News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cumberland County utility planners and EMS personnel will have an updated GIS map of the county and city.
The Crossville GIS Department will use aerial photography to update the county’s GIS system. GIS Analyst Kevin Dean said its been five years since the last update.
“At the end of it’s cycle you really start noticing the inaccuracies,” Dean said. “It could be anything from a new shopping center that’s gone in, or a new business, or even a new neighborhood. If you pull up our GIS systems and look at it, you’re looking at water lines and sewer lines for example, it looks like they’re running through the middle of the forest. It’s actually a subdivision that’s already got 60 to 75 percent build out on.”
Dean said the GIS Department has partnered with the 911 office to produce update maps since 2010. He said this is the first time the department is paying the cost difference to have higher quality air photography done. The city will pay $50,000 out of the budgeted $130,000 project.
“They used a little bit different product than we did at the time,” Dean said. “It was a little less accurate, it was plenty good enough for 911, and it would give within 10 to 12 feet of accuracy. We wanted something a little tighter.”
Due to excessive rainfall in March, the project has been postponed until Fall. Dean said there cannot be too much standing water or foliage in the way.
“With the rapid changing environment we have in Cumberland County, which is a pretty decently fast growth rate, it really assists and benefits us when doing any kind of planning projects, or just looking in our GIS system,” Dean said. “It’s better to just have something more accurate to the real world instead of looking at something five to ten years old.”
