS’ new map viewer tool was put into service recently. Following an effort to beef up the information available with one click of the mouse, Map Viewer will now serve up numerous levels of property information in a quick, simple, and concise manner.

“One of our top priorities was to pull information from many sources into one list,” said Christy Powell, GISP, PDS’ senior GIS programmer. These data are being pulled from over 30 sources including community information, utility services, inspector contacts, and school and political districts.

“Although this information had been available on the previous version, the new website simplifies the process of getting results,” said Joe Busemeyer, GISP, PDS’ principal GIS programmer, who along with Powell created the new map viewer tool.

Powell and Busemeyer explained how simple the new tool is to use.

From the LINK-GIS homepage, find the Explore LINK-GIS Maps section on the bottom left side of the page (see Figure 1). Type the name or address you’re looking to find, choose the county and search type, then click GO.

The LINK-GIS Map Viewer will open and provide the search results. Click on the intended parcel from the list and get the detailed information along with a map of the property (see Figure 2).

“We created a similar list for flood plain information that includes many items from the FEMA floodplain information in one place,” said Busemeyer.

Access to that information is also a single click away on the water drop icon near the top left of the Map Viewer. Information passed from the Explore LINK-GIS Maps widget on the LINK-GIS homepage will automatically populate that widget.

“I hate having to type the exact same information several times on a website,” said Powell. “This new Map Viewer capability should help with that.”

Powell said that PDS’ programming team will continue to add innovative features to the online mapping options for the LINK-GIS website. In addition to the Map Viewer, there is already a Park Finder website available and a polling place locator in development that are aimed at niche interest groups.

As part of its ongoing collaboration with E9-1-1 dispatch services in Campbell, Kenton, and Pendleton Counties, PDS’ GIS staff recently submitted Public Safety Access Point geographic boundary data to the state. This work by staff will result in $1.1 million in funding flowing from Frankfort to those dispatch centers.

A substantial portion of the cost of providing E9-1-1 service comes from fees paid by those who have a phone. In some areas of the state, the local phone provider collects a land line fee and distributes it directly to the dispatch centers in whose jurisdictions the land lines are located. However, wireless service providers pass the fee revenue on to the state for distribution to the requisite dispatch centers.

“This assessment is required every year by the State’s Commercial Mobile Radio Service Board (CMRS),” said Tom East, GISP, Senior GIS Specialist. “Before the board distributes the cell phone-generated revenue, it needs to know that the local dispatch centers have the ability to locate cellular users within their jurisdictions who call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. Providing accurate and up-to-date geographic data is a requirement to receive the funding.”

Because PDS’ GIS mapping system is the basis for dispatching emergency services in Campbell, Kenton, and Pendleton Counties, staff is in the best position to address the state’s questions, according to East.

These typically deal with the locations of cell towers as well as the credibility of address data.

“There’s a significant amount of money riding on our answers to the state’s questions,” said East. “LINK-GIS is geared to providing this level of information to the dispatch centers on an ongoing basis. This exercise gives us an opportunity to show the state that we’re maintaining the high standards and timeliness of data necessary for emergency dispatch purposes.”

Dispatch services are provided in Campbell and Pendleton Counties by single, countywide agencies. In Kenton County, these services are provided currently by Kenton County for unincorporated parts of the county and for all cities except Erlanger, Elsmere, and Crescent Springs which are served by Erlanger’s Dispatch Center.

An initiative begun in January by two members of PDS’ GIS team achieved considerable attention during the Esri annual conference held recently in San Diego. NKYmapLAB seeks to highlight the wealth of GIS data that have been collected by the LINK-GIS/Kenton County partnership since its inception in 1985. It accomplishes this by publishing a monthly map that highlights these data as they relate to a topic of current discussion.

PDS staff and one of their entries in the “large format printed map” category earned a third place in the international completion.

“Competition for attention to your maps at this annual conference is intense,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, PDS’ executive director. “Thousands of maps from across the globe are displayed. To do something that catches the eye of your peers and prompts them to vote for your work is really tough. I’m so proud that work from our GIS professionals was recognized in such a forum.”

Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) is an international GIS software company that invites it’s users to share examples of their mapping work at its annual user conference which typically draws 16,000+ GIS professionals from around the world.

The Esri Map Gallery display provides an exciting and vibrant display of the very best in current cartography practices. Approximately the size of two football fields, the exhibit allows users to showcase their talents and work to other conference attendees, and acts as a barometer for the current state of mapping globally.

Map gallery entries must be created with Esri software and submitted by someone who registers for and attends the Esri user conference. The creator(s) of the map must be present for at least one hour during the map gallery opening and evening reception to discuss their maps and answer questions.

This year PDS, under the NKYmapLAB initiative, submitted four map products to be reviewed and voted on by conference attendees and Esri staff. Under the “large format printed map” category, the PDS team of Louis Hill, GISP (Geospatial Data Analyst) Ryan Kent, GISP (Principal GIS Data Analyst) and Trisha Brush, GISP (Director of GIS Administration) received third place.

“This is a huge honor as there were many wonderful and worthy maps submitted,” said Brush. “Over the last year the focus of NKYmapLAB was to battle some of the challenges with big GIS data while addressing three important elements sharing, analysis, and visualization.”

According to Hill, “This recognition is a nice acknowledgement of what we are trying to accomplish: keeping the long-range planning goals of Direction 2030 at the forefront of public discussion and making the general public more aware of the capabilities that GIS can provide to our community.”

Kent added, “To be selected by your peers, who know what you go through to create these maps, is a sort of vindication that you are doing something right. We don’t create maps that just look pretty, they need to tell a story and get a message across. The Esri Map Gallery is the perfect venue to showcase that.”

The NKYmapLAB initiative features eight story maps accompanied with large posters. A story map is a media where mapping professionals can combine authoritative maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content. All published NKYmapLAB maps are stored here for your review and use.

Stating the obvious, time flies in the world of technology. In the six years since the last major update of the LINK-GIS website, many things in the world of technology have changed. Back then the iPhone was on its 3G release. Android devices had been on the market for less than a year. And, the iPad didn’t exist yet.

According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 64 percent of American adults own a smartphone now. A majority of these adults use mobile devices to get directions and other location-based information.

Until now, the 2009 version of the LINK-GIS map viewer didn’t function on mobile devices.

Recent technological advances have enabled LINK-GIS to migrate from the older Flash player based platform to a newer JavaScript based mobile-friendly platform. The overall look and feel of the map viewer on the new JavaScript platform is similar to the old Flash platform, but with even easier access to information.

Additionally, the new technology allows for the creation of customized, specialty maps such as PDS’ new Park Finder application. This new app helps users find information about parks and recreation in just a couple clicks. More map specific applications are on the horizon.

“The new map viewer function of the LINK-GIS website is heads and shoulders above what we’ve been able to provide in the past,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, PDS’ executive director. “And, while that’s noteworthy in and of itself, the fact of which I’m most proud is that our GIS staff built it from scratch, in-house—and that took a lot of programming to accomplish.”

The new LINK-GIS map viewer is located here. PDS’ new Park Finder Application is located here.

LINK-GIS’ “Classic” map viewer will still be available to the public for a limited time so users can get acclimated to the functionality of the new JavaScript map viewer. In the coming months, PDS will hold several events to showcase the new map viewer and specialty mapping applications.

Information about these events will be available on the LINK-GIS website.

PDS’ Northern Kentucky Map Lab (NKYmapLAB) initiative that was begun earlier this year is quickly developing a wealth of illustrative looks at Kenton County issues. They range from Baseball Across Northern Kentucky (a tie in to Major League Baseball’s 2015 All Star Game) to an analysis of tree canopy across the County.

NKYmapLAB’s goal is to keep residents, the business community, and elected and appointed officials informed using its wealth of data. Among its emphases are: 1) long range planning projects that are part of Direction 2030 implementation; 2) quality of life issues in cities and throughout Kenton County; and, 3) support county economic development projects as requested.

LINK-GIS has been building its data base since 1986; what started as a partnership to map utility locations for public health concerns has grown into a regional GIS system responsible for roughly six terabytes of data (6,000 gigabytes).

As the data base grows larger and more complex, it takes on some of the challenges often found with other “big data” systems. Those challenges are typically how to best share, analyze, and visualize the information that is constantly accumulating. NKYmapLAB is a direct response to that issue.

NKYmapLAB aims to analyze a wide variety of this data and present it in a more visual format that facilitates better understanding by the public and its elected leaders. Topics to date have included:

 ·        Energy Efficient Construction in Kenton County

·        Current Conditions of Kenton County Bridges

·        Walkability: Sidewalk Connectivity in Kenton County

·        Parks of Kenton County

·        KY-536 Traffic Patterns

·        Urban Tree Canopy

·        Baseball Across The Region: Northern Kentucky            

In addition to large-format maps, NKYmapLAB has started using Esri’s Story Map platform to provide users with a more interactive online experience of each topic, when appropriate. The Story Map format is valuable because it guides users through a topic sequentially, introducing key concepts and new points of information along the way.

Story Maps use geography and location (the key component of GIS) as a means of organizing and presenting information. They tell the story of a place, event, issue, trend, or pattern in a geographic context. They combine interactive maps with other rich content—text, photos, video, and audio—for a user experience that is basic and intuitive.

While many Story Maps are designed for general, non-technical audiences, some can also serve highly specialized audiences. They use the tools of GIS, and often present the results of spatial analysis, but don’t require their users to have any special knowledge or skills in GIS. This has resulted in rapid adoption of Story Maps across all industries.

For more details on NKYmapLAB, email Louis Hill, GISP, AICP, or Ryan Kent, GISP, or call them at 859.331.8980.

NKYmapLAB is also available on Twitter @NKYmapLAB.

Kentucky needs a new definition for the practice of land surveying—one that will distinguish between highly-accurate GIS maps and the technical products produced by licensed land surveyors. PDS staff members Trisha Brush, GISP, GIS director, and Steve Lilly, PLS, GISP, Surveying Analyst, were members of a taskforce charged with crafting that new definition.

B. David Cox, Executive Director for the Kentucky Board of Licensure explains the issue. “Modern GIS, GPS, and mapping technologies have dramatically increased the ability of non-surveyors to create a multitude of maps for a multitude of purposes. Some states have recently addressed the issue including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Their approach was basically to bring mapping professionals into surveying licensure, including a "grandfathering" period and attempt to license all as surveyors.”

The decision to rewrite the definition as opposed to including mapping professionals into surveying licensure was made because of the inherent differences of the two professions. Even though there are many similarities between the two professions, the final work product and what it represents are entirely different. It was this final work product for each profession that would lead to this new definition.

The committee from Kentucky’s Board of Licensure requested members of the Kentucky Association of Surveyors (KAPS) and the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP) to assist with the new definition. Brush and Lilly were selected since both are GIS Professionals who hold the GISP certification and both are involved in KAPS and KAMP. Lilly also holds a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license in Kentucky.

“This effort was important to both professions,” said Lilly. “The new definition—however it’s finally crafted—will help the public understand our different roles better and that’s something that benefits everyone.”

Members of the taskforce from the State Board, KAPS, and KAMP developed a definition that they recommended to the Legislative Research Commission (LRC). The LRC will utilize the recommendation to create a new regulation in 201 KAR 18:150.

The new definition will probably become effective later this year.