HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 03 Demonstration of Publicly Accessible GIS ApplicationAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 5/20/2013
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Len Goodwin,
Brandt Melick/DPW
Staff Phone No: 541-726-3685/
541-726-4645
Estimated Time: 15 minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D
C I T Y C O U N C I L
Council Goals: Financially Responsible
and Stable Government
Services
ITEM TITLE: DEMONSTRATION OF PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE GIS APPLICATION
ACTION
REQUESTED: This item is for your information, and no action is requested.
ISSUE
STATEMENT:
Springfield’s Development and Public Works Technical Services Division has
partnered with MetroPlanning, Inc. to move MapSpring to an Open Source GIS
Web application and make a significant amount of geospatial information available
to the general public.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. : Council Briefing Memorandum
DISCUSSION/
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
The types of information available in MapSpring include local development and
public works data from the City and regional data from Lane County and the State
of Oregon.
The MapSpring application, which was previously available only to staff within the
city’s firewall, will now allow the general public to query this information in a web
browser interface like they are already familiar with in Google Maps or Bing Maps.
The application’s intent is to better serve the citizens of Springfield, and the
development community, by providing easy access to GIS data and other
Springfield Development and Public Works information. Other anticipated benefits
include reducing calls to Springfield staff for simple data queries, promoting
regional data sharing efforts, promoting economic development and promoting
open data standards that enhance regional data sharing.
MapSpring provides frequently requested information about roadways, wastewater
and stormwater infrastructure, council wards, zoning, parks, special districts,
address and site information, natural resource information, major landmarks and
several years of aerial imagery. It also provides a variety of functions such as
address searching, viewing taxlot details and linking to the Lane County Assessor’s
maps. It provides easy access to local and regional information not commonly
found in products such as Google Maps and Bing.
MapSpring, which began as an internal application available only to City staff, now
relies on Open Source Software technology to provide a cost effective and viable
alternative to expensive and proprietary vendor supplied software systems. The
cost for this Open Source project was $8,320. In comparison, a non Open Source
solution to achieve the same result would cost between $116,320 and $140,320.
M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield
Date: 5/20/2013
COUNCIL
BRIEFING
MEMORANDUM
To: Gino Grimaldi, City Manager
From: Len Goodwin, Development and Public Works
Director
Brandt Melick, Technical Services Division
Manager
Subject: DEMONSTRATION OF PUBLICALLY
ACCESSIBLE GIS APPLICATION
ISSUE:
Springfield’s Development and Public Works Technical Services Division has partnered with
MetroPlanning, Inc. to move MapSpring to an Open Source GIS Web application and make a
significant amount of geospatial information to the general public.
COUNCIL GOALS/
MANDATE:
Financially Responsible and Stable Government Services
BACKGROUND:
The City of Springfield Development and Public Works Technical Services Division and
MetroPlanning, Inc. began a “proof of concept” project in 2011 to use Open Source Web
development tools to modify the GIS application available internally to staff to provide
Springfield GIS data to the general public.
The types of information served by MapSpring
include local public works data, regional GIS data, Lane County GIS services and State
GIS services. This project builds on that “proof of concept” by implementing the GIS Web
application, MapSpring, currently available at
http://webgis2.metroplanning.com:8080/mapspring/. Once the system is fully tested and
qualified, IT will provide a permanent site to host the application.
MapSpring allows the general public to query Springfield GIS data in a familiar web browser
interface like they are already familiar with in Google Maps or Bing Maps. The application’s
intent is to better serve the citizens of Springfield, and the development community, by
providing easier access to GIS data and other Springfield Development and Public Works
information. Other anticipated benefits from this application are to reduce the number of calls to
Springfield staff for simple data queries, promote regional data sharing efforts, promote
economic development in the small business community and promote open data sharing
standards throughout the region.
MapSpring provides a wealth of information commonly requested by the public including
roadways, sewer and storm infrastructure, council wards, zoning, parks and special districts. It
also includes basic taxlot and address information, natural resource features such as flood and
wetlands information, major landmarks and almost a 20 year span of aerial photos.
Furthermore, the public can search for a location by address, view related taxlot information,
identify surrounding addresses and easily access County Assessor’s Maps for a desired location.
The application also includes on-line help, technical contacts and Frequently Asked Questions
for efficient use of the application. Finally the application includes a link to an on-line survey
the results of which will be used to guide future improvements to the application.
Attachment 1-1
Certain data was intentionally excluded from MapSpring due either to its sensitive nature or
complexity that would make the data hard to understand. These types of data include such
things as easements, sewer service lines, refinement plans and restricted ownership information.
While much of this data is, in fact, subject to release under the public records law, and will be
made available upon request, after review by counsel, we have concluded that facilitating easy
access to this sensitive data by making it accessible in a web application is not required. The
entry page for the application also notes that the data that is visible is not the official record, and
strongly recommends the application user confirm the currency and accuracy of the information
before basing critical decisions on the information.
MapSpring was designed with the active participation of City staff from many disciplines across
the organization, including participants from engineering, planning, public relations, operations,
and technical services. Participants prioritized information to display in the application, defined
functions that would best serve citizens, finalized the look and feel, provided significant time for
testing and sought approval from management and executive teams. The development of this
application also enjoyed a great deal of regional collaboration between the City of Springfield,
Lane County and Lane Council of Governments.
Finally MapSpring was built with Open Source Software to demonstrate that Open Source is a
viable alternative to expensive and proprietary vendor supplied software systems. Commercial
software can cost tens of thousands of dollars to purchase plus tens of thousands of dollars per
year in maintenance agreements, costs incurred before any application development can begin.
Alternatively, Open Source Software is free to the public and the development cost for this
application supported small local business.
The cost for this Open Source project was $8,320. In comparison, a non Open Source solution
to achieve the same result would cost between $116,320 and $140,320. In this comparison,
contracting rates increase from $65 dollars an hour for local Open Source programmers to $100
to $150 dollars an hour for stateside proprietary software programmers. Software costs increase
significantly with approximately $50,000 for database software, $35, 000 to $40,000 for GIS
sever software, and $5,000 to $10,000 for various pieces of middle wear. Lastly, on-going
software maintenance costs average about 20% of the software purchase costs (approximately
$18,000 to $22,000 per year.) Cost savings with Open Source solutions can be significant.
For more information on the MapSpring application please contact Brandt Melick at (541)726-
4645.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This is an information item only.
Attachment 1-2