the stark county gis strategic plan · city of canton city of louisville ... to best serve the...

The Stark County GIS

Strategic Plan Mapping the path forward

225 4th St NE Canton, OH 44702

p. (330) 451-7193

[email protected] starkcountyohio.gov/auditor-gis

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................... 3

Objectives

Mission Statement

Keys to Success

II. Stark County GIS Organizational Context ........................................................... 4

Background

Staff and Resources

Products and Services

GIS Steering Committee

SWOT Analysis

III. Path Forward ......................................................................................................... 8

ArcGIS Server Infrastructure Administration and Migration

Database Administration

Data and Metadata Standards

Solution Development

Local Government Package

GIS within Cities

Trends in GIS

Outreach, Education, and Training

Conclusion

IV. Offices .................................................................................................................. 20

Stark County Auditor

Stark County EMA

Stark County Engineer

Stark County Health Department

Stark County Parks Department

Stark County Regional Planning Commission

Stark County Sanitary Engineer

City of Alliance

City of Canal Fulton

City of Canton

City of Louisville

City of Massillon

City of North Canton

V. Appendices .......................................................................................................... 26

Appendix A: Security Procedure

Appendix B: ArcGIS Server Migration Procedure

Appendix C: Schema Change Procedure

THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 3

Executive Summary

Objectives

The Stark County Geographic Information System (GIS) Department has continually been driven by the collective

needs of entities and agencies it serves. To effectively support all variations of local government within the county, Stark

County GIS (SCGIS) must engage in perpetual assessment of GIS as a field. With that, SCGIS has come to agree with

the general consensus that there is only one constant in technology; change. A common culprit of agencies becoming

stuck in a “the way it has always been” mentality is foundational fragility. SCGIS’s foundation has been built upon a

centralized data store that feeds multiple departments throughout the county. With a well-structured, centralized core,

Stark County GIS is able to take advantage of the latest and greatest technology while ensuring little to no overhead for

each agency within the county. Not only is the need for additional licenses and hardware reduced, but the time and

effort involved in maintaining data is also reduced, benefitting all of the departments involved. More importantly,

benefitting Stark County’s constituents.

The primary benefits of such an architecture are bountiful. If executed properly, it results in drastic improvements of

workflows that oftentimes have not been reassessed for a decade, if not longer. Throughout this document, many facets

of SCGIS will be highlighted, the overall purpose being a well-established vision and clearly defined objectives for the

next few years. To best serve the people, SCGIS must continually reassess existing and emerging business practices. The

results of this reassessment are what will be called the four pillars of Stark County GIS; a core set of services provided to

GIS professionals and users throughout the county: database/server administration, architecture/infrastructure

administration, solution development, and data organization/dissemination.

Mission Statement

To revolutionize County GIS, in a quest to serve the residents of Stark County, through pursuing innovative concepts in

the field of GIS and continually improving interdepartmental collaboration.

Keys to Success

While funded by the Stark County Auditor's Office, the Stark County GIS Department strives to be a countywide,

service-driven resource of geographic information for Stark County. SCGIS provides spatial data and solutions, which

enable county citizens and local government partners to carry out their business purposes.

Stark County GIS aims to create flexible data standards, facilitate and maximize data sharing and integration, enhance

mapping services, eliminate redundant mapping activities, and continue to improve the quality and accuracy of

geographic data. SCGIS collects and disseminates geographic data created throughout the county and encourages Stark

County's townships, cities, villages, and local agencies to contribute to the development and utilization of data to be

added to the geographic information system.

GIS supports applications such as emergency dispatch, emergency management and homeland security, land planning,

property appraisal, civil engineering, natural resource monitoring, transportation planning, monitoring crime and

accidents, public health and environmental analysis, economic development, census analysis, and much more. Nearly all

governmental functions are associated with managing information about specific locations or geographic areas that can

be driven by GIS.

It is important to note that GIS provides accurate digital base maps, allowing different layers to be created, displayed,

and/or queried. This in turn, allows GIS users to lower their expenses by improving productivity. The majority of the


benefits in Stark County will stem from the use of three base layers: parcels, streets, and addresses. Within the GIS local

government community, the parcel layer is often chosen as the base layer due to the complete coverage of the land’s

surface. With the parcel layer being the standard for determining who owns a property, ensuring that all local

government offices have the ability to keep their internal parcel numbers up to date is of the utmost importance. To

tackle the county’s unmet potential with GIS, a more strategic approach to long-term GIS success and sustainability is

needed. This Plan provides organizational context and lays out a path forward.

Some specific efficiencies of using GIS include:

Reduction or elimination of redundant activities: e.g., map maintenance, data sharing, and analysis

Quick retrieval of geographic information and other research materials

Efficiencies in current practices - benefits of labor savings for mapping, collecting, verifying, reconciling, and using or analyzing geographically related data

Cost-avoidance decision-making - benefits of accessible data to foresee field conflicts, schedule maintenance, and especially in the way of pre-planning

Risk reduction for loss of records and savings from efficient planning and execution of emergency response

Stark County GIS Organizational Context

Background

The Stark County GIS Department was formed in 2000 to develop accurate, digital base mapping. Stark County GIS has

been fortunate enough to have positive direction in recent history. Those in charge have continually been interested in

obtaining a high return on investment, and the current iteration of Stark County’s GIS Department has reaped the

benefits of the path previously laid. When discussing the current status of the department, leaving out historical context

would be a disservice to those who did so much to get SCGIS where it is today.

Originally, the GIS Department carried out the responsibilities of a Tax Map Department. The focus was primarily on

parcel maintenance and creation for the Auditor’s real estate responsibilities. One unique feature to Stark County is that

the tax map and respective land parcels are maintained by the Auditor. This helps streamline the parcel maintenance and

creation; wherein other counties, the task is commonly maintained by the County Engineer.

While a persistent goal of the Stark County Auditor’s GIS Department was to further the reach of GIS in the county, the

vision was not fully realized until the Auditor invested in Esri’s ArcGIS Server (December, 2009). Prior to the County’s

ArcGIS Server infrastructure investment, the cost to maintain data, both internally and in the field, was much more cost-

prohibitive. It was also more time-intensive to disseminate data. Once the infrastructure was in place, the need for GIS

in differing levels of government became even more apparent. Due to this need, there became a clear separation of

duties within the Auditor’s GIS Department.

In 2014, it was determined that Stark County needed a more robust GIS Department. This need brought about a

restructure of the existing GIS Department, into two departments. One would become the Auditor’s Tax Map

Department. They would focus on the maintenance and creation of the GIS tax map, for parcel tax information inside

the Auditor’s Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system. The second would become the Stark County GIS

Department. While this department is still overseen by the Stark County Auditor, it is now housed within the Stark

County Information and Technology Department. This new rendition of the Stark County GIS Department can now

focus on GIS for the entire county, as opposed to GIS for an individual office.


Staff and Resources

Prior to the split, the Stark County Auditor’s GIS Department was made up of eight staff-members. Five members

focused on parcel maintenance and creation, while three members took on growing roles in GIS support for many local

government agencies. Those three staff-members continued into the new GIS department: the Stark County GIS

Department. The timing of the split ideally coincided with the rapid growth of web GIS. The staff was eager to produce

content and supply solutions, directing focus towards developing GIS wherever there was a need. This project-driven

mentality generated a lot of content, with little time to execute proper follow-through post-deployment. This exponential

growth of content and services, lead SCGIS to quickly become understaffed. The time originally devoted to content

creation was being diverted towards ensuring the GIS environment was up and running and responding to break-fixes.

The GIS Department observed four primary functions which the team continually provided to local government

agencies: database/server administration, architecture/infrastructure administration, solution development, and data

organization/dissemination. These are the four pillars that support Stark County GIS’s adoption and enhancement

within the county. In order to sustain the GIS infrastructure that had been built, SCGIS would need to add additional

team members. The GIS Department has since grown to five staff-members: GIS Director, Senior GIS Systems Analyst,

GIS Analyst, and two GIS Technicians. The currently assembled team will be able to support continued integration of

GIS within the county, while supplying the same level of service instilled to partnering agencies.

Products and Services

SCGIS offers a wide assortment of products and services available to local government agencies and residents of Stark

County. SCGIS utilizes a Spatial Database Engine (SDE) enterprise database system to create a central repository of

spatial data. This enterprise database system is used to assist county and city departments with the maintenance of their

data. County and city departments store and edit their data within that enterprise database. In conjuncture to the

enterprise system, SCGIS utilizes ArcGIS Server to provide data and ArcGIS map services that can be accessed through

the internet. With ArcGIS Server, data can be published to meet varying needs. ArcGIS Online is utilized by the Stark

County GIS Department to manage and create web applications and maps to be used by local government agencies and

the public.

GIS Director

GIS Technician GIS Technician

Senior GIS Systems Analyst GIS Analyst


The GIS Department has many applications on the web that are accessible to the public, including a Property Viewer

that shows parcel boundaries and owner information and a Parcel History Viewer that allows users to enter historical

parcel numbers to retrieve the current parcel number. Other web applications are created by SCGIS for county

departments and cities in Stark County to use. The Stark County GIS Department also has multiple resources for data to

be downloaded through the web. The Open Data Portal allows users to browse datasets curated by the GIS

Department, which can be easily downloaded as a spreadsheet, shapefile, or KML. Additionally, data is available through

a GIS Data Downloads page hosted by Digital Data Technologies Inc. (DDTi) and a Historical Files Download

application.

GIS Steering Committee

Over the years, the GIS Department has had multiple iterations of a governing body for GIS within the county. This

governing body has always been a beneficial method of ensuring transparency while maintaining communication with all

involved parties on a recurring basis. The most recent iteration of the county-wide, governing body for GIS has been

dubbed the GIS Steering Committee. This committee meets on a triannual basis, with representatives from multiple

county departments and cities within the county. The purpose of the committee is to serve as the primary decision-

making body to establish and implement GIS policies and standards. The committee takes into account needs and

resources while seeking multilateral input, participation, and support in setting priorities and working through timelines.

SWOT Analysis

In order to objectively assess where SCGIS succeeds and where it falls short, an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and Threats was conducted. To effectively navigate the department’s future, the team had to dissect how

it currently operates. While this opened the door to scrutiny, it also became one of the more fruitful exercises on

determining how to plan for the future of the department. The results of this exercise played a significant role in

determining SCGIS’s path forward. It was a simple and effective way to develop smart strategies for evolving the

department and remaining in a position to be as dynamic as the field of GIS.

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

SWOT Analysis


Strengths

Competent GIS Department with great problem solving skills and a desire to utilize an enterprise environment to

continually innovate and integrate government practices

Newly modified GIS infrastructure that has the capacity to continue serving a large enterprise while allowing room for

growth

Part of a county eager to collaborate, with continued support from executives

Well-organized GIS data disaster recovery plan

Many GIS datasets available for the public to download at all times via the Open Data portal

Well informed about GIS best practices with an eagerness to adhere to industry standards

Currently utilizes replication in order to efficiently keep data up to date while ensuring little down time when changes

need made

Have a highly accurate parcel layer redrawn to line up with the county’s geodetic controls and survey monuments

With the recent decision to move Stark County GIS into the IT Department, SCGIS became well-aligned with IT’s

directive, and in turn accrued more technical staff to help with the GIS environment

Weaknesses

Inadequate documentation and standards throughout the Geographic Information System

Lack of clearly defined Return on Investment (ROI)

Redundancy of datasets and GIS services provided for various departments

Inconsistency with simplicity and intuitiveness within organization’s maps, apps and items

Disconnect between resources available and the public’s knowledge of those resources

Lack of Service Level Agreements (SLA) to clearly define expectations

Deficiency of scheduled audits

Insufficient follow through with deployed solutions

Tendency to rely on individual strengths rather than cross-training team members

Opportunities

Demonstrate the adaptability of maps and apps to meet the consumer shift to mobile devices

Given the executive level support, Stark County GIS could continue attending GIS conferences and training courses,

which will continually engage the staff in latest releases and new trends

Take advantage of available data sharing opportunities, i.e. Esri Community Maps, WAZE, data.gov to further

incorporate our data into nationally used datasets

Continue to improve and expand the use of GIS within Stark County

Incorporate Esri’s latest product offerings into local government workflows, i.e. Workforce, Operations Dashboard,

ArcGIS Pro, Local Government Information Model (LGIM)

Increase collaboration with other GIS entities in the state

Threats

Migrating focus from “creating” to “maintaining” might result in poor reception from peers in the GIS community

Pressure to support multiple GIS platforms of different business systems

Potential of overlooking how products and services benefit the public while pursuing innovative solutions for county

departments

As seen from the SWOT analysis above, Stark County GIS has identified many focus points to address in its

organization to more efficiently provide GIS to Stark County. Identifying strengths, affords SCGIS with the ability to

adequately combat its weaknesses, and consequently, formulate a path forward for its organization: one that accounts for

its shortcomings while continually striving to improve how it approaches and implements GIS solutions for a County

Government.


Path Forward

GIS as a field, has undergone an immense change within the past five years. Thankfully, ideal decisions have been made

enabling Stark County GIS to take advantage of the emerging technologies. With the Stark County Auditor investing in

ArcGIS Server and the subsequent release of ArcGIS Online, SCGIS was primed to take advantage of the recent

department split and migration to the Stark County IT Department. The immediate need for seamless workflows driven

by GIS was readily apparent. That need, combined with the eager staff, caused the server infrastructure to quickly grow

to its capacity. Within the past year, the Auditor has chosen again to invest in growing the existing ArcGIS

Infrastructure. SCGIS is approaching a massive migration from a legacy environment to a larger, more robust

environment which will improve the department’s existing support, while also paving the way for an even larger web-

presence.

Success has been driven by the central data repository, which is fundamentally SCGIS’s foundation. The establishment

of Stark County GIS as its own department allowed it to grow into what it is now. Now that GIS workflows have been

established within the County Auditor’s Office, the goal is to enable other agencies to reap the same benefits. As the

countywide GIS Department, the goal is to effect those same efficiencies within other county offices and local

government agencies. Seeing that GIS fundamentally performs best when it integrates multiple parts into a whole

system, the premise of the Stark County GIS Department’s path forward will be collaboration and integration.

ArcGIS Server Infrastructure Administration and Migration

The use of ArcGIS Server began in 2010 with the purchase of four cores of ArcGIS Server. This was purchased to allow

the Stark County GIS Department to supply data through the web for two applications. The first application was an

internal application that integrated with the CAMA system, called “Go To Map”. The second application was the

Pictometry Online Self-Hosted application, which was heavily used by the Stark County Auditor’s Appraisal Department

and given freely to other local government organizations to view Pictometry imagery with parcel and address data. From

2012 to 2013, the Stark County GIS Department began a new initiative to fully leverage the ArcGIS Server

infrastructure. Shortly thereafter, Esri began offering free ArcGIS Online subscriptions, based on existing Esri license

maintenance. ArcGIS Online is an Esri-hosted platform used to simplify and expand an organization’s ability to provide

GIS to the masses via internet based maps and applications. This server initiative expanded the GIS services Stark

County GIS could provide, which resulted in its department’s clientele quickly increasing. By 2015, the system reached

capacity, causing ArcGIS Server to slow to a halt. This setback was caused by lack of knowledge, lack of monitoring, and

exponential growth of services. The following year was dedicated to increasing the knowledge of staff, planning with

Esri, and working with the County IT staff to establish a sustainable system that would allow the Stark County GIS

Department to continue growing and serving the people of Stark County.

As a result of newly learned skills, Stark County GIS has designed a multi-tiered, clustered environment that will leverage

two load-balanced ArcGIS Servers, as well as two isolated ArcGIS Server environments. The Stark County IT staff has

set up a load-balancer to handle passing requests between the servers. SCGIS will also deploy staging environments

which will enable SCGIS to test services prior to publishing them into production. This change in workflow will ensure

that any services published will not negatively affect the system.


Security

In order to ensure the best experience for varying levels of security between county organizations, SCGIS took a long

look at the existing security practices in place. In observing recent changes implemented by prominent web-browsers,

SCGIS determined that it was in the county’s best interest to add a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to all GIS-related web

requests. To accomplish this feat, it was necessary to migrate from an HTTP environment to an HTTPS environment.

In doing so, the protocol over which data is sent between a client’s browser and a website, is encrypted. A key influencer

was that Esri highly encouraged utilizing HTTPS in applications and services. Furthermore, securely stored and delivered

information improves availability and reduces risks.

To see the procedure followed to make the security switch, please reference Appendix A.

Planned ArcGIS Server Infrastructure

Stark County GIS has embraced Esri’s best practices by setting up a new infrastructure utilizing a load-balanced

environment for view-only services and workload isolation for feature services and geoprocessing services. By embracing

this technology, Stark County GIS can deliver more sustainable services. The planned structure is shown below.

To read the detailed procedure for the migration, please see Appendix B.

WebAGS A1, WebAGS A2, and WebAGS AX: view-only map services and updated cache services

WebAGS B1 and WebAGS BX: feature services, static caches, and high-use views

WebAGS C1 and WebAGS CX: geoprocessing services, address locators, and print services

Planned ArcGIS Server Infrastructure


Continuous Monitoring

The final component of the ArcGIS Server administration is continuous monitoring of the ArcGIS Server infrastructure

and annual auditing of security, map services, ArcGIS licenses, web maps, and web applications. These audits will

provide Stark County GIS with necessary action items to ensure the GIS products that are deployed, are operating

optimally.

ArcGIS System Monitor has been implemented to monitor the ArcGIS Server infrastructure. This will allow Stark

County GIS to monitor:

Server Statistics: Random Access Memory (RAM), Central Processing Unit (CPU), disk space, and the use of

the page file

System Processes: ArcGIS Server, Arc Server Object Container (ArcSOC), and Javaw.exe

Site and Service Statistics: requests per second, busy-time per request, and free instances

User-loads and performance fluctuations

Web Application Statistics: uptime, response time, and response code

With the System Monitor in place, Stark County GIS will have a much better understanding of the system’s status, and

will be able to make more informed decisions.

In order to maintain a well-organized and secure system, a security audit will be run annually. An Esri-provided python

script will check ArcGIS Server for security protocols, and will generate a report of its findings. This report will inform

Stark County GIS if there are any settings, or services, that are compromising the ArcGIS Server system. With this

information, SCGIS will be able to make adjustments and adhere to Esri’s security best practices.

A collection of tools will be utilized to perform map service usage and tuning audits. First of which, will be a python

script that will audit each ArcGIS Server and list each map service and the number of instances in use. ArcGIS Excel

Report, a supplemental tool to the ArcGIS System Monitor, will also be employed. It consolidates the data gathered by

ArcGIS System Monitor and performs statistics on the data. The Excel Report Tool generates a spreadsheet to help

make more informed decisions, helping tune the map service instances based on usage and shows how frequently a map

service is being used. Based on those statistics, adjustments can be made to the number of instances a particular service

utilizes. Lastly, an audit will be performed on SCGIS’s ArcGIS Online organization that will generate customizable lists

of pertinent organizational information. After completing the audits, Stark County GIS will be able to make adjustments

to the map services to ensure they are running optimally.


To audit ArcGIS license usage, Stark County GIS has implemented a batch file to monitor the users and usage time of

ArcGIS licenses. This tool consolidates data gathered every fifteen minutes and generates a report. This report will be

used by Stark County GIS to provide necessary information needed to pursue purchasing additional ArcGIS licenses

based on usage.

The web map usage audit will be utilized to determine how often a web map is visited. These statistics can be gathered

from ArcGIS Online. The statistics will help evaluate continued usage of web maps, and allow the GIS team to

determine if changes need to be made or if the web map needs to be deprecated. The Stark County GIS team will also

utilize a python script that will generate a list of applications and list which web maps are a component of those

applications. A similar process will be put into place to monitor web applications.

Due to rapid advancements in technology, the solutions that SCGIS deploy need to be continually audited. Solution

templates deployed in 2014 have since been enhanced by Esri, and migration of the legacy deployment to the more

recent, more robust template is needed. Without undergoing a system-wide audit on a scheduled occurrence, deployed

solutions can become stale, and the county would not be receiving the greatest return on investment. In order to avoid a

situation of diminishing returns, the audit must become a staple within Stark County GIS.

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Agencies Supported


Database Administration

The Stark County GIS Department is responsible for the creation, storage, and administration of SDE geodatabases in

Stark County government. In the fall of 2012, SCGIS worked with Bruce Harris and Associates to setup a SQL server to

support an SDE geodatabase. With the setup of SQL server, SCGIS then established a central repository to store all of

the GIS data in the county. In order to keep the GIS data up to date, Stark County GIS established replication between

the parent SDE geodatabase, where the data is maintained, and the child geodatabase that serves as the central

repository. The child geodatabase acts as the publication database for SCGIS (see below).

To see the procedure SCGIS follows to perform schema changes, please see Appendix C.

Once replication is established between the parent and child geodatabase, the schema of the two geodatabases must

remain identical. Any change in schema between the geodatabases will break their ability to synchronize data.

Enterprise Database Design


Data and Metadata Standards

Stark County’s GIS Department manages and/or hosts a large and diverse collection of spatially referenced data. The

many geodatabases that SCGIS now hosts have been heavily relied upon throughout the years to complete a vast

number of projects. Until recently, many entities within Stark County created, maintained, and hosted their own

authoritative data that oftentimes served a department-specific purpose. Additionally, the storage method for each

department’s data differed vastly from agency to agency. To make matters worse, identical data was frequently

maintained by multiple departments to varying degrees. Although creating spatial data with a specific purpose provides

for a quick turnaround, it has many downsides.

By structuring and planning for authoritative data to cross administrative boundaries, the county coincidentally achieves

an improved return on investment. Nationwide, there is a desire to encourage data sharing between authoritative

sources. In order for data to reach its fullest potential, it is important to embrace pre-existing standards set at the state

and federal level to ensure that the proper authoritative data sources are being utilized correctly. A collaborative effort to

combine all of the county’s available authoritative datasets into one coherent dataset would enable the county to make

better decisions going forward. In addition to standardizing data, a need exists for standardizing the metadata that

accompanies these datasets. A heavy reliance on the geodatabase’s owner and title of the datasets are not enough when

accurate results for a project are necessary.

Moving forward, Stark County GIS will encourage that all authoritative data have the end-goal of serving multiple

purposes. In cases where standards have already been established by either the Ohio Geographically Referenced

Information Program (OGRIP) or Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) for spatial data, the Stark County GIS

Department will promote and encourage the use of these standards to others. Where standards do not exist and multiple

entities are capturing the same “types” of data, the GIS Steering Committee will be consulted to establish a standard to

enable all users to benefit from the dataset. The Stark County GIS Department will continue to populate all authoritative

spatial data with metadata following the recommendations of OGRIP to guide the process. Metadata will enable internal

and external customers to more accurately choose the appropriate authoritative datasets for their projects.

Solution Development

While a large part of the Stark County GIS Department’s focus will be on content management, SCGIS still intends to

fully pursue expanding the use of GIS throughout the county. GIS has become less of a platform dedicated to

specialized professionals, and more of a platform that can be used by everyone. Technology, in general, has become

more accessible, and the advancements in web GIS make software more easily navigable. Individuals no longer need to

install an entire package of software for the ability to view and/or edit spatial data.

The use of GIS promotes integration. As technology evolved, it became commonplace to branch out and create silos of

data that became less integrated over time. Today, there are many differing levels of government that all use similar

datasets, however the accuracy of these datasets differ based on when each department downloaded their version of the

data. Furthermore, each agency spends valuable time maintaining their cut of the data. To remedy that situation, Stark

County GIS pursued feeding multiple agencies with a common core of layers which pertain to all departments. By

creating these layers once, and allowing every agency within the county to view and build off of them, it removes the

need for each agency to maintain their own set of data. It also minimizes discrepancies between agencies, giving all

involved parties the latest and most accurate information.

As all GIS professionals know, everything has a where question. By capitalizing on that, Stark County GIS is able to

integrate many segregated workflows, and continue to grow the county’s central data repository. The primary perk to


having one central data repository is the ability to supply all agencies with all data. Once the County GIS is integrated

into specific business processes, maintenance redundancies begin to diminish, and everyone can begin to use the most

current data. To efficiently sustain the high quantity of solutions deployed by SCGIS, it is in the Stark County GIS

Department’s best interest to form an application strategy to assess use, scalability and/or modifications, post-

deployment. Because each agency is often functionally similar, there are many opportunities to maximize benefits by

looking beyond a given need and identifying much broader opportunities. The goal is to create efficiencies by addressing

needs with an enterprise mentality, instead of focusing on isolated projects.

Local Government Package

Before becoming the County GIS Department, SCGIS handled needs on a project-by-project basis. Oftentimes, local

government agencies relied on their own staff to maintain their own data, while being limited in resources. Once SCGIS

was established, it strived to show what GIS could do for the different county departments and municipalities. That

initial push brought together many departments and demonstrated the usefulness of GIS. With a newly deployed

enterprise GIS system utilizing ArcGIS Server, SCGIS was in a position to shift from data maintenance to establishing

relationships with local governments within the county.

The development of new technology and server-centric GIS has allowed SCGIS to focus on both growth and

maintenance. One area of growth involves working with the local governments of townships and villages in Stark

County. Unlike many of the cities in Stark County, the villages and townships often lack the staff size to include GIS

professionals. The Stark County GIS Department helps to bridge this gap between professionals and users. SCGIS

accomplishes this through using solutions developed by the county itself and customizable templates available through

Esri. Esri offers multiple products for smaller municipalities in their Local Government Information Model (LGIM).

The products in the LGIM are very intuitive and clear; they are designed to be configured by GIS professionals and used

by anyone. An LGIM product that is already being used by Canton Township is the Citizen Service Request application.

The Esri product template was customized for Canton Township and was quickly ready for their use. Canton Township

can now receive service requests from the public 24/7 on this easily accessible application. Currently, Canton Township

is the only municipality using the service request application. In addition to the service request application, Canton

Township, along with eight other townships, have editable zoning maps created through ArcGIS Online; while four

townships are using ArcGIS Online maps for sign inventory. Esri’s LGIM will provide a standard for this package; and

as more needs arise that are not addressed by LGIM, SCGIS will continue to find solutions.

As Stark County GIS continues to work closer with these jurisdictions, a simple-to-use, customizable local government

package will be assembled for their use. This package will focus on three portions of Local Government that SCGIS has

come to observe as opportunities: Public Interaction, Asset Maintenance, and Fire Services. This package will contain

near ready-to-deploy solution templates provided by Esri. The primary benefit of utilizing these templates is taking what

has been developed for other local governments and making minor modifications for a quick implementation. By

configuring these templates, Stark County GIS will integrate local governments’ business processes with other county

departments, therefore becoming more transparent and involved with the public. The following descriptions showcase

the ready-to-deploy applications that can be configured, ensuring all jurisdictions within the county have equal offerings.


Public Interaction

Engaging the public in the townships and villages will further expand the use of GIS and also assure that SCGIS is providing solutions with

the general public’s needs in mind. The public interaction component would be spearheaded using Esri’s Connect with Citizens package. This

component contains maps designed to help the public learn more about what their community has to offer. It is also designed to get the public

engaged and more active in community conversation.

Service Request (Single Application) or Citizen Problem Reporter (Multiple Applications)

The Service Request application can be used for stormwater, sewer, and water assets. Utilizing GeoForm, it allows township and

village residents to report problems with service or infrastructure. The application offers the ability to report the location of the issue

on a map, provide a description of the problem, and leave contact information. The Citizen Problem Reporter consists of three map-

centric applications: a public-facing web map, an internal administrative app, and a dashboard to be used by executive level

officials. These applications can be accessed through the web on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.

Locate Parks, Activities, or Government Services (Multiple Applications)

These application templates are designed to allow the general public to locate parks, recreation facilities, and government facilities in

the community. The applications also provide information on government-provided, curbside, and drop-side services. County

residents could have the ability to locate nearby amenities and services in relation to their current location or place of residence.

Asset Maintenance

The asset maintenance component will allow townships and villages to efficiently maintain the various assets they currently track. Through

utilizing web applications, townships and villages can easily keep track of their data, while streamlining maintenance processes. These

applications will also allow for greater transparency with residents, as well as fostering an interest in local government among the public.

Inventory Right of Ways Assets – (Multiple Applications)

This package includes a group of applications that can be used by the staff of townships and villages to take inventory of right of

way assets located within their jurisdiction. Included in this package are applications for the inventory of traffic signs, traffic signals,

streetlights, street trees, railroad crossings, bridges, sidewalks, street furniture, pavement markings, and guardrails. These

applications will allow for right of way assets to be visualized by each township and village, while allowing for easy maintenance in

the future. The inventory can be maintained and updated by staff in the field, through the utilization of ArcGIS Collector, which

can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet.

Traffic Signs

Traffic Signals

Street Lights

Street Trees

Railroad Crossings

SidewalksStreet

FurniturePavement Markings

Guardrails Bridges


Map Change Request

The Change Request application can be used for stormwater, sewer, and water assets. Township and village staff can utilize the

application to indicate discrepancies between the dataset and assets in the field. Staff can also send change requests when new assets

are installed. For many townships within the county, SCRPC’s GIS Department executed the initial collection of Municipal

Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) assets. This application would be a very intuitive method of ensuring the data initially

collected remains up-to-date when maintenance or construction is performed. The application utilizes ArcGIS Collector and can be

accessed through a smartphone or tablet.

Capital Project Planning & Capital Project Tracking

The Capital Project Planning application allows townships and villages to create capital plans, while sharing this information with

the public. Capital projects for this application are typically utilized for stormwater, sewer, water, and transportation assets. The

Capital Project Planning application is commonly used in conjunction with the Capital Project Tracking application, which allows

for local officials and the public to keep track of capital projects.

MS4 Inventory Recorder

This collection of applications assists in the compliance with MS4 and stormwater guidelines in townships and villages. One

application in this collection is the Inventory Stormwater Assets application, which allows for local staff to maintain stormwater

assets, collect photos of assets, and send in completed forms. The information collected by the application can be utilized to complete

annual MS4 reports. The application utilizes ArcGIS Collector, and can be accessed on smartphones and tablets.

Photo Survey

Photo Survey is a web application that combines ArcGIS and a JavaScript application. The application allows for township and

village staff to conduct surveys of properties, in order to identify blighted properties, damaged structures, or construction locations.

The application allows for street level photos and a survey of the property to be conducted and submitted. The application can be

used by both township and village employees, as well the public.

Fire Services

The fire services component consists of multiple applications and solutions that can be utilized by local fire personnel to maintain related assets,

while helping to facilitate increased fire safety awareness within the community. While some of these solutions can be accessed via the web, the

Fire Station Wall Map solution requires ArcGIS desktop software that will require further coordination with SCGIS.

Fire Hydrant Inspection

The Fire Hydrant Inspection application allows for local fire personnel to inspect and maintain the fire hydrants within their

jurisdiction. The application can be used by firefighters to locate hydrants in the event of an emergency. Inspections of fire hydrants

would be conducted on a tablet or smartphone through the use of ArcGIS Collector.

Fire Station Wall Map

The Fire Station Wall Map solution is a process within ArcMap that SCGIS will utilize to produce large scale of a fire service

jurisdiction. A large wall map could be created, while smaller maps of sections of the large map could be created through the use of

Data Driven Pages within ArcMap.


Fire Safety Survey

The Fire Safety Survey application enables local fire personnel to conduct fire safety surveys of resident dwellings within their

jurisdiction. The surveys can be used to identify the level of safety awareness that exists among residents, indicate fire safety issues,

and improve the overall safety of residents. The fire safety surveys can be conducted on a tablet or smartphone, utilizing ArcGIS

Collector.

Automate External Defibrillators (AED) Inventory

The AED Inventory application enables local fire personnel to inventory the AEDs within their district. Automated external

defibrillators are portable devices that allow for the diagnosis of health conditions that can be treated by a defibrillator. The

inventory of AEDs can be conducted on a tablet or smartphone, utilizing ArcGIS Collector.

The tools listed above, that SCGIS plans to develop, will help townships and villages keep data updated and will be easily

available through an online application. Utilizing open data and the enterprise GIS System will bring to light the needs of

the townships and villages, allowing Stark County GIS to offer necessary solutions to all of them. In the future, SCGIS

plans to enhance existing relationships, while building new relationships with the remaining townships and villages. GIS

will serve as the integrator to bring all of these municipalities’ data together: increasing accuracy, streamlining processes,

and bolstering collaboration in the county.

GIS within Cities

The local government package provided to townships and villages will also be provided to the cities within Stark County.

Being larger municipalities, the cities will benefit from the local government package, but could also utilize additional

support/solutions. As it stands, the cities within Stark County vary in the development of their respective GIS

endeavors. While no municipality has a GIS Department, nearly all cities within the county have staff whose job

currently requires some form of GIS. A tendency within city departments is that GIS either solely exists for one

department, or GIS professionals are scattered throughout a handful of departments, who don’t continually interact with

one another.

A goal of Stark County GIS is to help these GIS professionals with integrating existing GIS workflows into additional

departments, where so desired. While SCGIS has done a relatively decent job of bringing together county departments in

the realm of GIS, this is still a hurdle within municipalities in Stark County. By continuing to utilize our GIS

Infrastructure to integrate GIS into more workflows, the intention is to bring municipal departments together with

spatial data. This venture will be heavily dependent on each municipality’s reliance on legacy systems for current

workflows. Additionally, the adoption of GIS-centric workflows will be driven by each departments’ eagerness to

change, and improve efficiency.

Trends in GIS

GIS has changed significantly in the past years, both in the methods used to maintain spatial data and in the consumers

of GIS products. Five years ago, GIS professionals, working for county governments, maintained spatial data for

departments and public officials in the county. The focus of GIS within county government was to accurately and

effectively maintain spatial data for the county. Oftentimes, the main consumers of spatial data were those who had

expensive software that could view and process spatial data. The general public had limited avenues for consuming GIS

products, mainly paper maps and simplistic web applications providing basic functionality for users to access and


download spatial data. Unsurprisingly, the smartphone has changed almost everything about culture. As a governmental

department, it is of the utmost importance to adapt to those changes, and meet the expectations of constituents by

providing information in the most relatable fashion; on a mobile platform.

The focus of GIS has shifted towards making products more easily available and appealing to a digital audience. The

current trends in GIS are centered on the growing prevalence of technology being utilized within county governments, as

well as among the general public. GIS has become more accessible through easy-to-use interactive web applications and

convenient online repositories of spatial data. Esri’s Open Data has allowed for GIS organizations to make their data easily

accessible to be downloaded and used by other GIS professionals and the general public. Consumption of spatial data has

shifted from the GIS professional to the public, where GIS users can utilize smartphones and tablets to view online maps

anywhere with an internet connection. Data maintenance no longer has to be done solely by GIS professionals, as members

of the public can use web applications to view and edit spatial data. This allows for a collaborative effort between GIS

professionals and the public to keep up-to-date data. Esri’s recent release of Story Maps has allowed geographic concepts

to be communicated as a story to its viewer through simplistic web applications.

Web GIS has allowed for GIS to be more readily available to the public. Now that GIS has become so accessible, its

sphere of influence continually reaches more and more people. In turn, it has paved the way for a new kind of GIS user.

The recent developments in the field of GIS no longer requires an individual to have a complete software suite of

desktop products to utilize and access GIS. An individual no longer needs to be a GIS Professional to make use of GIS

content. Any person, within any department (even the public, if so desired), can be set up to access and maintain GIS

with little to no training. Because of this, it has become increasingly important for SCGIS team members to act as

liaisons to the different county departments so they can utilize the GIS Infrastructure, even if the particular department

doesn’t currently staff any GIS Professionals.

Outreach, Education, and Training

Some of the existing steps that are taken to make the data accessible include creating web applications, deploying an

Open Data portal, and trying to require the fewest clicks possible to get the information a user is in search of. To make

the applications more approachable, SCGIS will evaluate the overall intuitiveness and usability of currently deployed

applications. The overall goal is to visualize complex information in an aesthetically pleasing manner, while making the

process friendly to the most casual of users. Web applications will be changed to meet these standards. The structure of

the application portals will also be reassessed in hopes of putting the most frequently used items on the most accessible

part of the websites.

One of the weaknesses derived from the SWOT Analysis is the disconnect between what products and services are

available and the knowledge the public has of those products and services. While the data provided by SCGIS is very

accessible, the efforts by SCGIS to advertise the data tend to fall flat once the information is published to the web. In

order to bridge the gap between end-users and the collection of county-specific spatial data, one of SCGIS’s areas of

focus will be public outreach. A monthly training course will be offered with the intent of not only training users (both

county employees and citizens) on existing applications, but showcasing emerging technology. As mentioned many times

throughout this document, the field of GIS is dynamic, and the use-cases will continue to evolve. A recurring class that

is freely offered to local government employees and the public alike, will not only provide an extra level of service, but

will also open additional channels of communication, and ensure SCGIS is meeting any and all needs.


Conclusion

The overarching goal of the next few years is to ultimately continue refining Stark County’s use of GIS. This will involve

perpetual reassessment of departmental workflows via melding existing practices with a GIS component. To achieve

continual improvement, the Stark County GIS Department will efficiently use data by ensuring the administration of the

databases and server architecture is centralized, and in turn, reducing duplication of efforts.

With the impending server architecture migration, SCGIS will take the opportunity to strengthen its foundation by

generating metadata, documenting workflows, and ensuring the Geographic Information System is scalable. By focusing

on proper organization and curation of data, the county’s repository of GIS data will not only be easily navigable by local

governments, but for local businesses and citizens alike. With a focus on integration, while promoting collaboration, the

Stark County GIS Department will solidify the role of GIS within the county, and furthermore, purvey the best interest

of the people, whom local governments serve.

Stark County GIS

County

Departments

Local

Governments

Local

Businesses

Citizens and

Academia

GIS Support

and Solutions

Database

Administration

Content

Management

and Data

Dissemination

Workflow

Integration

and Solution

Development

Architecture

and

Infrastructure

Administration

Data Availability

and

Transparency

Map Requests


Offices

In order to organize the needs within the county, documenting GIS operations for county agencies helps paint the

picture of GIS in Stark County. Having a formal understanding of the GIS related operations for each department helps

the County GIS Department gauge priorities, and in turn, helps ensure the quickest and most viable turnaround on

projects and daily needs. Below is a snapshot of each department’s integration of GIS, as well as a brief description of

SCGIS’s existing/planned collaboration with the respective GIS staff.

One obstacle facing the Stark County GIS department, when working with multiple county departments, is

understanding the varying levels of GIS experience within county departments. County employees who utilize GIS vary

between those who maintain GIS datasets and develop GIS workflows as their sole occupation, to those who utilize GIS

to assist in their workflows, while having to maintain non-GIS related data. Another obstacle involves the extent to

which GIS can be integrated with the current workflows within each department. Departments vary on how compatible

their data and records can be integrated with GIS. Both obstacles force SCGIS to evaluate the level of assistance each

department requires, as well as the extent to which GIS can be utilized by the employees within each department. The

Stark County GIS Department strives for GIS to be integrated within every department, through streamlining workflows

and improving public interactions, in the way that best suits the needs of a department and the GIS experience of those

employees that utilize GIS for that department.

Stark County Auditor

While many departments within the Auditor’s Office use GIS, the most prominent user is The Tax Map Department.

The Tax Map Department’s main function is maintaining and improving the parcel layer and jurisdictional boundaries

from record documents for the Auditor’s taxation responsibilities. Maintaining traditional, paper, tax maps may still be

standard operation in other Ohio counties while the Stark County Auditor’s Tax Map Department does all this through

GIS.

To assist the Tax Map Department in its role as chief editor of the parcel layer, the Stark County GIS Department

manages the Tax Map Department’s SDE geodatabase, assists in GIS-centric requests, publishes map services utilizing

the parcel data, and creates task-specific web applications. Having a department dedicated to maintenance of the parcel

layer has been crucial in having an accurate and reliable geographic information system.

With GIS playing a major role in Stark County’s Tax Map Department, the functionalities of the department are

constantly evolving. As of late, the ability to traverse metes and bounds descriptions, further confirming their validity

over time, has become a key tool in weighted conveyance transactions. Moving forward, SCGIS will deploy ESRI’s

Parcel Drafter application for this evolving quality control. This application will become an important piece to the Tax

Map Department’s direction moving forward. Rather than limiting this process to employees who utilize ArcMap, all

staff will have the ability to ensure the accuracy of submitted descriptions, less the licensing cost. The second phase to

the Parcel Drafter application involves training the public, more specifically title abstractors, to confirm their title search

for their clients. The department is optimistic that this will remove any gray area of legal counsel, of which they are

unable to give, while expediting the process of conveyance and recording of the public’s documents, with little error.

SCGIS will also play a large role in the planned migration to a new CAMA system. While not completely driven by GIS,

the new CAMA will be GIS-centric. By using a GIS-centric CAMA platform, SCGIS and the Auditor’s Office will

continue to operate at peak efficiency. By ensuring varying types of data are integrated spatially, both agencies will

continue to collaborate with other county departments further improving many cumbersome or outdated processes.


In addition, SCGIS will continue working with local governments to improve the flow of work pertaining to

assessments. For instance, with the recent deployment of the Parcel History Query application and the approaching

batch query geoprocessing service, each entity will garner the ability to maintain accurate data, prior to submittal to the

Auditor’s Office. This will allow the data to be analyzed by the cities, villages or townships, whom have a more distinct

understanding of the specific assessment, streamlining the overall process.

Stark County EMA

Along with utilizing GIS to keep Stark County’s 911 data accurate, up-to-date, and easy to access, Stark County EMA

has started to show great interest in using some of Esri’s web application templates. These templates are designed

specifically for the four phases of emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. By

collaborating with Stark County EMA, the shared goal is to use GIS to make Stark County prepared to handle any

disaster. The templates supplied by Esri provide a great foundation to build off of, making this goal a reality.

Stark County Engineer

The Stark County Engineer’s Office is one of the more frequent users of GIS within the county. It currently has a

couple dedicated staff who manage GIS datasets for the department. SCGIS relies heavily on the Engineer’s

understanding of networks and controls within the county, some of the most valuable assets when maintaining accuracy

within a geographic information system.

Moving forward, the county’s ArcGIS Server infrastructure will be heavily relied upon to migrate multiple legacy

workflows to a more robust, more intuitive, and less costly method of field viewing and collection. The Engineer will

also benefit from a number of the integrated, interdepartmental workflows and consolidation of data. An existing

initiative envisions that local townships collect an inventory of signs in an identical schema, so that all assets can be

shared with the Engineer, and in turn, with the State. By ensuring the data has the same structure, and is connected with

one another, the entire process is streamlined and diminishes many unnecessary efforts.

Future endeavors include integration with Waze; wherein the County Engineer slightly modifies it’s method of

publicizing road closures. While the current method allows for all detours to be posted to their website, becoming a

partner with Waze enables all detours to be propagated to one of the largest and most widely used public direction apps

for crowd-sourced traffic info. Furthermore, Waze enables the county’s citizens to be more aware of circumstances that

affect their daily travel, without requiring them to go out of their way to get the information.

Other projects on the radar have been broken down into three groups that have varying levels of priority. The highest

priority projects include inventorying Right of Way Obstructions, a Sidewalk and Curb Ramp inventory, a Traffic Sign

and Traffic Signal inventory, altering the detour map workflow, improving the existing Drainage Complaint Form, and

deploying an enhanced Storm Sewer edit/view workflow. Once those projects have been completed, SCGIS will begin

focusing on the next collection of projects. This includes inventorying Guardrails, a Pavement Marking Condition

inventory, developing an application that makes Roadway Plan Files accessible for download, creating a bridge

inventory, and building an Off-road Ditch map. The last set of projects have the least priority, but include assisting with

a public-facing Snow Plowing application, and configuring a dashboard for executive level staff to tie all of this

information into one intuitive interface.

Stark County Health Department

The partnership between SCGIS and the Stark County Health Department began to develop in 2014. What started as an

exploratory meeting quickly blossomed into the realization of many GIS use-cases for the Health Department. A

thorough needs analysis was performed to determine which business processes made the most sense being integrated


with GIS. The first process that was addressed involved sewage treatment systems. Formerly, Health Department staff

were required to research data in many different locations and compile their findings into one final product. By working

together, the Health Department and SCGIS consolidated many of those datasets into one application, producing a high

ROI. In addition to maintaining solutions and hosting data for the Health Department, plans have been made for Stark

County GIS to continue assisting in further GIS integration.

The planned integration will include many projects: Audit of Property Transfers without Septic Inspection (Septic

Check), Reporting of Septage Pumping, an Operator Maintenance Planning Application, Water Service vs Water Wells

inventory, Annual Bacteria Testing, and Mosquito Spray Route management. A couple of the projects listed are

dependent on the Septic Check solution acquiring a spatial component. The data for this business process currently

resides in a Microsoft Access database and will be migrated to a SQL database. Furthermore, this data will be registered

as a view within GIS, satisfying additional needs for other county departments, without requiring those departments to

maintain their own set of data. To accomplish this transition, SCGIS will work closely with the Stark County IT staff to

ensure a proper and efficient migration of data. Once the Access database is migrated, the content will enable the

completion of other projects that require its data to have a spatial component. Thusly, enabling all future projects to be

rooted with the same data and reducing the time required to maintain such data.

Stark County Parks Department

Esri’s Collector application has been utilized by the Parks Department to obtain data regarding different amenities,

signage, and trails within the many county parks. Having this data allows them to track maintenance of parks and

perform other analyses. SCGIS will continue to aid the Parks Department in data collection and dissemination, while

deploying additional solutions to improve workflows.

In 2016, Stark Parks hired a Natural Resources Manager that will play an increased role in GIS utilization for the

department. While the new hire will pursue completing their trails and trailheads layers within a geographic information

system, SCGIS will work towards building a complete, countywide parks layer. Currently, Stark Parks and SCRPC have

done an admirable job of cataloguing parks for their respective jurisdictions. Moving forward, Stark County GIS will

combine the county parks, parks within unincorporated jurisdictions (township parks), as well as municipal parks, into a

singular layer.

As the county gets closer to a countywide parks layer, SCGIS will ensure that the data is organized, meets standards, and

is freely available for download in the open data portal. By working together, a workflow will be created that streamlines

the editing process while removing many existing redundancies. In order to fully utilize all of Stark Parks’ data, SCGIS

will perform a GIS data inventory. This will help determine which layers are most accurate, and which Esri solution

templates fit best into the organization.

Stark County Regional Planning Commission

The Stark County Regional Planning Commission (SCRPC) is responsible for improving the quality of life within Stark

County. SCRPC consists of multiple departments with varying uses of GIS. SCRPC is unique in that it has its own GIS

Department that supports multiple internal map-related functions. Regional Planning’s GIS Department also provides

data collection and maintenance services to communities within Stark County. SCRPC’s GIS Department has been a

crucial partner in SCGIS’s collaboration with townships and villages. To take advantage of web GIS, much of SCRPC’s

data had to be refined and consolidated into one SDE geodatabase. Once that was complete, many local governments

were in a position to view auto-updated maps about zoning and MS4 networks.

SCGIS assists Regional Planning by managing their geodatabase, improving various workflows, aiding with the

configuration of ArcGIS Collector, and providing the ability to get their GIS data on the web. The collaboration


between SCGIS and SCRPC has increased transparency, efficiency, and productivity. Moving forward, the intent is to

give township and village personnel the ability to manipulate GIS data. Currently, the ability to modify assets rests solely

on the SCRPC GIS Department, while townships/villages are limited to only viewing data. By configuring change

request applications that can be accessed via the web, the local community staff would garner the ability to submit

change requests to network datasets that SCRPC created. Instead of reassessing whether or not the network is up to date

on a somewhat recurring basis, local government agencies would be afforded the ability to submit a change request the

moment they modify the real-word asset. This in turn would promote a more accurate dataset and reduce costs and

efforts along the way.

Stark County Sanitary Engineer

The Stark County Sanitary Engineer (SCSE) is responsible for facilities design, construction oversight, administration,

management, operation and maintenance of the system, and billing and revenue collection. The primary method of

accomplishing these goals is through maintaining an accurate collection of the sewer infrastructure used within the

sanitary system. SCSE currently employs one GIS professional.

SCGIS partners with the Stark County Sanitary Engineer by assisting in the management of its SDE geodatabase, aiding

in the creation of web applications, and establishing more efficient and sustainable workflows. Moving forward, the

primary use of web applications will shift from view-only emphasis to an editable workspace. Some of the use-cases

involve manhole inspections and sewer flushing. Existing workflows rely heavily on paper, without efficient utilization of

readily available technology. As GIS becomes more integrated within the office, the necessity to integrate GIS into

relatively archaic workflows will become more apparent. With the gradual integration of always up to date GIS data,

Sanitary Engineer staff will become more cognizant of the benefits. By utilizing the common platform of GIS, multiple

entities maintaining their own sewer infrastructure can visualize their networks in conjunction with the County’s sanitary

networks in order to become aware of discrepancies between agencies, that ultimately affect billing.

As County Departments continue to expand on collaboration, property owner information that is maintained by the

Auditor’s Office will be natively integrated into the Sanitary Engineer’s billing system. This will improve the Sanitary

Engineer’s manual workflow of updating the GIS layers that track customers. By accomplishing this, Sanitary Engineer

GIS staff can focus more on deploying new GIS solutions to assist the rest of the Sanitary Engineer staff.

City of Alliance

The City of Alliance Engineering Department has created and managed data pertaining to the infrastructure they

maintain. The Stark County GIS Department has assisted in this effort by providing an SDE geodatabase, a web

application for disseminating the GIS data, and has made efforts to improve workflows.

Five years ago, SCRPC contracted with the City of Alliance to collect storm, sewer, water, and other infrastructure

assets. At the time, these newly created layers fueled map production and field work within Alliance. Since the original

collection effort, Esri began to develop solution templates that more easily operate off of LGIM schema. In order to

make use of those templates, SCGIS and the City of Alliance Engineering Department have begun migrating the City of

Alliance’s data structure into LGIM. While the migration process is cumbersome, the benefits of utilizing the template

solutions provided by Esri outweigh moving forward with the existing schema. Once migrated, the City will have more

intuitive methods of maintaining their infrastructure that do not require additional licensure for desktop software.


Once the schema is migrated, existing workflows within the City of Alliance will be evaluated to discern whether

deploying a more streamlined workflow, utilizing more cost-effective devices, is the most fiscally advantageous path. As

a handful of workflows become streamlined, SCGIS plans to assist the City of Alliance in the collection of data that do

not currently exist within the geographic information system.

City of Canal Fulton

While there hasn’t been a formal meeting to determine GIS use-cases within Canal Fulton, they do use SCGIS’s

Property Viewer to aid in decision making regarding zoning. Furthermore, SCGIS acquires an updated zoning layer on

an annual basis to capture any modifications to the zoning layer, within the municipality of Canal Fulton.

Moving forward, the goal is to incorporate readily available web tools into some of Canal Fulton’s workflows in order to

expedite the propagation of zone changes to the county’s zoning layer. As time permits, SCGIS will meet with Canal

Fulton representatives to discuss the Local Government Package and any other potential integrations of GIS.

City of Canton

Currently, GIS is heavily used by two departments within Canton City; the Canton City Engineering Department and the

Canton Water Department. Additionally, the Canton City Street Department has incorporated Collector for ArcGIS and

some web applications into its business processes. SCGIS’s involvement with these city departments has increased

within the past year. Currently, there is a lack of integration between the departments. Each department’s data is housed

in varying databases with different (and often restrictive) functionality. In the past months, the county and city have

begun a collaborative initiative to consolidate the databases, in tandem, improving functionality of existing practices.

Once these databases are consolidated, all authorized users will be able to access the data, regardless of other people

simultaneously viewing the data (an existing hindrance). On top of the improved functionality, the City of Canton will

gain the county’s ArcGIS Server infrastructure and vast web-presence. This additional feature will allow the city to

improve numerous workflows for field workers. The cost for devices in the field will drop considerably, and the amount

of data accessible in the field will greatly increase. Quantity of data will begin to increase and branch out into even more

data-dependent departments. Existing processes currently segmented between departments (i.e., Billing, Trash, Sewer)

will be in a position to be integrated with one another and concurrently give all users access to the same, non-discrepant

data.

While much emphasis is placed on the city departments mentioned in this section, GIS has become more prevalent in

the city’s emergency services, as well. There is currently an endeavor with the Canton Police Department to use more

automated procedures in mapping crime data. The city also recently collaborated with three other dispatch centers in the

county for a county-wide CAD deployment. This decision puts all involved parties in a situation where they can use

identical road, address, and emergency response GIS data. This will further reduce the cost to maintain such data, and

ensure all dispatchers observe the same information regardless of their location.

The steps currently being taken to consolidate the existing data into one central repository for the City of Canton is the

first step in the execution of the goals laid forth above. The willingness of city staff to collaborate with county staff has

been paramount in utilizing the existing ArcGIS Server infrastructure. Moving forward, SCGIS’s primary goal is to

reduce the duplication and costs of both county and city efforts. In addition to enhancing existing business processes,

this decision will also add a visual and intuitive means for executive level staff to view progress. Taking advantage of data

in this way could also improve the planning and coordinating of capital improvement projects.


City of Louisville

SCGIS’s interaction with the City of Louisville is currently limited to address maintenance and zoning. The city uses two

web applications for data viewing purposes; one for zoning, and one for infrastructure assets. Moving forward, it is a

goal of SCGIS’s to further explore use-cases within the city that would benefit from GIS integration. The Local

Government Package will be discussed with city staff to determine the most pertinent needs. After the initial needs

assessment, a strategy will be established to structure the integration plan so that Louisville is offered the same

opportunities the other municipalities within the county are given.

City of Massillon

The City of Massillon has built up their Geographic Information System by using many of Esri’s products. Massillon has

the resources needed to be self-sufficient, but serves as a collaborative partner with SCGIS in order to reduce

duplication of efforts and ensure data consistency.

A plan is in progress for the City of Massillon and Stark County GIS to actively share data between the two entities.

SCGIS’s plan is to utilize a geodata service to allow the city to view certain datasets hosted by the county. The geodata

service would enable the City of Massillon to utilize current data, through the use of replication between a geodatabase

hosted by SCGIS and a geodatabase utilized by the city.

City of North Canton

With the help of CT Consultants, the City of North Canton’s Engineering Department manages their infrastructure

assets using GIS. The Stark County GIS department has taken a supportive role by offering to manage an SDE

geodatabase and make the City of North Canton’s data web-accessible by utilizing the county’s ArcGIS Server

infrastructure. Moving forward, CT Consultants will migrate the existing schema to Esri’s LGIM schema. Post-

migration, SCGIS will play a larger role in solution development for North Canton. By employing the LGIM schema,

the city will be in a position to utilize the near ready-to-deploy templates made available by Esri.

Much of the City’s existing GIS data is used for view-only purposes. To reduce operational costs, the City’s Utilities and

Services Departments will begin to deploy paperless mobile workflows. Projects currently in the process of being

deployed include a streetlight inventory solution and an arbor management solution. These will be first steps in shifting

the focus from an infrequently updated set of GIS data to a constantly maintained set of GIS data. As new workflows

are assessed, SCGIS and North Canton will determine which Esri applications make the biggest impact. Some of the

workflows will incorporate Collector for ArcGIS, while others will involve Workforce and Survey123 for field

inspections. The approach to these solutions will be iterative in order to adapt on the fly, as business needs may change

along the way.


Appendices

Appendix A: Security Procedure

In order to minimize interrupting the usage of maps and applications, the switch to HTTPS will be scheduled on a

weekend because it requires a restart of ArcGIS Server. Once WebAGS* can accept HTTPS requests, the procedure will

be as followed:

1. Run script to migrate all map service URLs in the organization to HTTPS

2. Audit both organizations to confirm that URLs are updated to HTTPS

3. Switch both organizations (SCGIS and SCRPC) to HTTPS within ArcGIS Online

4. Reach out to all existing partner organizations to ensure that content is functioning correctly

*WebAGS is the name of the Stark County GIS Department’s legacy ArcGIS Server


Appendix B: ArcGIS Server Migration Procedure

The migration to the new infrastructure will follow a basic workflow and incorporate the knowledge SCGIS has learned

this past year. The basic workflow will follow these steps:

1. Migrate the service from WebAGS (legacy server) to the appropriate staging server in the new infrastructure.

2. Run the ArcGIS System Test Tool (make adjustments if it fails the test)

3. Migrate the service from the current WebAGS server to the appropriate production server in the new

infrastructure

a. WebAGS A1, WebAGS A2, and WebAGS AX: The updated cache services will be put on this

cluster because it will extend the updating window. WebAGS A1 will be taken down from the load

balancer, while traffic is directed to WebAGS A2. During that time the cached map services will be

updated. Once that is complete, WebAGS A1 will be put back up. Once WebAGS A1 is up, a similar

process will be taken to update cached map services in WebAGS A2.

b. WebAGS B1 and WebAGS BX: The static caches do not need to go through the update process.

Having the feature services on a dedicated server machine follows Esri’s recommendation for

workload isolation. It should also be noted that until the deprecation of WebAGS (which will be used

to license WebAGS C1), WebAGS B1 and BX will be used for geoprocessing services, address

locators, and print services. Once WebAGS C1 is created, the geoprocessing services, address

locators, and print services will be migrated to WebAGS C1.

c. WebAGS C1 and WebAGS CX: WebAGS C1 will not be created until the deprecation of WebAGS,

in order to keep within the license limit. The staging environment, WebAGS CX, will need to be

purchased and created, at the time of implementation of WebAGS C1. This will enable Stark County

GIS to test services on the staging server, prior to the creation of those services on the production

servers. These servers will be allocated for geoprocessing services, address locators, and print services.

These will be migrated from WebAGS B1 at the time of implementation of WebAGS C1 and CX.

4. Migrate any URL (map, app, item, etc.) that references the current WebAGS server to reference the new URL

This workflow will be repeated until all services are migrated from the current infrastructure to the new ArcGIS Server

infrastructure. The following service types will be migrated in the following order (keeping in mind that migration of

service types will be able to happen simultaneously):

1. Static Caches

2. Feature Services

3. Geoprocessing Services

4. Address Locators

5. Print Services

6. View-only Services

The view-only services will be migrated last in order to reduce time, and it will be best to happen in groups. Migration in

groups will help facilitate adhering to some of the best practices we have learned the past year, which include:

1. Republish/combine single-layer services into multiple-layer services

2. Restructure WebAGS MXD directory

3. Restructure ArcGIS Server directory

4. Switch symbology to Esri optimized symbology


Another component of the ArcGIS Server infrastructure administration and migration is implementing a new workflow

for creating map services. This workflow will ensure that the services published perform as best as possible. The

workflow is as follows:

1. Service planning

2. MXD Perfstat analysis on the MXD

3. Publish on staging environment

4. Make sure the file-size does not exceed the recommended max, when publishing (100mb)

5. Run ArcGIS System Test to inspect performance and impact of service

6. Publish in production

7. Add to web map

8. Create web application

9. Use Fiddler to evaluate the performance of the application

10. Release into production


Appendix C: Schema Change Procedure

The following steps outline the procedure SCGIS uses for schema changes:

1. Initial needs analysis

2. Run X-ray on the geodatabase to evaluate the current schema

3. Modify the excel sheets generated by X-ray to reflect the changes

4. Create a file geodatabase copy of the real geodatabase and perform the schema change in the copy

5. Re-run X-ray to show the schema after the change has been made

6. Write the procedure for how the schema change will be performed

7. Send the procedure and the X-ray sheets to the customer, to authorizing the change

8. Schedule and perform schema change during off-hours, once authorization has been confirmed

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