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01/12/1999 Quarterly Meeting MinutesQuarterly Meeting Minutes
IOWA GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION COUNCIL (IGIC) MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 1999
Chair Kevin Kane called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m., January 12, 1999. No changes were made at meeting time. Jim Youngblood spoke on issues pertaining to Executive Order #65, the IGIC Bylaws and the Annual Report (specified in the Executive Order). He said that the new governor will have the authority to continue with the Executive Order #65, signed by Governor Branstad. He also reminded the IGIC that membership is ultimately decided by the Director of ITS, as dictated in the bylaws. Youngblood continued on with the Annual Report, saying that it should be structured and identify needs, i.e. it needs to be "a blueprint for the future". He added that the Annual Report should target the 2001 budget year, that inclusion into the 2000 budget is not possible. This creates the need to find some funding sources. Mr. Youngblood suggested that the IGIC get more in touch with the Iowa legislature, and that it would help to have a "sponsor" for support. He closed by noting the apparent interest shown by the new administration in GIS, and that Governor Vilsack may be pro-GIS. Discussion: Kevin mentioned a draft report, and Jim said to be sure to highlight the IGIC’s history and to look closely at the 2001 budget. Steve Boal mentioned the use of GIS in upcoming legislative redistricting issues, and Ann Peton mentioned having talked with state officials about this. Jim reiterated his point of having a "champion" in the legislature, and mentioned two possible candidates: Libby Jacobs and Steve King. Lee Tucker asked about the IGIC’s inclusion in the 2000 Iowa State Budget, and Jim pointed out that there is not any funding in the 2000 Budget besides staff funding. He further recommended that the IGIC turn in its report in 30-45 days, and try to hit upon the goals set by the new governor. Dave Plazak suggested using the Iowa Access Project 8 report as a guide. Ann mentioned the possibility of conducting a Legislators’ Day, this was supported by Steve Williams. He added that we may need to hurry if we want to do this, as there may be some competition with other groups to set up such a day. Kevin cited some potential uses that legislators could realize. Jim closed by recommending the IGIC act as educators in this matter, rather than lobbyists. Ann suggested a survey be developed to gather statewide information on GIS initiatives. She suggested that IGIC members could survey their constituents to learn more about GIS applications in Iowa. A similar project was carried out nationwide over the last year, and the survey data is now available. In Iowa, such a study would serve as the foundation for developing a solid database of GIS practitioners in the state. Ann suggested that the results from this survey could be included in a final report, perhaps the Annual Report, and that a survey committee be formed. Discussion: Mike Hansen mentioned that people need to know some of the IGIC’s background. Ann said that the Annual Report will help with that and that the recently finished Draft Annual Report should be of immediate help. Kevin suggested the web page as a source of information. Steve Boal mentioned using the website for an electronic survey, and Kevin mentioned creating a survey committee (at the end of the meeting) to address this issue. Kevin spoke on two primary membership issues, noting that Jim Youngblood would speak to the council on this subject later in the meeting. The two issues were: 1) The number of voting members in the IGIC; and 2) Possibly extending membership into the IGIC to more private entities (vendors). Number of Voting Members The IGIC currently has 24 voting members. Kevin asked whether or not this may be too many representatives, if a smaller group would be more responsive. Kevin passed on the desire of ITS to see the IGIC more structured. Kevin then opened the floor to discussion. Discussion: Ann mentioned that many county and local governments in Iowa are well organized, and the IGIC needs to effectively serve these users. (A general discussion ensued with the main point focusing on IGIC representation). Geographical representation as opposed to the current sector representation was discussed, as was the appropriate number of representatives. Bill Kapp asked if there were indeed problems with the current number (24) of representatives. Kevin responded that there weren’t, but with fewer numbers, the council would be more "tight". It was mentioned that fewer representatives would not necessarily bring about increased participation, and that the IGIC is still a young organization and that it will change in nature as it develops. Kevin ended the discussion by soliciting IGIC representative input on the issue, and by suggesting that this be further discussed at the next IGIC meeting. Increased Membership for Private Firms (Vendors) There has been increased interest from vendors to be more involved in the IGIC. Kevin commented that vendors have much to offer, and suggested two possible alternatives: non-voting membership and/or setting up a vendor sector in the IGIC. Discussion: This centered on the "rights" that vendors currently have under existing IGIC bylaws, and how that would change (if the IGIC would like to even do anything). Bryan Miller and Bill Schuman pointed out that vendors can currently attend IGIC meetings. Kevin suggested that they would like to be more involved than merely attending meetings. Dave Plazak recommended that (perhaps by changing the bylaws) meetings will be open to vendors, but a specific sector for vendors should not be designated. Kevin then asked any vendors in attendance to share their thoughts. Paul Baxter noted that many private sector people are involved in surveying, so much interest may be just for that. Jeff Corns (ProMap) thought the existing setup works fine. Dave Squires (Sidwell) views the IGIC as more of a resource than anything else. Mike Elliott pointed out the clearinghouse webpage and the listserve as tools available to anybody. Kevin summed up the discussion that private vendors are welcomed for input "as it is", and asked what more vendors really need. He invited the vendors attending the meeting to contact IGIC members and share their feelings on this. Kevin suggested the creation of a nominating group to address officer elections. This would be a change to the bylaws but would be more organized than the process that currently exists. Discussion: Steve Williams asked that since this is the 3rd of 4 meetings, should some action be taken now? Ann said that the nominating committee should be created today, with the goal of changing the bylaws. Steve proposed adding an article to the bylaws, focusing on the nominating process. This led to a larger issue on changing the bylaws and timing. Steve summarized what would happen. The bylaws would be changed at the next meeting to reflect the creation of a nominating committee, and nominations and elections would then be held (based on the informal nominating committee’s recommendations) to be set up for the first meeting of FY 2000. The nomination committee will consist of Dave Plazak, Steve Williams, Bill Kapp and Ann Peton. The nature of the actual vote was addressed by Kevin. He remarked that the balloting and voting process for this year was pretty open, and that on many similar committees, the voting process is more formal. Ann took a short moment to present the IGIC letterhead, which was created by Kevin. She showed it over the ICN, and it was received favorably. Roger Patocka asked whether or not a URL would be present. David Haine questioned how well the color letterhead would hold up when photocopied in black and white. Michelle Lantermans provided current information on the Clearinghouse status. She is currently working on the migration of the Clearinghouse to the ITS server from its current site. Because of this, the address of the Clearinghouse will change. More changes will be in store as the migration continues. Michelle briefly discussed the interactive mapping feature, and some of the new tools added to it. The next meeting for the Clearinghouse subcommittee was set for January in Ames. Discussion: Ann encouraged each IGIC member to let their constituents know of the Clearinghouse. Ann noted that participation in this program is one of the intentions of Iowa Access Project 8, and that Iowa is one of the remaining states that is not involved in this. A key to being involved in this is that Iowa supports FGDC standards and uses these standards in the compilation and dissemination of datasets. Ann also mentioned that inclusion in this program would give Iowa a voice in what is going on at the national level. Ann finally mentioned that this partnership may provide the IGIC with funding sources. She said she would send out a survey and would like a vote at the next meeting to determine where the IGIC wants to go with this. Steve Williams and Ann brought the IGIC up to speed on the latest developments with the conference committee involving the 4th IGIC conference. Steve showed photos of the facilities and discussed the work the committee has done through the four meetings they have held to date. The date has been set for July 28-30, 1999 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. The conference will have 3 components: Workshops; Sessions (Tracks) and a Forum held on the final day. The conference committee estimates 325 attendees with conference revenue estimated to be $14,000. This is based on a per-person registration fee of $95 ($105 for late registrants). The Iowa Department of Transportation is assisting with marketing, and the Clearinghouse is expected to play a key role in notifying potential attendees of the conference events. On-line registration may be a possibility as well. Kevin questioned whether there would be any numbers problems with BVU hosting this size of an event. Steve said the only potential problems could be auditorium seating during the beginning sessions, and lodging. They don’t foresee any problems at the moment however. Ann briefly discussed the event held in December at the Polk County Convention Center. The conference was held chiefly for those in Iowa that are involved in parcel mapping, mainly counties and cities. There were over 100 attendees, including vendors. The big issues were legal and privacy rights of landowners and the setting of standards for those involved in this type of work. Working more closely with the surveying community is one of the things Ann mentioned as a product of the conference. Roger briefed IGIC members on the international conference held last autumn in Michigan. The highlights of the education-oriented conference were community college educational efforts, the development of 4-year GIS degrees and the development of community based problem solving. (Click here for a more detailed description.) Michelle has been training state employees in Arcview. To date, she has worked with staff from DNR, Public Safety and Iowa Workforce Development. Ann asked if there were other state agencies that may be interested in training. IGIC has been charging for these activities. Discussion: Mike Elliott mentioned a possible conflict (Iowa Code Chapter 68B) with this training and the fact that it may not be legal for one state agency to charge another for services provided. Ann stated that the IGIC bylaws do allow for GIS education to be part of the IGIC’s mission. She also mentioned the interest in training shown by people she has talked with across the state. The general discussion was whether or not it was the IGIC’s duty to conduct any "hands-on" training at all, or if the IGIC is more of a conduit to lead people to training conducted by private vendors. Black Hawk and Story Counties have been working on their Metadata for their county projects. A metadata writing tool has been selected to help with this activity. The tool being used was created by Joost Korpel of the Iowa Geological Survey Bureau (IGSB) in Iowa City. Ann mentioned that this tool will be available. David Haines provided an overview of the Webster County project, and discussed some of the issues he is running into as the project moves along. Chief among the issues are developing an open records policy, overall access and setting a rate structure. Other topics were the establishment of public terminals for data access and the publishing of county GIS policies in the Fort Dodge newspaper. This was skipped due to time constraints. David Plazak discussed the newsletter, asking for ideas on stories (1999 conference, Webster County GIS). Kevin raised the issue of money for another newsletter, and David replied that there is less than $700 available. Ann reported on some work she is doing with IDOT, and will further discuss this at the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:47 PM. Document Actions |
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