Redesigned with a fresh appearance and rebuilt with greater functionality, NKAPC’s new LINK-GIS website is drawing the attention of jurisdictions throughout the metropolitan area and beyond. The visual elements are the first thing noticed on the new page, however, it’s the website’s new My Community viewer and Online Store function that has other jurisdictions interested.
“The site’s My Community viewer allows property owners to go online and see their voting precinct, zoning and school districts, in one simple table,” said Christy Powell, GISP, senior GIS specialist and co-programmer of the function. Additionally, the site shows restaurants, grocery stores, fire/police stations and other services in Kenton County. Staff plans to add information for Campbell and Pendleton Counties in the next phase of the project, which will be completed by next June.
Using technology similar to Google Maps, the LINK-GIS site uses the pushpin idea to point out the information searched for. “Instead of using general data, we’re using very specific, local information created over time by various local agencies,” Powell said.
In addition to My Community, the LINK-GIS website’s new, cutting edge Online Store with PayPal is the first of its kind in the region. “The store allows you to buy and download maps, digital data, aerial photography or LiDAR,” said Trisha Brush, GISP, NKAPC’s deputy director for GIS administration. Engineers, surveyors, and appraisers now have immediate access to data, any time of the day.
NKAPC partnered with two vendors, Stantec and Woolpert, to implement the website’s changes over the past year. The new site’s ArcGIS Server technology is cutting edge and is the current standard from the NKAPC’s software vendor, ESRI.
“We also have an improved content management system,” Powell said, “so we’re not having to do as many manual updates, which will be quicker and easier down the road.”
NKAPC GIS staff recently shared their website’s features with more than 30 people in the Cincinnati GIS Users Group, who are using similar technology for their agencies.
Staff has also been asked to speak at an upcoming statewide OGRIP (Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program) meeting and at the ESRI International User Conference in July.
“The way the site is arranged, the new map viewers and store all point to the fact that we’re working on our customer service via the internet,” Brush said. “Getting data and providing service was our goal and I believe we achieved it.”