Town's GIS may be in store for updating

NORTH EAST — The Town Board is looking into grant opportunities to help it obtain an improved geographic information system (GIS), to help with planning needs.

Town Supervisor Dave Sherman met with independent grant writer Mike Hagerty and GIS representative Stacy Hoppen earlier this month, along with representatives from the town’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

"It would be mainly for Planning Board, Zoning Board [of Appeals] and CAC use," Sherman said. "Basically a lot of data and stuff like this has been developed by the county and state of New York and other agencies so work can be done by the town to map natural resources."

"We’d be able to take a really good look at wetlands, steep slopes and ridgelines," CAC Chairwoman Dianne Engleke said. "Those are skills we should have right here in town. They’re really important skills in the year 2008. We do have basic software, so it’s a matter of updating it and getting more training."

Sherman likened it to the recent habitat mapping done by the environmental research group Hudsonia.

"In GIS format, if we had the appropriate system and trained personnel, you could work with the computer and people could do research on natural features, rather than just try to pull information together from various and sundry maps printed at different times," he said. "We concluded that it would be worthwhile to have this information and computer work station at Town Hall."

That’s why the Town Board discussed the matter at its business meeting on March 13. The board talked about the town’s needs, including possible updating of computers, future training of the boards and staff, and further work that may have to be done. It also discussed different grant opportunities that may be available. More will be presented to the board on grant opportunities in the near future, according to the supervisor.

In the meantime, Sherman said he leaves the usage of the GIS to those on the relevant boards.

"I think it’s nice to have the information available and to explore it interactively," he said. "There is certain information available online in Dutchess County and some through the GIS system.

"There are things on the county GIS, which has evolved, that we cannot access with our current software," Engleke said. "We have limited access to Dutchess County’s GIS, which has much more information and more definition in the pictures, so for some information we do have to go and use the GIS in Millbrook at the cooperative extension."

Sherman said having easy access to the updated GIS is important, as it provides many of the details needed in making planning decisions.

"This becomes a tool such as the Planning Board, the ZBA or the CAC can use. It can allow them, rather than look at a map four-feet tall, to focus in on a property or group of properties in greater detail," he added. "And they can look at all areas, be it floodplains, wetlands, specific soils, habitats, anything of that nature. To try to get that from a larger map is harder."

"I do believe pictures are worth a great deal. They can end discussions and shed light on things," Engleke said. "A lot of communities have this capacity and since we have the beginnings of it we should continue."