By Gib Peaslee, National Showcase Coordinator

 

By now every public works and utilities department, large or small, is aware of the benefits of incorporating GIS and GPS into an Asset Management System. Larger, well-staffed, agencies were able to jump on the bandwagon early and have already begun to reap the benefits. The smaller agency, a huge market, has struggled with the process. They understand the value of the technology but, due to their more limited GIS talent pool, must be far more cautious traveling down the road to implementation.

 

Fortunately, the City of Gulfport, FL, a municipality of 12,000, has been through the implementation process and was very willing to share their experiences. Sixteen city and county municipalities were represented at the GIS for Small Cities Showcase held in Gulfport on March 11, 2003. Some were just beginning the GIS/GPS process and others were at various stages of the implementation process.

Paul Williams, Gulfport’s former Public Services Director and Rick Bowers, P.E., Director of GIS with the TBE Group, Inc. in Clearwater, guided everyone through Gulfport’s GIS implementation process from start to finish. Participants showed particular interest in the software compatibility, limited funding, program expansion and available in-house technical expertise issues. Williams called attention to the strong support Pinnellas County provided Gulfport, a critical element to William’s decision to move forward with his GIS/GPS initiative. According to Williams, leveraging support and guidance from neighboring agencies is a critical factor which can pay large dividends when selecting a consultant, and subsequently developing a tailored needs assessment, staff training and developing a formal implementation process.

 

With Williams and Bowers intertwining their presentations throughout the Showcase, participants gained a feel for the strong relationship which has developed between agency and consultant. While strong consultant relationships are the ultimate goal of every public agency, we learned it is absolutely essential for the smaller municipality when preparing to set in place their own GIS/GPS program.

 

During the guided field demonstrations, everyone had a chance to participate in the data collection process, and upon returning to the Showcase site, immediately viewed results of the data input transmitted by satellite instantaneously from the field sites. As is the case in all Showcases, the day ended with an open discussion including a pledge from Paul Williams to be available for anyone who wanted to discuss any aspect of Gulfport’s GIS/GPS program as they moved further down the road to GIS/GPS implementation.

 

A one hour video tape of this Showcase is available free of charge to anyone who wasn’t able to attend this Showcase.

 

For more information :

 

• All Showcase handout material is available on loan from the Florida T2 Center. It will be posted to this page. Or, request the material by phone: 352.392.2371 ext. 240 or 237 or
• To obtain a copy of the free video tape contact 352.392.2371 ext. 240 or
• Contact Rick Bowers, Director, TBE Group, Inc., in Clearwater, FL at 727.531.3505 or e-mail:
• Contact Mike Konefal, City of Gulfport, Interim Public Services Director, 727.893.1095, e-mail:

Editorial Note: Showcases are designed to be a total learning experience to assist professionals in evaluating a new technology, product or process. They are offered only as professional evaluation experiences and should not be interpreted as endorsements for a particular product, vendor, service or technology.

 

A Very Special Acknowledgement: To Rohland Bryant, Director of the Pinellas County Public Works Academy in St. Petersburg, FL, for providing the production crew which allowed us to videotape these proceedings. Special thanks are also extended to Pierre La Brie and Dale Wagner for sharing their sound and production talents during the taping of this program. Mr. Bryant is one of those rare individuals who continually delivers more than expected and always with a smile in his voice and on his face. Thank you Rohland!