The county Geographic Information Systems department officially launched its new Map Viewer on Wednesday. It will replace the Schuylkill Parcel Locator and is free to use at any time.
“The parcel locator was on the ground since 2003 and was built with what became legacy software and it became very necessary to upgrade the parcel locator and bring it up to speed with new technology,” Susan A. Smith, director of county planning and the Graphic Information Systems coordinator, said.
The new Map Viewer available at http://gis.co.schuylkill.pa.us/mapviewer provides continuous access to parcel, assessment and county zoning data with new or improved functions, additional information and a redesigned layout. It was designed by GeographIT, a GIS and information technology firm in Lacaster. The company has provided services for the county since 2010, Smith said.
“This was an offshoot of a product that they had made for another county, which we really liked, and we then molded it to fit the needs of the county,” Smith said.
The Schuylkill Parcel Locator has experienced some technical problems since last summer, such as freezing up. The new Map Viewer has been in the making since last November, she said.
“The software that the parcel locator was built on at its time was the preeminent internet mapping software of its time, but like any technology, that quickly became outdated,” Smith said.
Smith said that some time about 2009, Esri stopped supporting the software that powered the old parcel locator.
“We also had other needs, one of which was to bring up the version of our software so that we can support some things going on in other departments,” Smith said.
The Parcel Locator will still be available for a few weeks at http://co.schuylkill.pa.us/parcelviewer until it is shut down. Smith said that is how long it will take until the public access computers are updated to run the new Map Viewer.
The costs associated with the new program include a $38,450 contract with GeographIT for the Map Viewer, a $13,910 contract for system design, a new GIS data server for $7,030 and a $1,200 one-time, up-front cost to use the Amazon Cloud Service, plus about $300 a month for the service, which may change slightly based on demand.
Smith said that costs of the new system design, data server and Amazon Cloud service are not solely attributed to the Map Viewer as they are used for the county’s entire GIS system.
“One of the challenges that we face as a board of commissioners is keeping up with technology as it continuously changes and we all know how rapid that is,” commissioners Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier said. “I am proud to say this board of commissioners is committed to that and I think we have demonstrated that at various times, especially with the 911 system and with this product.”
Staudenmeier thanked the county departments heads and elected officials for keeping their offices up to date.
“We recognize that there is a cost involved, but we also recognize that the people out there expect it,” Staudenmeier said.
With the system using the Amazon cloud services, the county can increase or decrease capacity as needed, Bruce E. Stauffer, vice president of GeographIT, said.
“You can ensure that your services are 24/7,” Stauffer said. “If your physical server crashes or the power goes out, it could be out for days until you get a replacement server and it build it back up. With this, you can literally have it up and running in a matter of minutes.”
Smith also said it gives the county the ability to upgrade as needed.
“The cloud really provides a lot more flexibility for us to scale up or scale down depending on what needs we might have in terms of data storage or the ability to meet performance requirements,” Smith said.
Changes in the system supporting the Map Viewer allows for faster rendering of map data.
“It has an entirely new layout,” Smith said. “I think one of the first things people will notice is that you are no longer pigeonholed to that little map interface. You now have control to minimize or max like you would any other website.”
Tools, such as “measure” and “select by parcels” have been improved. A new address locator tool has been added to help users locate parcels by narrowing searches to a specific area. Users can also draw a shape on the map and identify all the parcels that fall within it.
Print options now include new page sizes and the ability to print as a PDF or picture file type, allowing users to save or send their maps through email.
“That makes it nice because people can save them, email them and incorporate them into other documents they are working on,” Smith said.
Map navigation is now controlled in a more similar manner to typical web maps, such as Google Maps. In addition to using identify tools, users can now simply click on a feature for a pop-up display of information.
“These are all new and exciting things and we now have this product that will replace the parcel locator, but it also has added some data, particularly new data that is very topical in meeting the needs of county residents,” Smith said.
The Map Viewer uses the latest aerial imagery available from 2008 and 2013 and includes other basemaps from the U.S. Geological Survey and Esri. The new program also features new data, such as flood hazard maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood hazard information, the National Wetlands Inventory, 10-foot contours and mineral parcels.
“I think this will meet the needs of a lot of folks,” Smith said. “As you know, flood insurance and the changes to the flood map are a hot topic in Schuylkill County.”
The Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal Cards remain unchanged.
The county will also be hosting training sessions for different agencies and realtors on how to use the new program. There may also be online training for municipal officials, Smith said.
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