Tag Archives: planning

GeoSpatial Business Spotlight: LaBella Associates

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Company Name:           LaBella Associates

Location:                           Rochester, New York

Website:                            www.labellapc.com

Employees:                     2,100

Established:                1978

The Company

As a nationally recognized Design Professional Corporation, LaBella is built on the belief that the most important results come from creating true creating partnerships between teams and clients. One team unified in the pursuit of exceptional performance on every project driven by reliability, accountability, collaboration, and respect.

Since it inception in 1978, the pursuit of partnership has been embedded in LaBella’s culture shaping client outcomes in significant ways. This foundation enables the firm to expertly execute projects from start to finish. LaBella has the technical expertise and resources to take on any challenge and ensure projects are completed on time, on budget, and beyond expectations.

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, LaBella is home to approximately 2,100 multi-disciplinary consultants who plan, design, engineer, and manage public and private projects enriching local communities. The company’s expertise is recognized in infrastructure, buildings, environmental, and energy projects throughout the eastern United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

Software and Capabilities

Today, LaBella offers a wide range of geospatial services, including:

GIS Enterprise System Administration

1.  GIS needs assessments, strategic planning, and implementation
2.  System development and planning
3.  Staff training and augmentation
4.  GIS Administrative support
5.  Ad hoc GIS support

Geospatial Analysis and Data Visualization

1.  3D modeling
2.  Viewshed Analysis and photo simulation development
3.  Advanced geospatial analysis and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI)
4.  Map creation and cartographic design

Data Management

1. Spatial Data Development, maintenance, and updates
2.  Data conversion and formatting
3.  ArcGIS Utility Network migration planning and implementation
4.  Mobile Data collection
5.  Geodatabase design and development

Application Development

1.  Web GIS solutions (ArcGIS Online)
2.  Custom desktop GIS application development
3.  Mobile data collection tools and solutions
4.  Dashboard development

Sample Products and Applications

Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery

The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery (PRC) is a 165-acre historic cemetery and certified arboretum overlooking the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, New York. Like many historic cemeteries, the site’s data was largely paper-based, and there was a need to bring new technology and best practices into the cemetery’s operations.

Using powerful AI tools and GIS software, LaBella converted legacy data into a digital format, authored web maps, and created a dynamic web and mobile application to enhance the visitor experience and staff workflows. The Data Intelligence team worked with the Survey & Mapping group to create a GIS base map of sections, plots, and lots. These were used in conjunction with the cemetery’s historic section maps to identify section and plot numbers. LaBella also utilized drone technology to capture high-resolution aerial imagery to further assist in the mapping and development of the GIS application.

The viewer enables users to take an online walking tour of the cemetery as well as access to a comprehensive tree inventory

The application is hosted on ESRI’s ArcGIS Online platform and built using ArcGIS Experience Builder. The application allows users to navigate a walking tour, learn about notable trees, navigate the grounds, and will eventually allow for a burial records search. The public-facing application can be found here. In addition to the public-facing application, LaBella is configuring additional maps and tools for internal use to help the cemetery staff manage the sales process.

The transition to a digital format not only safeguards records from physical damage but also improves daily operations by streamlining plot management, enhancing maintenance planning, and increasing public accessibility. By bridging tradition with technology, GIS helps cemeteries preserve their legacy while meeting modern needs.

High resolution drone imagery provides a comprehensive aerial overview of the cemetery

Niagara Falls Strategic Planning

The Mid-City Niagara Falls Housing and Community Assessment is a GIS-driven planning initiative that evaluated housing and community conditions in the Mid-City area of Niagara Falls, New York. Led by Niagara University in partnership with LaBella Associates and the Niagara Falls Neighborhood Evaluation Committee, the project brought together key stakeholders, including the City of Niagara Falls Planning Department, Niagara Orleans Regional Land Improvement Corporation (NORLIC), Habitat for Humanity, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) New York.

GIS was central to this effort, enabling robust data analysis, open data sharing, and interactive mapping to support informed decision-making. Through spatial analysis, the project examined demographics, land use, income, housing conditions, transportation access, and quality of life indicators. These insights helped identify development opportunities and shape actionable housing strategies.

Ultimately, the data collected and analyzed was aggregated into an interactive online community mapping tool available here. While publicly accessible, its primary function is to serve as a central repository of data for the City of Niagara Falls and its partners—providing a key resource for targeting future development and implementing a comprehensive housing strategy.

The Public Niagara University Mid-City Community Mapping Tool provides a wide range of datasets grouped into four thematic categories: Community, Environmental, Neighborhood, and Land Use

In recognition of its innovative use of GIS and collaborative impact, the Mid-City Niagara Falls Housing and Community Assessment project was honored with a 2024 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award from ESRI and a 2025 Best Practice Silver Award from the Western New York Section of the American Planning Association.

Municipal GIS Consulting Services

LaBella Associates provides comprehensive GIS services designed to meet the evolving needs of municipalities across New York State. From early-stage needs assessments and strategic planning to full-scale system implementation and support, the company’s experienced GIS team partners with local governments to build and sustain impactful GIS programs. LaBella provides flexible, scalable support—whether municipalities need custom tool development, staff augmentation, hands-on training, or ongoing system administration.

This expertise spans the entire GIS lifecycle, including:

Enterprise GIS Solutions

LaBella’s team has extensive experience designing, deploying, and managing ArcGIS Enterprise environments, from single-server setups to multi-machine, highly available systems. This work includes handling all aspects of GIS system administration, including user roles, security configurations, service publishing, and performance tuning— while maintaining rigorous documentation and best practices throughout.

Custom Development 

LaBella’s GIS developers focus on building practical, user-friendly tools that address complex workflows. Such work includes developing custom ArcGIS Pro add-ins, automated Python tools, and full-stack web applications supporting a range of needs, including utility asset management and public outreach. The GIS team also supports non-GIS custom software solutions—streamlining data management, improving process efficiency, and replacing outdated spreadsheets with modern, secure platforms.

Utility Network Implementation

LaBella is also well-versed in ArcGIS Utility Network implementations, guiding clients through every stage—from planning and data preparation to migration and deployment. The company’s GIS team manages schema design, network rules, topology setup, and editing workflows to ensure a seamless transition—setting clients up for long-term success.

Smart Data Management

Clean, accurate data is the foundation of any successful GIS. LaBella uses tools like ArcGIS Data Reviewer, topology rules, attribute validation, and custom scripts to ensure high data quality. These fundamentals help clients identify data gaps, improve data integrity, and maintain reliable geospatial data.

ArcGIS Online and Field Data Collection Tools

LaBella’s GIS team helps municipalities set up and manage their ArcGIS Online environments with a clear structure, well-defined user roles, and custom applications—such as dashboards, story maps, and Experience Builder views—that bring data to life. The team also configures web maps and mobile tools using ESRI Field Maps and Survey123—empowering field teams to collect data with accuracy and efficiency.

Technology Designed for Real-World Results

Behind the solutions is a team of GIS analysts and developers who combine deep technical knowledge with real-world insight. Whether it’s administering an enterprise environment, automating complex workflows, building custom web maps and dashboards, or enabling real-time field data access, LaBella delivers solutions that are not only innovative but also sustainable, scalable, and client-focused. The flexible, solution-driven approach ensures each community receives the tools and guidance needed to manage and grow their GIS capabilities effectively.

Currently, LaBella’s GIS team supports more than 30 municipalities, advancing initiatives in utility management, real property data management, land management, storm water compliance, and beyond.

Contact:

Rebecca Smith, GISP
rlsmith@labellapc.com

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Geocove

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Company Name:                             Geocove

Location:                                         Cheektowaga, New York

Employees:                                      5

Established:                                     2006

Website:                                           www.geocove.com

The Company

Geocove is an award-winning GIS software and professional services firm established to provide GIS support and technology to local, state and regional government agencies and utilities nationwide.

Founded in 2006, Geocove has been an authorized Esri business partner since 2007. Their team of professionals has decades of experience providing GIS consulting, system support, application development and data collection tools. Geocove, which is led by a former Esri employee, supports the Esri GIS ecosystem with the best-in-class GIS tools, including Esri templates, custom built tools and apps, or other Esri business partner systems.

Geocove’s success is the result of the success of their customers which is achieved by increasing task effectiveness and capabilities using the appropriate GIS technology.  Geocove is certified as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the New York Department of Transportation, and a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the State of New York, along with several other certifications.

Software & Capabilities

Geocove offers a wide range of GIS Services including:

  • Ad Hoc Support
  • Utility Network
  • Asset Inventory Tools and Solutions
  • Parcel Fabric and/or Property Management
  • Consultation and Strategic Workshops
  • Data Collection Tools
  • Data Transformation
  • Enterprise GIS Implementation
  • Facility Management
  • Jumpstarts
  • Knowledge Transfers
  • Mapping
  • Situational Awareness
  • Solution Design and Development
  • Staff Augmentation
  • Sample Products and Applications

Sample Products and Applications

Town of Tonawanda, New York

Geocove has a long history of supporting the Town of Tonawanda’s GIS needs from data editing through system design and maintenance. They continue to work as its GIS administrative and support team, and consulting with senior Town staff about continued development of the GIS program.

Their ongoing support expands the Town’s current GIS capabilities and infrastructure by providing software upgrades, managing databases and GIS servers, building web applications, writing custom tools, providing GIS analysis, map production and staff training.   Currently Geocove is upgrading the Town to Esri’s 11.4 infrastructure including ArcGIS Server, Portal, Desktops and supporting scripts, data, map documents and web applications.

Geocove continues to leverage and customize Esri solutions for the Town in several program areas. Most recently, Geocove updated the Town’s water, sewer and storm infrastructure within the Town’s enterprise database from various sources including AutoCAD and hand drawn sketches.

The Town of Tonawanda’s Official Zoning Map was adopted April 9, 2024 and is currently available online as part of the GIS web site.

 

A project tracking application Geocove created evolved into a project management system. The application has been developed and deployed to multiple departments including highway, engineering and water utilities, ensuring future projects are scheduled appropriately.

Geocove has also worked with the Town to design and deploy Esri-based solutions to identify streetlight fixtures for purchase and to track the conversion project. Those solutions – including out-of-the-box components such as Survey123, ArcGIS dashboards and a web editing application – are now used for operation and management of the new system.

A simple custom tool was created to provide email alerts to both the residents and the internal staff for submissions and status updates as appropriate. By configuring the available and proper out-of-the-box tools to build a system (not a custom application), the Town is enabling easier transitions to future Esri versions.

Geocove built several solutions for the Town’s Highway Department, including apps for sign management, sidewalk and street tree management and public viewing. ADA complaints are tracked through the GIS, from a field inventory of trip hazards to follow-up on future repairs, including identifying, prioritizing and documenting situation status and responsibilities.

The street tree app was one of many developed for the Highway Department and has proven to be useful for both town staff and the general public.

 

Matt Sutton, Town Engineer, said the maps created with Geocove’s support are available to residents and businesses to access a variety of information: “The tree inventory map gives information [on] Town-owned trees. The details map allows the user to view the tree species, height, diameter, etc. When the forestry department cuts down a tree, this GIS database is updated,” Sutton said, adding: “We were also able to create comparison maps showing aerials of the town from today, through previous years all the way back to 1951.”

Geocove began working with the Town of Tonawanda in 2015, when they had a handful of apps they supported. The town currently has 271 maps and apps, serving 10 departments, 94 apps are shared publicly. “We are very proud to have built almost all of those,” says Karyn Tareen Geocove President.

In July 2023, the Town of Tonawanda and Geocove’s team was honored to receive a Special Achievement in GIS award from Jack Dangermond at the Esri International User Conference.

Livingston County, New York

The Livingston County GIS landing page offers several public facing Web mapping apps and Story Maps

 

Geocove’s first Livingston County project was with its Planning, ITS and Real Property Tax Services departments. Each identified unmet geospatial needs in their departments and others within the county.

Geocove was then hired as the County’s GIS advisor and to perform specific tasks, including establishing a publicly accessible GIS portal and updating the county’s public map.  Through repetitive GIS project and ad hoc support contracts, Geocove has upgraded the County’s GIS software several times. By providing recommendations, design and implementation services they upgraded Livingston County to a new Enterprise GIS architecture and helped the county to migrate existing tools, applications and users to the new environment.

Before Geocove, Livingston County had only one app functioning.  Based on Geocove’s work to date, the County now has 112 maps and apps, with focused apps for 11 departments and 26 public facing GIS applications.

As part of this work, Geocove helped Livingston County centralize its licenses into one Esri organizational account, then set up and configured the County’s organization in the newly established Enterprise environment. Additionally, Geocove provided County planning staff with a technology transfer and introduction to ArcGIS Online / ArcGIS Portal maps and apps. As part of this work, Geocove’s staff rebuilt the County’s public and internal web applications in the newer and supported Esri architecture.

Through additional technical support and focused contracts, Geocove has designed and built solutions for Livingston County’s Department of Health (septic inspections and reports); Highway Department (sign inventory and editing tools, desktop editing, import and data cleanup and map updates); Sheriff’s Office / Office of Emergency Management (critical facilities and vulnerable population maps/apps and editing tools); and Economic Development (building inventory management system).

Other resulting applications include a road closure management app for emergency management, an election application to show election districts and polling locations, a facility locator application, and a story map for Economic Development’s Mural Walls program.

Contributions to the Profession

Geocove actively engages with the GIS community in Western NY, including offering free Lunch-and-Learns in their offices and organizing and participating in GIS Day events.  Including the Esri Special Achievements in GIS award for Tonawanda, the company has also earned an Emerging Technology award from VEMA and the Public Information Award from the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference.

Contact:

Karyn Tareen GISP, President Direct 716.204.9431
Geocove Office 716.748.7585
247 Cayuga Rd., Suite 70
Cheektowaga, NY 14225
ktareen@geocove.com

Envisioning the Future of Buffalo’s East Side

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AGOL viewer, data HUB, and other geospatial tools used in helping develop WITHIN East Side Plan

Community focused GIS projects are always a favorite of mine to write about.  Highlighting how geospatial tools can be used by community groups – including nonprofits which are often project sponsors – to better help visualize and understand the vast array of environmental, regulatory, business and public health, and cultural data which impacts their daily lives.  One such project located in Buffalo’s east side was brought to my attention in a recent communication with Lisa Matthies-Wiza, Director of Geographic Information Services at Erie County.  

WITHIN East Side

The WITHIN East Side project is one of many projects of LISC Western New York (WNY) and its larger parent organization LISC New York.  program.   WITHIN East Side  focuses on simplifying the neighborhood planning and community development process, and ensures development is driven by resident leaders and community groups.  As an open, inclusive, community-driven initiative, WITHIN East Side brings together neighborhood voices, trusted partners, and supportive funders in an effort to better the wellbeing of residents using their own visions. Together with LISC NY, the WITHIN East Side stakeholders collaboratively identify projects that sustain the positive momentum happening in local neighborhoods.

In early 2020, LISC NY began planning with community partners in three geographic focus areas in the East Side under the WITHIN East Side program.  The East Side of Buffalo, which is the heart of Buffalo’s Black community was chosen as it is purposeful to build upon and lift up the long-time visions of residents and community leaders in neighborhoods most impacted by historic disinvestment, environmental, structural, and systemic racism.  The additional impact of the racist mass shooting on May 14, 2022, that killed 10 people, at a local supermarket within the planning area, furthered the importance of amplifying the community’s voice and vision for the future.

The project was designed as a two-pronged approach–integrating economic development and quality-of-life planning.  Closely intertwined, both  economic development and quality-of-life planning require understanding community history and dynamics, collaboratively identifying projects, building relationships with diverse stakeholders, and turning community priorities into progress.

The WITHIN East Side project was broken into three distinct study areas – each of which was studied in more detail for a wide range of demographic, cultural and economic development issues

Background

LISC NY contracted with Prospect Hill Consulting (PHC), a local minority and women owned consulting firm which had responded to a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) which was issued in January 2021.  GIS mapping and analysis was a requirement and the LISC NY team knew GIS services were important to supporting the overall East Side project.  PHC was selected to perform elements A (GIS Mapping [including an online mapping tool request and a data HUB) and B (Scenario Planning).   While LISC NY had a vision of what the final plan might look like,  PHC was instrumental in assisting LISC NY in developing maps and visualizations used in the final plan and in community engagement sessions throughout the process.

Existing 2021 land use is just one of dozens of data layers in the WITHIN East Side AGOL viewer. The rich database consists of local, regional, state and federal datasets.

Leading geospatial development of the East Side project from PHC was Jenny Magovero, President and Co-founder. Ms. Mogavero has been working in the GIS field for 23 years covering geospatial applications in community planning and environmental sciences as well as work in data visualization and  project management.  Mogavero created all of the maps in the East Side plan using the ArcGIS client as well as for spatial analysis and modeling.  The project web map is ArcGIS Online based with the data stored in a Hub Site (to allow for data sharing) and was designed about halfway through the GIS mapping and analysis task to support the WITHIN planning process itself.

One of the many excellent graphics iWITHIN East Side report. The map on the right identities areas within the study area where supermarkets are located – a significant issue for residents with limited transportation options.

LISC NY wanted to be as transparent as possible and allow stakeholders (i.e. the community/public, organizations, etc.) to work with the data and download and use it if they needed.  To this end, the AGOL interactive map was used in community outreach and meetings early in the project and as new data came online (i.e., stakeholders requested to see additional themes) PHC continued to update the AGOL viewer. PHC designed the AGOL viewer to serve as a communication medium that allowed LISC NY to show project progress, survey the community on what themes needed to be covered and/or identify gaps, and to act as a platform to continue engagement with the community in the future. 

Economic Development issues are paramount in the study such as the role of small businesses, inflow of non-residents that work – but do not live – in the area, as well as the concentration(s) and accessibility of employment opportunities.

Data collection and development was specific to the mapping and analysis that the LISC NY team needed for the WITHIN plan itself.  As LISC NY has significant business relationships within the greater Buffalo community, they were able to collect a lot of data from local, state and NGOs. In addition, PHC collected publicly available data from the City of Buffalo, Erie County (parcels, land use, etc.), New York State  (NYSDEC, NYSDOT, etc.) and federal datasets (EPA, Census, etc.).  Additionally, PHC developed data from reports or datasets that were anecdotally described by stakeholders (like the air quality buffer, buried portions of the Scajaquada Creek, key intersections, etc.).  Project data was also obtained from utilities, Google, OpenStreetMaps, and ESRI.  

Most of the project data is made available through the LISC WNY Open Data Hub which was also designed and continues to be supported by PHC.  (Some providers did not want their data to be shared so it is only available for viewing in the application.)   

No AGOL account is necessary to access the HUB and tags help users to easily jump to specific themes of data presented in the final plan for download.

PHC used a bevy of GIS,  statistical packages, and desktop publishing software tools to generate the maps and graphics in the report including: 

  1. ArcGIS Online to collect stats for the neighborhood that were ACS 5yr census based (https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/analyze/enrich-layer.htm)
  2. Geospatial processing tools to buffer, clip, summarize, and run overlay analyses
  3. Spatial Analyst tools to develop walkshed layers (from points provided by Walkscore)
  4. Tableau Desktop and Excel to conduct data exploration to emphasize trends (or data insights) with graphs/visualization on  map layouts
  5. Adobe InDesign for page layouts and other graphics to be consistent with the LISC NY brand book (design guide) including colors, fonts, and logos.
  6. ESRI’s Hexagon sampling tool to visualize parcel data classes (i.e. land use, vacant parcel density, ownership) at the scale of the plan areas. 

Residential ownership type is an important variable in urban studies. Data presented in the figure above suggests there continue to be many opportunities in increasing owner occupied properties in the study area

Summary

While consulting architecture and engineering companies continue to expand their geospatial offerings to governments and regional programs in 2022, particularly in the infrastructure and public works space, planning firms such as PHC serve in a unique space focusing on efforts which include applying geospatial tools as part of important community-based projects which often include significant public input and involvement.  Tools such as AGOL provide a great  framework in which to engage the public with regard to adding and removing data content and visualizing potential scenario outcomes.  A particularly useful tool given the enormity of the data used in the WITHIN East Side plan.

Reflecting on PHC’s involvement in the study, Jenny Mogavero notes:

“LISC NY is an integral part of, and key economic engine within the Western New York region.  Prospect Hill was honored to partner with the LISC NY to use GIS data, visualization tools and spatial analysis methods to not only present the existing conditions of our city’s East Side neighborhoods, but also reveal the deeper insights that occur when we overlap data-driven stories across multiple thematic lanes.  We were thrilled that our work supported the teams’ consensus building goals to develop a vision of a prosperous future for an important part of our City.”

Tyra Johnson Hux, WNY Director of Operations, also reflects on PHC’s work and the use of geospatial tools in the project adding:

“WITHIN East Side amplifies the visions of residents and community leaders in neighborhoods impacted by historic disinvestment, environmental, structural, & systemic racism. Showing their stories through, not only their own words, but also data was critical to helping our stakeholders generate a bold, authentic and comprehensive vision with an emphasis on implementation.  PHC supported the WITHIN East Side Plan by working with the project team to identify, collect and normalize relevant GIS data from neighborhood, government, academic and other partners. Additionally, they worked with us to analyze and visualize the community experience through maps and infographics.  The online interactive map and data warehouse they developed made it possible to share data in a way that breaks down silos, facilitate  strategic planning and continue community conversations.”

Contact

Jenny Mogavero, GISP
Prospect Hill Consulting LLC | Principal
716.432.9053 | www.prospecthill.co
jmogavero@prospecthill.co

Lashay Young, Director
External Affairs for LISC NY
https://www.lisc.org/
LYoung@lisc.org

Campus Planning and Geospatial Technologies at UAlbany

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GIS used in many areas alongside engineering and architectural applications

College and university campuses are the home for a vast amount of geospatial data covering both the natural and built environments.  Whereas at the beginning of geospatial era there was a clear and defined digital divide – GIS vs. CAD –  today these technologies have evolved to be used and managed together almost seamlessly.  In this space since the early 2000’s we’ve seen the evolution of the Building Information Model (BIM) in along with drone, GPS, and laser scanning technologies serving as a means to capture and generate additional types of geospatial data both indoor and outdoor.  GIS concepts are also important elements integrated into Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) and Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) solutions.

Built around the geospatial framework which also includes standards for both data collection and data management, GIS applications in campus settings are leveraged by both GIS specialists and engineers alike.  Common program areas include covering areas such as master plan support, space programming, work order management, asset management, emergency management, real estate and portfolio management, environmental and regulatory compliance, and site selection studies among others.

While traditional GIS and engineering software applications such as ArcGIS and AutoCAD support much of the outdoor mapping, facility managers increasingly use a more indoor specific software programs such as Revit, Autodesk BIM 360 Ops, Cartegraph, and ESRI’s relatively new entry into this space ArcGIS Indoors, among others.   In reality, automated systems at large facilities involve a combination of the programs noted above and often also integrate other monitoring and SCADA systems.   If you are new to GIS and geospatial applications to the campus setting, here is a good overview presentation.

Campus Planning at UAlbany

Many of these geospatial-related disciplines intersect directly – and indirectly-  in the Office of Campus Planning at UAlbany which is charged with the overall planning of physical space on campus (indoor and outdoor), capital and operating funding, and supporting the strategic plan of the University.   The office currently has a team of eight which includes Jessie Pellerin who serves as GIS and Signage and Wayfinding Manager.

Jessie is involved with several elements of GIS data collection and cartographic products associated with the UAlbany facilities for the uptown, downtown, and Alumni Quad campuses – including the production of hardcopy maps which are still an important communications and outreach component for visitors and students new to campus.   Nearly all of her day-to-day work is done with ArcGIS Pro.  Field data collection is normally supported with Collector for ArcGIS on an iPad and for offline viewing.

Jessie produces all of the UAlbany maps using just ArcGIS Pro without the use or addition of any desktop publishing software

With regard to above and underground features on, the 500-acre uptown camps, she helps manage a GIS database which includes 122 emergency blue light phone locations, 16.5 miles of storm sewer pipes and 760 catch basin, 6.4 miles of sanitary sewer pipes, 1500 light poles and 12 miles of roads among dozens of other features. Jessie also oversees individual data collection projects conducted by vendors such as the campus wide light poles and irrigation system.   She serves as the ArcGIS Online Administrator for the Office supporting and maintaining several customized viewers for 50 staff across campus in specific work program areas.

One of internal AGOL viewers Ms. Pellerin supports focuses on the locations of accessibility features on the Uptown and Downtown Campus. Pop-ups include more information for each feature. Data was developed from a campus-wide accessibility study.

Another viewer shows the location of the exterior wayfinding and regulatory signage and banners on campus. With over 500 exterior wayfinding signs, 750 regulatory signs, and 550 banners, GIS has been essential in keeping track of sign content and condition for aiding in preventative maintenance, site planning, and branding initiatives. Both of the above viewers were built with Web App Builder.

An example of how space planning is supported using GIS at UAlbany. This graphic shows a 3D visualization of assignable space on the Downtown Campus

As part of supporting the university’s COVID-19 response, Jessie assisted with others by using combining mapped sewer line and manhole data with the occupancy count of each of the residential dorms, to determine the optimal locations for the waste water testing sites in 2020. There ended up being six manholes selected (out of the 282 on campus). Maps were shared with other stakeholders in the project.    

“As it relates to campus settings, GIS use is growing and being used more often in buildings and facilities planning by campus staff” notes Stu Rich, Director, Buildings and Infrastructure at Cartegraph.  Initially, as outdoor GIS concepts and technology were beginning to be applied to the indoor environments, cost was often a barrier to get started in building BIM and interior models for many organizations.  “Those barriers are beginning to change” Rich further adds, “While precision indoor mapping will always require higher-end instrumentation, recent products such as MagicPlan and IndoorVu, as well as falling software prices, are making interior mapping and data capture more affordable for large facilities management programs.   All of these products and technologies are now broadly used in facilities management and integrated with GIS applications.”

Recognizing the importance and growth of using digital data both in-house and with the numerous engineering companies performing work on campus, both the Office of Campus Planning and the Office of Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Management (AECM) have developed digital data standards for BIM, GIS, and AutoCAD.

Summary

Large campus facilities such as SUNY Albany bring together the intersection of several geospatial technologies.  Individually each seemingly used or applied for one specific purpose (and often at varying levels of spatial accuracy) but when mashed together in a just web viewer, provide easy access to a wide range of authoritative digital content for decision-makers. Sure signs of the growing maturity and acceptance of geospatial technologies.

Contact:

Ms. Jessie L. Pellerin
GIS and Signage and Wayfinding Manager
Office of Campus Planning
University at Albany, State University of New York
jpellerin@albany.edu

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

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Company Name:               Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

Location:                               Rochester, NY

Website:                                bergmannpc.com

Employees:                        400+

Established:                      1980

Bergmann is a full service, multi-disciplinary design firm employing a wide range of professionals and practitioners in the geospatial  industry.  The company represents four decades of a culture built on the work of client-focused experts. Its core business segments include Transportation Systems, Civil Works, Building Design, Land Development, Community Planning & Design, and Program Services.  Within these areas, Bergmann’s rich portfolio of work features everything from restoration of historical landmarks, to the comprehensive bridge and highway design, to waterfront master planning.  Specific client geospatial support services include:

  • Client Consulting: enterprise strategy, system planning & GIS coordination.
  • Implementation & Support: architecture design, system configuration & optimization & technical support.
  • Software Development: software extensions (ArcGIS & Geocortex), custom solutions (web/mobile/desktop) & system integration.
  • Data Services: database design, data development, and management & data migration.

The Bergmann GIS Services team is a nationally recognized leader in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Project Managers, GIS developers, GIS analysts, and 3D Design Specialists offer clients advanced and unique technical skillsets to solve complex information challenges. The company focuses on building strong, collaborative partnerships with clients to create applications, data, and workflows which bring efficiencies and value.

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Queensbury Geospatial: A Model for NYS Town Government GIS

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Northbound New York State Northway Exit 20 leads to the Town of Queensbury which is the seat of Warren County.  With a 2010 population of 27,901 the town covers nearly 65-square miles including shoreline along Lake George and lands within the Adirondack Park.  Further into town, several of the usual NYS town government program offices are located at 742 Bay Road including staff and resources which support the town’s geographic information system (GIS).

GIS Background

Prior to 2002, Queensbury officials had worked with consultants to establish initial GIS capacity including the creation of ArcIMS applications and investing in multiple ESRI desktop licenses.  In 2002, the town’s GIS initiative changed significantly with the hiring of George Hilton.  Hired as a GIS Specialist and planner, George was brought onboard to build and advance the town’s  GIS program.

Prior to arriving in Queensbury, George had honed his GIS skills while a student at Central Connecticut State University and later in government positions  in the Denver and Kansas City areas as well as three years with Westchester County.  Now, 15-years after his arrival, George oversees a program which can be considered an exemplary NYS municipal government GIS program.

Current Queensbury Geospatial Products and Infrastructure        

George designs, codes and maintains the Town’s Interactive Mapper (Firefox and IE only) and a host of other ArcGIS.com map viewers including Fire and EMS, Planning and Zoning, and Phase II Stormwater Infrastructure.    He also supports emerging mobile mapping and data collection efforts which includes Trimble GPS units with Trimble Positions to collect data and update feature services and Geodatabases in the field.  The town also collects data (hydrant inspections, site inspections) with ArcGIS Collector using feature services and make maps available through ArcGIS Online.

The Town of Queensbury Interactive Mapper includes many locally developed datasets as well as data from other authoritative sources including Warren County, NewYork State and the Adirondack Park Agency.

The Town of Queensbury Interactive Mapper includes many locally developed datasets as well as data from other authoritative sources including Warren County, NewYork State and the Adirondack Park Agency.

Other software components – much of which has been self-taught – George uses inlcludes Sybase (RPS) and SQL Server with ArcSDE as well as ArcGIS Server, ArcSDE, ArcGIS (Advanced), and Spatial Analyst.  The town is currently at ArcGIS Server 10.22 and are testing 10.4 with plans to upgrade very soon.  He also works with QGIS and Global Mapper from time to time.  Global Mapper has been particularly helpful in importing updated USGS topo quads (DRGs) in GeoPDF format into our GIS.

The Queensbury GIS program has grown from primarily providing support to the Planning Department to becoming a very important resource for many departments across town government.  Both the Town Board and Town Supervisor are very supportive of GIS and recognize how much of an important tool GIS has become to the Town.

Parts of the Town of Queensbury is actually within the Adirondack Park and therefore subject to stringent land use regulations. This image highlights zoning districts on the southeastern shore of Lake George – within the park boundaries.

Parts of the Town of Queensbury is actually within the Adirondack Park and therefore subject to stringent land use regulations. This image highlights zoning districts on the southeastern shore of Lake George – within the park boundaries.

George maintains an excellent working relationship with Warren County GIS which is under the direction of Sara Frankenfeld where he obtains  parcel data.  The town creates town-wide datasets (zoning, subdivisions, hydrants, infrastructure, environmental, street centerlines, address points, etc) which are then shared back with the County. Referencing her ongoing GIS work with Queensbury, Sara explains:

“George is great to work with and especially in a rural environment where we don’t have any other full-time GIS staff within our respective local governments, it’s so helpful to have a colleague to bounce things off.  He’s a very good sounding board and when I’m considering starting a new project, I often call to get his thoughts.

 We’ve worked closely together on a number of projects.  We recently worked together to streamline the way e-911 addresses are assigned, and this has been a huge improvement to workflows in both of our offices, as well as in the Real Property office, the zoning/building inspectors departments, and the assessors’ offices

 Our current cooperative project is a NYS Archives LGRMIF grant funded project to make the SAM data, along with information about truss roofed structures (as required by a NYS law that went into effect 1/1/2015), and other relevant data such as hydrant locations, available to first responders via an Android/iOS app”.

George also works closely with several state agencies including the Adirondack Park Agency, NYS Parks and Historic Preservation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and NYS Information Technology Services (ITS).  Queensbury Town Supervisor John Strough adds:

“Like today’s computers, I do not know how we lived without him. His GIS services have helped us map the town’s infrastructure structures, trail systems, historic places and many other location details that we absolutely need to comply with the needs of today’s municipal world. I am in his office requesting his services almost as often as am in my budget officer’s office, that’s how important GIS services have become to the town.“

Broad User Base

The town enjoys a wide user base including ESRI desktop clients in Planning, Water and Sewer, Assessor, and Parks departments though George is commonly called upon to assist in more detailed data creation, analysis, and cartographic products throughout town government.  He also provides training for users in many local, regional and statewide agencies including the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Champlain Watershed Improvement Coalition of New York, and the NY State Conservation District Association at their statewide conference in Auburn and Syracuse.

Additionally, George provides maps and data analysis for many community groups, nonprofits, schools, as well as for other municipalities and quasi-governmental agencies in the area.   Queensbury if one of the few municipalities in the area with a GIS program and is often asked to provide support throughout the area.

Creating More Queensbury GIS Programs

While George brought years of GIS experience to the town when accepting  the job, his ability to advance the town’s GIS program has certainly been augmented by ongoing political and administrative support.  Such combination of experience, competitive salary, technical skills and political support is often hard to replicate –   or even find for that matter –  in small town governments across the Empire State.

The Town of Queensbury GIS program speaks to the importance of educating elected officials in the benefits and  importance of investing – both financially and institutionally –  in the role of geospatial technologies in small town governance.  While the Queensbury GIS solution might be considered a typical for similar-sized communities across the state, it nonetheless can be a model for the GIS community to aspire to and replicate.

Visit the Town of Queensbury website at http://www.queensbury.net or George Hilton directly at GeorgeH@queensbury.net.

 

10 Questions: David Bubniak

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I’ve been going back and forth with David Bubniak for several months on doing a piece on his geospatial work and efforts with the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board (STC) where he has worked for over a decade.  Covering three counties – Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben – David’s GIS work with STC covers many program areas. A lifelong Southern Tier resident, he and his wife and their two sons live in Waverly,  New York.  David can contacted at gisstc@stny.rr.com.

eSpatiallynewyork:  How long have you been with Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board (STC)?

Bubniak:  I   started at STC in 2005 and worked here for a year. I left and went to work for James Sewall in the Elmira office (formally Weiler Mapping). I then returned to STC in 2008 and have been here since. Prior to STC, I worked for the Chemung County Metropolitan Planning Office (MPO)  in the early 90’s as a transportation GIS analyst. I then became the General Manager of Chemung County Transit. I then went back to doing GIS in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania for Northern Tier Regional Planning.  A good friend of mine is a surveyor and I worked with him on the side periodically over the years doing property surveys, deed research and construction layouts.  Those experiences have helped me significantly over the years understanding how to assist people with GIS. I am the only designated GIS person in STC office though we do have planners that use it often.

eSpatiallynewyork:  When did you start doing GIS work?

Bubniak: I started using GIS in 1993. I attended Mansfield University and graduated with a Geography degree with an emphasis in Planning. We used Atlas GIS for projects. I worked part time at the Chemung County Planning department right after I graduated in December 1994.  My first project was mapping senior citizen migration from rural areas back into the City of Elmira for the Department of Aging. When I started at the Executive Transportation Committee for Chemung County (Chemung County MPO) in 1995 I used Unix based  pcARC/INFO and AutoCad. I taught myself how to use both just by studying the manuals and using them for projects. I then started to use ArcView when it was released.

eSpatiallynewyork:  What GIS products do you now use/promote? 

Bubniak:  I use both web and desktop applications. I use ArcGIS server as well as ArcGIS online for my web apps. I do promote both web and desktop apps. I have people using ArcView, ArcReader and ArcGIS Explorer.  I have the Elmira Water Board using ArcGIS desktop with several departments accessing data over their network using ArcGIS Explorer (desktop). The Chemung County Stormwater Coalition uses a combination of ArcGIS online, local data, and data through ArcGIS server.

eSpatiallynewyork:  What agencies/organizations do you work with most closely?

Bubniak:  I do a lot of work for Chemung County departments and towns. I do get involved with the state from time to time. I function sort of as the GIS coordinator for Chemung County but not on formal basis. I work with the Stormwater Coalition, public works, Elmira Water Board, Real Property. I do work and assist several of the bigger towns in the county.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Tell us about the “Southern Tier Central Mapping Application for Local Governments”

Bubniak:  I have four basic parcel viewers. I have one for each county then one for the whole region. They all run the same data from a SQL database.  Chemung and Schuyler Counties connect their county sites to their SDG Imagemate Online application.  I have a Chemung County site tailored to soil and water, Public works and local code officials.  Many county departments and officials use it for their GIS. I have a bunch of project specific web apps I built using ArcGIS for Flash and Silverlight including one for the Keuka Lake Watershed,  a planning tool, and the Susquehanna-Chemung Action Plan.  Those apps utilize other public services and data to cover the whole area. It really depends on the application and the need.

eSpatiallynewyork:  In your capacity with STC, what professions do you work with the most on a day-to-day basis? 

Bubniak:  In addition to my daily responsibilities with TC, I work with several other (government, county, local governments, nonprofits, what?) disciplines including engineering, public works, planning/economic development,  transportation, code enforcement and emergency services.   In many respects and functions I serve as a GIS consultant (though not paid as one) to many organizations and governments across the three county region.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Making maps anymore or is everything online now?

Bubniak:  Mostly everything has gone online, though I still make maps from time to time.  Well designed hard copy maps are always still needed for meetings and discussions.  There is no substitute.

eSpatiallynewyork: From your perspective and experience in the Southern Tier, do you think decision makers and elected officials value GIS technology as a necessity or a “nice to have”?

Bubniak:  For many years it was a “nice to have” and called a cool technology toy.   Though more recently the culture and understanding of geospatial technology has changed within government and among elected officials to considering it much more as a “necessary” tool.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Assuming money and administrative support were in place, what are a couple cost effective (and needed) geospatial applications which you feel STC could develop and available for the three county area?

I would like to have an application or applications similar to how the Town of Southampton, NY is making GIS services available on their website.  They have a fee-based viewer (ePortal).   for Land Manger GIS that was presented at the last New York State GIS Conference.

eSpatiallynewyork:  So what’s next?  What are you working on now?

Bubniak:  Chemung County has just purchased an ELA license from ESRI. I am going to be designing, building multi-user databases and setting up applications for the county. We are going to be implementing a true enterprise system and get away from our current departmentalized GIS systems.

I am currently working on an application to allow  Elmira City Council members to report issues they want resolved. This will be done on tablets and cut out a huge amount of paper work and will bring in a geospatial component at the same time.

Eventually we plan on getting social services involved.   Once we get this off the ground and get things going we are going to look how to improve services in this area of government.  While at Sewall we designed a web application for social services to locate day cares, employers, transit routes and client locations which I believe has potential for regional and county governments.

 eSpatiallynewyork:  So what are you doing when you are not working?

Bubniak:  For many years I competed in power lifting but hurt my shoulder and don’t participate anymore.   I enjoy the outdoors and hunt.    We bought a starter home  many years ago and since then I’ve completely redone the house doing all of the plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring, etc., myself.    It’s a great location on a dead end road and we own 40 acres.

Both of our boys – ages 9 and 14 – are involved in travel sports (baseball, track/cross country, Tae Kwon Do) so following them around to games and practices is one of our main “hobbies” now – which is all worth it.

10 (Almost) Questions: Todd Fabozzi

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Todd Fabozzi is an urbanist, writer, teacher and drummer. During his twenty-two-year career as a regional planner he has been an advocate for cities and sustainable design. He has lectured extensively on suburban sprawl and its consequences and has been involved in numerous urban planning, climate action planning, and watershed protection studies. Todd is an expert on the use of Geographic Information Systems and has taught a course on GIS at UAlbany for the past thirteen years. Todd has also published two books of poems and anti-poems. He lives in the city of Saratoga Springs, NY.

I caught up with Todd at NYGeoCon for a short discussion on life and GIS….

eSpatiallynewyork:  How long have you been with the Capital District Regional Planning Commission (CDRPC)?

Todd:  I’ve been a professional urbanist for the past twenty-two years, twenty of which have been with CDRPC.

eSpatiallynewyork:  What’s one of the best examples of how GIS is used in your organization?

Todd:  I was charged with building the Commission’s GIS back in 1996. One of the first products from that effort was a regional atlas, which we published in oversized hard copy format (this was still pretty much pre-internet). The maps portrayed a whole variety of characteristics at the regional scale, giving the public a bird’s eye view of the spatial patterns of the Capital District for the first time. In addition to applying GIS in most of our program areas, I continue to create, update and publish regional maps (see www.cdrpc.org). I think understanding regional demographic, environmental and land use patterns is central to regional planning and GIS is the best tool for doing so.

eSpatiallynewyork: What professional associations or groups are you affiliated with?

Todd: Over the years I’ve tried out the American Planning Association, the Association of American Geographers, Progressive Planners Network, Congress for New Urbanism, and the NYS GIS Association. I also served for nine years on the NYS GeoSpatial Advisory Council. While for the most part I support the work of these groups, I’m currently unaffiliated (though with CNU and NYSGISA, it’s simply because I haven’t gotten around to renewing). I have to say though that in general I’m not a joiner, perhaps the anarchist in me keeps me at arm’s length from groups and group think.

eSpatiallynewyork:  If you had an extra $50K in your budget, what would you do with it?

Todd:  If it was a yearly allocation I would establish two part-time paid internship positions. CDRPC has been working on a climate and energy issues over the past few years and there are some interesting ways that GIS can be applied. So for example, a good intern project might be to identify (by analyzing the utility zones, solar orientation, area requirements, land uses and zoning laws) the places where community distributed solar might be feasible (community distributed solar allows one to receive solar energy from an offsite location).

eSpatiallynewyork:  Biggest professional accomplishment?

Todd:  Using GIS, imagery analysis and photography to document and portray sprawl and urban decline in the Capital District and through over two hundred presentations inciting a regional conversation on these issues back when it was politically and professionally risky to do so. This was the same presentation I made at the first NYS GeoSpatial Summit in 2006. http://www.nysgis.net/nygeosummit/year/2006/speakers.htm

eSpatiallynewyork:  What do you think of GISP certification?

Todd:  I don’t. I’m not concerned with merit badges. I’d rather let mapping do the talking.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Open Source or ESRI?

Todd:  We’re an ESRI shop but I’m open to whatever works best in a given situation…and the lower the cost the better.

eSpatiallynewyork:   If you could change one thing here in New York that you feel would make GIS more widely used, or more appreciated and understood – what would that be?

Todd:  Start teaching kids how to use GIS as part of the middle and high school curriculum.

eSpatiallynewyork:  What advice would you give to the next generation of individuals starting a career in GIS here in New York State?

Todd:  I’ve been teaching an Intro to GIS course at UAlbany for the past thirteen years and I think I counted seven different people at the most recent NYGeoCon that had taken my course and were now working professionally in NYS using GIS, which is satisfying. I reinforce to my students that GIS is a tool for something else, so get knowledgeable about something else, and then use GIS to help.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Any thoughts on the future of government GIS in the State of New York?

Todd:  There’s not much that state and local governments do that doesn’t have a spatial component, so the more we integrate GIS into government operations the more efficient those operations will be. I’ve heard you sing the gospel of web services for data delivery and I get that and think that is largely the direction things will head. Web-accessible GIS for basic tasks will also continue to proliferate, though there will still be a role for the desktop user with the full suite of tools at their disposal. I saw a presentation at the recent NYGeoCon about the City of Rochester’s various GIS applications that I found quite inspiring and think they’re setting an example of how GIS can be used in local government.

eSpatiallynewyork:  What would you be doing if you weren’t working with CDRPC?

Todd:  Assuming I was retired and didn’t have to earn a living I’d be playing my drums, writing, and traveling.

eSpatiallynewyork:  Your band is in the studio working on its 11th album – what can you tell us about it? 

Todd: Well, as some of my planning and GIS colleagues know, I’m also a professional drummer, and over the past eighteen years I’ve been the conga player for a twelve-piece original salsa band called Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra. It’s a fun alternative to the office. We get to make people smile and dance, which isn’t something urban planning usually accomplishes. We did a ten-day tour of Shanghai, China this past March, which was a high point for us. And as you noted, we are currently in the studio working on our 11th album. We’ve been in the early rounds of the Latin Grammy’s with a few of our past records. Maybe this will be the one in which we nail it? For anyone interested in the band see: www.alextorres.com.