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TRANSCRIPT
May 2010
Inside this issue:
President’s Column 2
COGO 3
Summer Conference 4
New Members 4
PA-MAPPS 5
Strategic Plan 5
COFPAES 6
Inherently Governmental 6
For updates go to: www.mapps.org
MAPPS Summer Conference July 29 – August 2, 2010
Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Incline Village, Nevada
MAPPS 2011 Winter Conference January 24– 28, 2011
Radisson Lucaya Resort Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas
Upcoming MAPPS
Events
MAPPS 2011 Summer Conference June 25-30, 2011
The Sagamore Resort Bolton Landing, NY
Senate Financial Reform Legislation
Includes Provision for „Geocoding at the Parcel Level‟
MAPPS applauded the inclu-
sion of a parcel geocoding pro-
vision providing for an 'early
warning system' in S. 3217, the
"Restoring American Financial
Stability Act of 2010," that
passed the U.S. Senate May 20
by a vote of 59-39.
The bill makes amendments to
the Home Mortgage Disclosure
Act (HMDA), including a pro-
vision for the newly-created
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection within the Federal
Reserve to collect the "parcel
number to permit geocoding"
on mortgage transactions.
MAPPS Executive Director
John Palatiello applauded the
leadership provided by U.S.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the
sponsor of the Senate legisla-
tion and Chairman of the Senate
Banking Committee, and Sena-
tor Bob Corker (R-TN).
"MAPPS commends Chairman
Dodd and Senator Corker for
their leadership and foresight to
include a provision employing
geospatial technology at the
parcel level under HMDA to
provide much more detailed
information for an 'early warn-
ing system' to identify future
anomalies in the mortgage mar-
ket. It contains information
about the value, improvements,
taxes, and something that none
of the current government mort-
gage datasets, including
HMDA, maintain - the physical
location of the property," Pala-
tiello said.
MAPPS recom-
mended the creation
of an early warning
system using parcel
level data to the
Office of Manage-
ment and Budget
(OMB) when the
mortgage crisis first
erupted in October
2008. The MAPPS
letter prompted a
May 2009 Parcel
Stakeholder Summit in Wash-
ington, DC. MAPPS Cadastre
Task Force Chair Susan Mar-
low (Smart Data Strategies,
Franklin, TN) testified before
Congress on the benefits of
parcel level data in September
2009 and in November,
MAPPS met with the Federal
Reserve Board staff regarding
parcel level data collected un-
der HMDA.
In her 2009 testimony before
the House Financial Services
Committee, Ms. Marlow said,
"Today, many analysis and de-
cisions are being made using
the wrong level of geography.
The Census tract data that is
currently being used under Sec-
tion 2803 of HMDA was cre-
ated by forming blocks and
tracts that were logical for
counting people." She went on
to say, "While FedEx can track
the location of millions of pack-
ages per day moving around the
world, the Federal government
does not track the location of
land, and it is stationary."
"If you have the right tools and
the right data in place, you can
build predictive models using
very basic statistical analysis
that accurately forecasts and
locates foreclosure and delin-
quency hotspots, thus provid-
ing an early warning system,"
said MAPPS President Jeff
Lovin (Woolpert, Dayton,
OH).
Palatiello concluded, "MAPPS
supported the inclusion of the
geospatial language in S. 3217
because an 'early warning sys-
tem' based on geo-located
property data at the parcel
level will help prevent future
disruptions to the market, fi-
nancial collapses, and govern-
ment bailouts."
The Senate legislation will
now need to be reconciled in
Conference with the counter-
part House legislation.
Parcel Imagery Provided by Smart Data Strate-
gies (Franklin, TN)
For some time, I have been
thinking about writing a col-
umn on this topic. In New
York City, there is a public
service advertising program
that says, “If you see some-
thing, say something.” It was
started as a campaign by
Mayor Rudy Giuliani long be-
fore 9/11 as a way to get citi-
zens to report suspicious crimi-
nal behavior, but continued
after 9/11 with an added focus
on potential terrorist activities.
The street vendor who recently
reported the smoking SUV that
turned out to be a car bomb in
Times Square acted as the pro-
gram urges.
I would not for a moment com-
pare a terrorist plot to a QBS
violation or an agency engag-
ing in unfair government com-
petition, but the recent situation
in New York reminded me the
premise is the same – “If you
see something, say something.”
One of the benefits of being a
member of MAPPS is the abil-
ity to bring issues to the atten-
tion of our staff for action.
Perhaps we don’t remind the
membership enough, but if you
see a government agency doing
something you don’t think is
right, you can refer that matter
to the MAPPS staff and it will
be investigated. If the spirit
and letter of a policy, regula-
tion, procedure or law is not
being fully and faithfully im-
plemented, MAPPS will raise a
concern with the appropriate
government officials – and
your name and that of your
firm will remain confidential.
The confidentiality of the
member who raises the issue is
strictly protected. It is MAPPS
that is filing the complaint, not
any individual member. So, if
you see something, say some-
thing.
Whether it is a QBS violation,
an agency buying equipment or
performing an activity that du-
plicates or competes with your
firm, abuse of a state licensing
requirement, an attempt to im-
pose a sales tax on a profes-
sional service that the law says
is exempt or an unnecessarily
restrictive contract or solicita-
tion provision, MAPPS urges
you to point out those instances
to our staff in a timely manner.
While we don’t win every case,
MAPPS will go to bat for the
membership.
I know that discussions and
deliberations take place within
government agencies where an
action will be proposed and an
employee of the agency will
ask “What will MAPPS say?”
MAPPS serves as a watchdog
over government on behalf of
its members. We stand up for
our members’ rights and the
professionalism we espouse.
It’s a good thing that govern-
ment officials look over their
shoulders to see if MAPPS is
watching.
"It is not the function of our
Government to keep the citizen
from falling into error; it is the
function of the citizen to keep
the Government from falling
into error," wrote Judge Robert
H. Jackson (1892-1954).
We as private business profes-
sionals must abide by the law.
We should expect the govern-
ment to do no less. For those
of us who are licensed as pro-
fessional surveyors or engi-
neers, we have an ethical obli-
gation to report activities that
are not fully compliant. So, if
you see something, say some-
thing.
Each of the aforementioned
issues will be on the agenda for
the MAPPS Summer Meeting,
July 29 – August 2 in Lake
Tahoe, Nevada. Go to
www.mapps.org/
events/2010summerconference.
cfm and make plans to attend. Page 2 FLIGHTLINE
Jeff Lovin
MAPPS President
The “I‟m In” campaign was
launched at the 2009 MAPPS
Summer Conference. Many mem-
bers who made commitments to
MAPPS did so by volunteering
their time and talents to serving
on MAPPS committees. To see a
list of the committees and the
people involved, please click
here. To volunteer here click here.
“It is not the function of
our Government to keep
the citizen from falling
into error; it is the
function of the citizen to
keep the Government
from falling into error.”
Judge Robert H. Jackson
(1892-1954).
I’M IN!
President‟s Column
If You See Something, Say Something by Jeff Lovin, PS, CP
Page 3 FLIGHTLINE
With Congress scheduled to
reauthorize the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA), which most recently
implemented the “No Child
Left Behind” initiative, the
Coalition of Geospatial Or-
ganizations (COGO), includ-
ing MAPPS, has endorsed a
resolution calling on Congress
and the Obama Administration
to place more focus on geogra-
phy education.
The resolution, adopted by the
geospatial groups earlier this
month, “Urges the Obama
Administration to include ge-
ography and geospatial educa-
tion in its Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) and ESEA Blueprint
for Reform proposals; Urges
Congress to include authoriza-
tions and appropriations for
geography education consistent
with other core academic sub-
jects for K-12, as part of a reau-
thorized ESEA; and Urges
Congress to enhance geography
teacher training by passing leg-
islation such as the Teaching
Geography is Fundamental Act
(H.R. 1240/S. 749).”
MAPPS Director Bob Hickey
(Photo Science, Inc., West
Chester, PA) is the MAPPS
Delegate to COGO. MAPPS
was also represented at the
COGO meeting in Phoenix,
AZ during the GITA-ACSM
conference by MAPPS Presi-
dent Jeff Lovin (Woolpert,
Dayton, OH) and Executive
Director John Palatiello.
COGO’s operating procedures
require unanimous agreement
of all 12 member organiza-
tions on any policy resolution.
The final resolution reflects
revisions drafted by MAPPS.
In December 2009, MAPPS
wrote the Obama Administra-
tion to commend the Presi-
dent’s STEM Initiative.
MAPPS Joins COGO Groups in Support of
Geography Education
To find out more
information about
COGO
Click Here
Page 4 FLIGHTLINE
The MAPPS program com-
mittee, chaired by Eric Ande-
lin (Bohannan Huston, Inc.),
has announced a number of
topics that will be discussed
during the 2010 summer con-
ference to be held July 29-
August 2 in Lake Tahoe,
Nevada.
Those sessions that have
been confirmed are listed
below. More sessions will be
announced in the next few
weeks.
Lake Tahoe is a popular sum-
mer destination, so please
make your hotel reservations
early.
When you visit the Hyatt
Lake Tahoe reservation page
under Search Available
Rooms, simply select AT-
TENDEE from the drop down
menu. No access code is
needed.
There has been an over-
whelming response for spon-
sorships but there are still a
few that remain. For sponsor-
ship opportunities click here.
The regular registration rate
expires July 11. Register for
the conference today!
Program Committee Confirms Conference Sessions MAPPS
2010 Summer
Conference Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
MAPPS Welcomes New Member Firms
Confirmed Session Topics: Cloud Computing
State Chapters
Utilizing Licensed Data Components to
Provide a Professional Geospatial Service
Intelligent Vehicle & Highway Systems
Sensor Fusion
What lies beneath: A look at the Current
market place for Bathy and Hydro
Unmanned Aerial Systems Activity in the
National Air Space
"There's an App for that" -Emerging
New Applications for Geospatial Data
Health Care
Ethics
MAPPS Annual Business Meeting
MAPPS Committee meetings
Economic Survey
Salary Survey
Insourcing
Agency Updates
Want to see your firm’s
logo here? Sponsorship Opportunities
are still available for the summer conference.
Diamond Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Spatial Information Solutions One Research Blvd, Suite 105
Starkville, MS 39759
Leslie O’Hara
VP/Director of Communication
www.spatialis.com
R.E.Y. Engineers, Inc.
905 Sutter Street, Suite 200
Folsom, CA 95630
Jim Brainard
Vice President
916-366-3040
www.reyengineers.com
Virtual Geomatics, Inc.
12741 Research Blvd., Suite 403
Austin, TX 78759
Kalvi Mani
Chief Executive Office
512-524-2411
www.virtualgeomatics.com
BMS Aerial Photo, Inc.
834 Cookson Ave SE
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
Mathew Jones
Manager
330-308-5700
www.bmsaerial.com
PA-MAPPS Sponsored Event Yields 59 Cosponsors, Keynotes PaGIS Conference
Rep. Fairchild said. Pennsyl-
vania is one of only three
states that do not have a for-
mal coordination council.
PA-MAPPS also presented
the keynote address at the
Eighteenth Annual Pennsyl-
vania GIS Conference held in
Johnstown, PA May 11-12.
The keynote enti t led
“Creating High Performance
Communities in the Com-
monwealth of Pennsylvania”
challenged conference atten-
dees to think about the con-
ference theme of “Advancing
Sustainability with Geospa-
tial Knowledge and Technol-
ogy”. The keynote featured
John Palatiello, MAPPS Ex-
ecutive Director and mem-
bers from PA-MAPPS com-
menting on projects that help
aid with developing sustain-
able communities. The panel-
ists included David Gilbert,
G e o D e c i s i o n s ; B r u c e
Stauffer, geographIT; and
Con Sweeney, Michael
Baker Jr, Inc.
“We as a geospatial commu-
nity need to stop thinking
that a map and data are the
end, but that geospatial data
is a means to an end. Without
the mapping and planning
provided by our community
many initiatives will fall
short,” said Palatiello. “We
as a community need to edu-
cate legislators that geospa-
tial data is essential to the
end we all want to see.”
PA-MAPPS will hold its
third election on June 17
during the annual member-
ship meeting to be held in
Harrisburg, PA. Nominations
should be submitted to Mary
Potter (Keystone Aerial Sur-
veys), PA-MAPPS Elections
Chair, by close of business
June 4.
Private firms and supporters
of a statewide geospatial
council in Pennsylvania met
with their State Representa-
tives on Tuesday, May 4 to
generate co-sponsors for HB
2300. The event, sponsored
by PA-MAPPS, was key-
noted by Rep. Russ Fairchild
(R-85th), sponsor of HB
2300 creating a Statewide
Geospatial Coordination
Council. The event resulted
in an additional 39 co-
sponsors. Currently, there are
59 co-sponsors on the bill
that will be introduced in the
Pennsylvania State House in
the coming weeks. MAPPS
member firms that have of-
fices or employees in Penn-
sylvania are encouraged to
contact any Pennsylvania
Representatives that have yet
to cosponsor the bill.
"Pennsylvania needs to do
what other states have done
and that is bring the best
technical minds together by
forming a public/private
working partnership. HB
2300 will allow this to hap-
pen and I am very pleased
with the bipartisan support
this proposal is generating,"
Page 5 FLIGHTLINE
PA-MAPPS
Membership Meeting
& Elections
Thursday, June 17, 2010
9:30 AM
Michael Baker Jr., Inc.
4431 North Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
A draft update to the MAPPS Strategic
Plan is open for final comment by the
membership. The plan, used by the Board
of Directors and the MAPPS staff to pro-
vide a course for the association, was open
for initial comment earlier this year and
was the subject of a membership session at
the Winter Meeting. Based on member
input, the MAPPS Board has updated the
2006 plan.
Please take a few moments to review draft
revised (2010) MAPPS Strategic Plan. You
will see current plan, the proposed dele-
tions and the proposed additions.
The MAPPS Board is seeking final com-
ments on the draft revision. Please send
your comments prior to close of business
Friday, June 11.
Draft Strategic Plan Open for Final Comment
Co-Sponsors of HB2300 as of May 19, 2010. Map courtesy
of PaMAGIC.
MAPPS Members
Comments on
Strategic Plan
due by
Friday, June 11
COFPAES Applauds Federal Acquisition Regulation Change on “Retainage”
Page 6 FLIGHTLINE
The Council on Federal Pro-
curement of Architectural and
E n g i n e e r i n g S e r v i c e s
(COFPAES), of which
MAPPS is a member, ap-
plauded the Federal Acquisi-
tion Regulation (FAR) Council
for revising one of the most
onerous Federal rules impact-
ing small business.
On March 29 the FAR Council
published a final rule revising
a clause applied to Federal
contracts for architecture and
engineering (A&E) services
that mandated that 10 percent
of fees be withheld or retained
from a firm, regardless of the
quality of the firm's perform-
ance.
In publishing the final rule, the
regulations body said, "FAR
Case 2008-015 amends the
clause at FAR 52.232-10
"Payments Under Fixed-Price
Architect-Engineer Contracts",
to revise and clarify the retain-
age requirements. The con-
tracting officer can (but is not
mandated to) withhold up to
10 percent of the payment due
in any billing period when the
contracting officer determines
that such a withholding is nec-
essary to protect the Govern-
ment's interest and ensure sat-
isfactory completion of the
contract. However, withhold-
ing the entire 10 percent is not
required, and no withholding
is required if the contractor's
performance has been satisfac-
tory. The changes clarify that
retainage is optional and any
amounts retained should not
be held over beyond the satis-
factory completion of the in-
stant contract."
"This rule was an unbearable
burden for the A&E commu-
nity," according to Patrick
Olson, P.E., L.S., C.P.,
(AERO-METRIC, Inc., She-
boygan, WI), Chairman of
COFPAES. "The 10 percent
retainage meant A&E firms
were bankers to the govern-
ment, providing interest free
loans that often exceed a
firm's profit margin on a con-
tract. We had reports from
member firms of millions of
dollars in retainage, held for
several years, on contracts
where the firm received the
highest possible performance
ratings. We are delighted this
regulation has been changed."
COFPAES Administrator
John Palatiello noted, "Given
that architect-engineer con-
tracts, including surveying
and mapping contracts, are
awarded on a qualifications
based selection process, and a
firm's experience and past
performance are paramount
factors in winning a contract,
the retainage provision has
little value to the government.
Moreover, it was a severe
cash flow burden on our
member firms, particularly
small businesses."
COFPAES noted that the re-
tainage rule was identified by
the Small Business Admini-
stration's Office of Chief
Counsel for Advocacy as one
of the most burdensome for
small business in the office's
2008 Regulatory Review and
Reform (R3) init iat ive
( w w w . s b a . g o v / a d v o / r 3 /
r3_services08.html). The revi-
sion to the FAR on A&E re-
tainage is the first regulation to
have gone through the entire
R3 process, from nomination,
through Advocacy endorse-
ment, and to final regulatory
revision.
"We commend former Chief
Counsel for Advocacy Tom
Sullivan and Assistant Chief
Counsel for Advocacy Major
Clark for their leadership on
this important issue," Pala-
tiello said.
To view the final rule, go to:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/
2010/2010-5991.htm
The Obama Administration is
proposing a revision to the
definition of "inherently gov-
ernmental" functions - those
that only government em-
ployees can perform. This
could lead to less reliance on
the private sector and the
hiring of more Federal em-
ployees.
The public comment period
closes Tuesday, June 1,
2010.
MAPPS strongly urges mem-
proposal will shift a greater
degree of "professional and
technical services" into the
"inherently governmental"
listing, thus endangering your
firm's line of business and the
opportunity to compete for
government contracts. This
could result in "insourcing"
of activities - moving them
from contracts with the pri-
vate sector to performance by
Federal employees.
MAPPS Members Urged to Comment on Obama
Administration's Inherently Governmental Proposal
ber firms to submit comments
calling for a narrow redefini-
tion of "inherently govern-
mental" - as opposed to the
Administration's attempt to
widen the definition. Most
troubling is the proposal's
introduction of the term
"professional and technical
services" to the discussion of
what is inherently govern-
mental. Professional and
technical services, such as
surveying and mapping, are
commercial activities. How-
ever, the Administration's
MAPPS has prepared
draft comments for your
firm to use as a template
with directions for sub-
mission. Please take the
time to submit your com-
ment to the Obama Ad-
ministration.
Public Comment
Period closes
June 1, 2010
1856 Old Reston Avenue
Suite 205
Reston, VA 20190
Phone: 703-787-6996
Fax: 703-787-7550
E-mail: [email protected]
Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively
comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geo-
graphic information systems field in the United States. Current MAPPS
memberships span the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, in-
cluding Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing,
surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography,
bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and
GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes As-
sociate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware,
software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United
States and other firms from around the world. MAPPS provides its 150+
member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-
business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy ad-
vocacy, market growth, and professional development and image en-
hancement.
About MAPPS
About FLIGHTLINE
FLIGHTLINE is a bi-monthly publication produced by MAPPS, the only association of pri-
vate geospatial firms, to inform members, Federal, state and local agency partners and the geo-
spatial community of news from the organization. FLIGHTLINE has been produced and dis-
tributed since 1985. Originally produced as a hardcopy publication, FLIGHTLINE has evolved
into an e-publication and now provides advertising opportunities. If you do not already receive
FLIGHTLINE and would like to, click here.
To Our Readers
Some information on the MAPPS web site is in the Members Only section. Any MAPPS member firm principal who does not
have access to this section should contact Nick Palatiello, MAPPS Marketing Communications Manager. MAPPS government
partners who desire further information on items in the Members Only section should contact John Byrd, MAPPS Government
Affairs Manager. For information on membership in MAPPS, please click here.
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