The GEO-Jobe Blog

By MELISSA WEBB
Correspondent
courtesy of Brentwood Life (www.brentwoodlife.net)

About two years ago, the City of Brentwood embarked on a huge project through its technology department to create a GIS - Geographic Information System - for the entire city. The ultimate purpose of the mapping system is to improve the city’s ability to make practical, informed decisions.“The GIS takes institutional memory and puts it on paper in a very accurate way,” said Mike Walker, Brentwood City Manager. “The information provided by the GIS will allow us to keep up to date and accurate records among various departments. Basically, all of our utilities are on the mapping system, which provides easy access to accurate data.”
 

“The benefit is in knowing where everything is and how it all interrelates,” said Kirk Bednar, Assistant City Manager, who was involved in the creation of the system. “Now we have this information readily accessible to everyone in the city to use and view; it is not just in someone’s head. GIS is all about the information and the ability to access it.”

In the last fiscal year, the City of Brentwood invested about $125,000 in one-time capital costs to get the GIS operation up and running. The investment included purchasing two plotters to print the large maps, various software licenses and computers and GPS units for use in the field. The current operating budget of the GIS division is $310,000, which includes three full-time employees and several part-time employees.

Scott Sumners is the GIS Coordinator for the City of Brentwood. He has been involved in the GIS development from the ground floor of the operation. The department’s first priority was to map all of the water and sewer lines in the city. Other city infrastructure is being added to the system as well.

“The water and sewer mapping is about 95-percent done,” said Sumners. “That means we have GIS positions on all of the sewer manhole covers, pipes and grinder pumps as well as the water valves, backflows and fire hydrants. We are working on the meters and storm water features as well.”

GIS maps for the entire City of Brentwood are currently available on the city’s Web site (www.brentwoodtn.org). Anyone can pull up four different interactive maps through the link for GIS mapping. The city is currently in the process of updating its Web site. Making the GIS information even more easily accessible through the site is a priority.

The GIS is literally a life-saver when it comes to emergency services. The city fire and police departments, which formerly used only the mapping systems in city vehicles, now have access to the most accurate data through the GIS.

“Before, with all of the growth occurring in the city, the maps in the city police cars were not kept completely up to date,” said Sumners. “It is very important for emergency services to know exactly where they are going and be able to track distances. With the GIS, they can calculate the exact footage of distances between points. Within seconds, they can access an accurate picture of the city. The system enables us to update addresses and street center lines in house as soon as a plat is finalized.”

City residents can utilize the GIS to get information on the locations of all the tornado sirens in the city as well as call boxes for emergencies. Zoning information for every city property can also be accessed through the system. Each city park is mapped as well, including the trail systems and locations of amenities.

“Part of our ultimate goal is to have one asset management database and we will be proposing that soon,” said Sumners. “Input wise, there is still a bit left to do, but it is an ongoing process. The new city Web site will make all of this information as easy to access as possible for everyone in the city. Most importantly, we now have a way to make institutional knowledge available for everyone to use in making plans and decisions.”

To access the GIS for the City of Brentwood, visit the city’s Web site and click on “GIS mapping” from the home page. For more information, contact Scott Sumners at (615) 371-7002 or scott@brentwood-tn.org.

Filed under: People, Places