Department of Finance & Administration
Mark Emkes, Commissioner
Message from the Director's Corner
January 23, 2013
In spite of our tough economic times, there are many opportunities to use GIS in support of making government work more efficient and effective.
With Governor Haslam’s “Customer Focused” government initiative, OIR GIS Services is continuing to lead the way on a variety of statewide GIS efforts.
First, in conjunction with the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board, OIR GIS Services is helping create, maintain, and sustain a statewide GIS dataset to support implementation of Next Generation 911 (NG911). Using the core GIS data developed through the initial production efforts of the Tennessee Base Mapping Program, local authoritative GIS data, and enhancements that were made through a contract with TeleAtlas, the Tennessee Information for Public Safety (TIPS) GIS dataset is being implemented throughout all 100 emergency communication districts. Having a statewide standardized GIS dataset for street centerlines, address points, and ESN boundaries is essential for NG911 implementation. Currently, five OIR GIS Services staff (including three regional support staff) have almost completed the initial TIPS standardization and development of the core GIS data layers. Once complete, the goal is to assist, maintain, monitor, and provide technical assistance to the local districts, not only to support TIPS and NG911, but to leverage the statewide TIPS data in support of other state agency GIS needs. Build it once, use it many!
NG911 is not the only public safety driven effort that is leveraging GIS. Currently, in response to the major flood events that have occurred over the last three years in Tennessee, OIR GIS Services is leading an effort to develop enhanced elevation GIS data. The vision is that a better elevation GIS dataset can be used to support planning and mitigation efforts for floodplain management, but also using the enhanced elevation GIS data in support of emergency response during a flood event. Through an FGDC CAP grant, Applied Geographics developed a business plan for enhanced elevation. The focus now is executing the business plan which, in 2013, calls for the development of a pilot project. Through funding provided by the Office of Surface Mining and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, OIR GIS has awarded a contract to Dewberry for creation of LiDAR elevation data in VanBuren and Sequatchie counties. The goal for the pilot project is to showcase the value of these enhanced elevation data products to support floodplain management, land reclamation activities, development of ortho imagery, and other business uses.
In addition to these statewide coordination efforts, OIR GIS Services is continuing to provide a variety of enterprise GIS services to State agencies and other GIS consumers. Through the TNMap portal, OIR GIS Services is hosting a variety of geospatial content that can be consumed through ArcGIS desktop, mobile devices, and custom web GIS applications. The latest web GIS development project is an effort funded by the National Park Service and the Tennessee Library and Archives to map the significant number of Civil War battlefield locations throughout Tennessee. In conjunction with the sesquicentennial events surrounding the Civil War, this provides researchers, historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and others with a wealth of information all linked to geography and place.
Best Regards,
Dennis Pedersen
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Governor Bill Haslam
