12/18/2009 5:01:00 AM
Commissioners hear report on GIS project
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BY KIRK DOUGAL
Times Bulletin Editor
kdougal@timesbulletin.com
VAN WERT - The Van Wert County Commissioners met with Darryl Owens on Thursday morning to receive a report on the map research project that has been ongoing in the county.
The purpose of the project has been to input all of the information from the county auditor's office in regards to parcels, boundaries and corresponding maps into a Geographic Information System (GIS). This will include topography information as well. Once all the information is in the GIS, then properties, ground area and other physical attributes can be searched and cross-referenced in the database.
Part of the discussion on Thursday revolved around how to make the information available to the public. Those options include stand alone computers at places like the county auditor and county engineer's offices or they could be web-based. No decision was made at the meeting but they will continue to study the most effective way to disseminate the information.
Some of the uses for the citizens in the GIS project would include hunters searching for property owners for permission to hunt, zoning variance research and title searches for mortgage companies, banks and attorneys. Another use would involve the search for flood zones, either for current property owners or for potential buyers or house builders. Of course the completed program will greatly benefit the county engineer's office as well when it comes time to prepare for construction projects. If the system is web-based, it should save considerable amounts of research time and drive-time for users outside the area.
Perhaps most importantly at this time, the project is funded through the Real Estate Assessment (REA) Fund and does not affect the county General Fund in any way. With the county budget as tight as it has become in the recent economic downturn, the county commissioners expect the opportunity to save time and money and not affect the budget to be very helpful.
Commissioner Harold Merkle reported that the project is nearing completion on the first installment, with only York Township remaining to be completed. Once that portion is completed, the commissioners will receive a proposal from Owens on how to make the information available to the general public.
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