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The City of Hammond wanted to leverage its extensive spatial library, compiled over more than 15 years, and stand-up an interactive WebMap. Being a department of two, with only ArcGIS licenses, no server technology, and a bare bones budget, the challenge seemed daunting.

The project began with a request from the Mayor to publish a precinct map with polling locations. Using only an ArcView license, internet connectivity and free Google technologies, GIS staff were able to design a simple map in a single afternoon. Seeing the potential of this free technology, staff spent a week learning it, and by July launched a fully functional, multi-layered interactive WebMap, dubbed HammondGIS. The map includes over 50 layers and is the only place on Gohammond.com where information from multiple city departments, schools and transit systems is brought together and presented on a single page. Using Fusion tables and the Google Maps API, more functionality was added, including the ability to take measurements, find addresses, create links to customized map views, and incorporate Google Traffic and Google Weather.

After approximately 200 work-hours and absolutely no capital investment, the City of Hammond has an interactive WebMap that rivals those produced commercially. First launched to give the public easy access to information, the site is also being used by City staff to streamline their work. Because it is based on Google Maps, people are comfortable with the interface and find it easy to navigate and access the spatial data. By giving Hammond a more user-friendly and professional way of presenting information, potential residents and businessmen are giving the city a second look and everyone is getting more out of the website.

See more at:
http://www.gohammond.com/web/maps/main/HammondGIS.html
http://www.gohammond.com

Congratulations to this year's Excellence in GIS Award winners! Learn more about these projects at www.igic.org/conference/awards.html

Large Community City of Fort Wayne
Enforcing Stormwater Quality

Small Community City of Crown Point
Recovering Tax Increment Financing Districts Revenues

County Government Lake County
Enterprise GIS

State and Federal Government (Tie)
Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Division of Water: Shoreline Regulation
Indiana Department of Transportation: Damage Billing

Education & Nonprofit Indiana University
Walking Routes Project

Business or Commercial Real Estate Data Exchange of Indiana (REDx)
Housing Activity Data

The 2010 Indiana Spatial Data Portal (ISDP) ArcGIS Server project addressed the challenge of creating, documenting, maintaining, and supporting ArcGIS Server web map services. These services provide the general public access to numerous 1998-2010 raster datasets provided by the ISDP’s Oracle geodatabase. UITS (University Information Technology Services) provides online access to terabytes of imagery via the ISDP, an IndianaMap asset. This project updated ArcIMS services by creating 22 web map services, and an Indiana image basemap cached service of the most recent orthophotography, transferring over 70 million image files from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. IU’s Intelligent Infrastructure hardware environment was selected as it provided substantial cost benefits, enhanced physical security, versatility, and reduced energy usage. These map services support both professional and nontraditional GIS clients through many GIS and web applications.

Read more about this project at www.igic.org/realworld/pubuits.html

Hamilton Southeastern Utilities, Inc. (HSE) wanted to integrate GIS, engineering, survey and inspection services. The goal was to automate the process, allowing for future growth and streamlining data submissions. The Utility created a GIS database of existing maps showing the locations and critical data associated with sewer pipes. Inspectors could then take a pre-populated inspection template into the field. Using pull-down menus to populate fields in the template helps prevent misinterpretation, and eliminates multiple steps of inserting inspection data into the GIS. The database automatically combines multiple survey steps that were previously performed manually, saving time, increasing productivity, and ensuring more accurate data collection.

Read more about this project at www.igic.org/realworld/govhse.html

The Town of Brownsburg lacked a GIS that could be used both internally by Town personnel as well as externally by the public. Existing CAD files, paper maps, and other data sources were converted to be used with existing external data sources. This helped officials better understand the relationships between land, resources, utilities, transportation, zoning, and other infrastructure and cadastral features. Brownsburg joined the towns of Avon and Plainfield in the Hendricks County Beacon(tm) portal, which aids with cost reductions in web hosting, data conversion, and data flow streamlining, while providing a portal for detailed infrastructure views and queries. The portal allows 24/7 access and enables the Town to view future developments, track new projects, and communicate new information to the public.

For the full story, visit www.igic.org/realworld/govbrownsburg.html

Leveraging the existing online interactive GIS map and map gallery, the City of Bloomington added a local address search application that provides residents additional information 24/7. When an address is entered, the portal shows:

• Google Map of the address
• Community profile including government jurisdiction, city council members, economic development and historic districts, and links to neighborhood associations
• Government services, such as trash pickup, recycling days, and parking permit zones
• Closest parks and Historic Preservation Sites
• Nearby road closings and map links to show the locations.

Both an online and smartphone-friendly versions of the portal have been released, and can be accessed at http://bloomington.in.gov/mybloomington

Read more about this project at www.igic.org/realworld/govbton.html

The Hoosier Helper Freeway Service Patrol is a program of the Indiana Department of Transportation. Hoosier Helpers provides assistance during highway accidents by clearing roadways, providing traffic control, and assisting motorists. The benefits of the program were known, but not quantified. Using GIS, a mechanism was developed to evaluate the program's effect on air quality, fuel savings, and traveler delay. The system included details like pollution levels, fuel and speed factors, and historic incidences, enabling users to create current and historical analyses. These analyses defensibly quantify the value of the program, and were used successfully in a bid for more than $1 million in Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for Hoosier Helpers.

To read the full story, visit www.igic.org/realworld/govindothh.html

Historical imagery has proven beneficial in environmental studies, documenting historical sites, tracking vegetation growth, and charting river/runoff trends. The Wayne County Surveyor’s Office and the City of Richmond had historical county maps from 1936 to 1994, with additional photos at the local NRCS office, on the Indiana Historical Aerial Photo Index (IHAPI), and in the Indiana State Archives. Last year, the Wayne County/City of Richmond Interlocal obtained these photos using funds from several local government offices. Hardcopies were scanned, rectified, and cropped, and added to the digital collection. The entire dataset can now be accessed by the public, city and county government officials, and private companies on the Wayne County/City of Richmond GIS website, the IHAPI website, and Indiana Spatial Data Portal.

To read the full story, visit www.igic.org/realworld/govwaynehistoric.html