In the News...

From the Ottawa Advance, Tuesday, November 26, 2002.

Hudsonville planner finding REGIS even better than anticipated

by Cathy Runyon

Hudsonville city commissioners recently got a close look at the city's new Regional Geographic Information System (REGIS). REGIS director Brian Berdanier joined the city's planning director, Dan Strikwerda, in a demonstration of how the vast network of municipal data can be put to use. The city has had the system for about six weeks, and Strikwerda said using it has revealed even more benefits than anticipated. REGIS is a computer database compiled under the direction of the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC). Begun in 1989 by a Kent County steering committee, the process slowed for a couple of years when the first director died, and when funding dried up. In 1997, the committee reconvened and an existing study was updated in 1998. REGIS was formed under the auspices of the GVMC, and launched a pilot project. Ottawa County eventually developed its own system, which also became available during the past year.

REGIS consists of documents and data on geographic features and public works systems from cities and townships in the GVMC area. Municipalities that purchase the service can quickly view and print their own data, layer by layer, and also access information from other municipalities. Berdanier said it is not necessary to be a member of the GVMC to participate.

"It's going to be useful for staff about zoning or utilities, or floodplain," said Strikwerda. Information previously acquired through a visit to the assessor's office or the Department of Public Works is now available through REGIS. "Now a lot more of that is accessible from one spot."

Strikwerda said the system has yielded unexpected benefits such as finding a variance or special-use granted years ago, information not found on documents in current use.

"The city did the scrubbing' of documents, noting everything that was to be put into the system," said Strikwerda. "Hudsonville has access to information from all other member municipalities, about 20 members. If we wanted to look at downtown GR, we could do that."

Quick access to details about other communities is the heart of REGIS, Berdanier said.

"A number of things going on are bigger than just the local community," Berdanier said. Regional issues like land-use planning and transportation affect each municipality's decisions.

Strikwerda gave as example an application by a developer to build a factory in Hudsonville. Looking at the regional planning situation would give a better picture of available roads, public utilities, possible conflicts with residential areas even the available work force when determining the best location.

REGIS makes it easier for Public Works employees to locate utilities, and see smaller or older pipes and determine the material of which they are made. Police and fire can use it to learn whether a site has hazardous materials.

Hudsonville, which has been a member of the GVMC since its inception, was among those units of government that paid into a fund to develop the system. The city's base cost for hardware and software is about $76,000. It will pay about $10,000 per year to use the system.

Berdanier said updating can be done in two ways, through sending physical documents to the REGIS center to be entered, or through on-line editing.

Strikwerda said the investment also includes free training in how to make the most of the available data, and access to a help desk.

"When I'm having a problem, they ask if they can shadow me," said Strikwerda. "They can see my screen from Grand Rapids, and guide me along with the problem."

"This is not intended to make money for them," said Berdanier. While some costs can be recovered through sale of documents, "the main point is to work smarter. It's really a massive container of disparate information, which now has one point of access."