Adios to the SALSA Forum

We are going to retire the SALSA Forum. I will use this site to continue commentary on Arizona survey issues.

Otherwise, Wendell Harness has an excellent forum that serves surveyors from several different countries. It is THE forum to discuss survey issues.

Finally...

A NEW ERA... "As APLS turns the page and begins a new era; we ask that the membership please be patient as the new systems come on line and the new administrative support becomes active. The Board members are excited for the opportunity to increase the level of service for APLS membership moving forward." Dan Muth, APLS Chairman UPCOMING EVENTS Sept. 30th - Oct. 1stLSIT Review  October 8th  CST Exam October 18th Central Chapter Meeting November 4th Sahuaro Chapter Seminar with Jeff Lucas CONNECT WITH US THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS From the Desk of the Chairman Beginning in January of this year, and in the effort to uphold the fiduciary responsibility to you, our members; the APLS Board of Directors made the decision to evaluate the management andadministration of our association. After 13 years of using a sole source administrative contractor, the APLS Board of Directors chose by a unanimous vote to evaluate the existing contract and scope of services that we use for this service. Upon completion of that evaluation and at the Board of Directors meeting that was held this past May, the APLS Board of Directors directed the Chairman to prepare and distribute a solicitation for administrative support of this organization with a refined scope of services. There were two responses to that solicitation. We received a response from Just in Time Association Management, our current contractor, and a response from Association Management Services. The final evaluation of these proposals took place during the month of August and in a special phoneconference meeting September 12th, the Directors voted 7 to 1 to authorize me to move forward with negotiations with Association Management Services; and form a Transition team. With this choice by the Board of Directors to use Association Management Services (click here for firm information), we wanted to provide you information about what they offer to us and encourage you to get to know them as well. This firm also manages several other land surveying associations. We feel that there are several benefits that come with this decision that go beyond the service we receive now: E-NEWS & QUARTERLY MAGAZINE Serve as editor of E-News Assist magazine editor of quarterly print magazine Manage production of quarterly print magazine Manage advertising SOCIAL MEDIA Develop, manage, and maintain social media sites Promote social media participation from members Develop content for social media Post at least weekly to each social media site CHAPTERS Receive and process dues payments for Chapters Remit payment of dues to Chapters on a quarterly basis Assist Chapters with membership drives Provide Chapters with lists of members and potential members Manage Chapter relations, development, and revitalization Develop and maintain Chapter Handbook Promote Chapter activities by posting on event calendar, including in e-news, magazine Assist Chapters in identifying potential speakers/programs Provide meeting planning advice when requested Request, receive, and compile annual report, leadership roster and financial statements OTHER PROGRAMS Manage Awards & Recognition Programs Manage Outreach Programs: TrigStar, TwiST, Career Days, etc. Surveys - assist in development of surveys when needed. Disseminate surveys and encourage member participation in surveys Research - Provide research services on an as needed basis. As APLS turns the page and begins a new era; we ask that the membership please be patient as the new systems come on line and the new administrative support becomes active. The Board members are excited for the opportunity to increase the level of service for APLS membership moving forward.

ARGGGGHHHH....

NSPS Response to HB 2613

USA response to APLS

Letter to the Governor from APLS

United Surveyors of Arizona Response

HB 2613 A Letter From APLS President Muth

Proposed GIS Minimum Metadata Standards

Proposed GIS Minimum Metadata Standards

Last Edit – 11/20/2015

Introduction

The adoption of standards for assessing and reporting quality indicators of GIS data would provide a tool that could effectively inform and guide data end-users in the proper use of a given dataset and/or its derivative products.

Proposed Minimum Metadata Content

v  - Required

v  Descriptive name/description/abstract: General overview of what the data set encompasses.

v  Purpose of the data and intended uses: What purpose and use was the data created for? (key data quality indicator)

v  Known errors and qualifications: Indicator of usability and constraints. (key data quality indicator)

v  Dates:  Creation, update, maintenance frequency.  Temporal information.

v  Contacts: General and/or maintenance. References for acquiring additional information.

v  Attribute information: Field metadata, for key fields at a minimum. Field metadata includes an explanation of each field’s content, and domain of values if applicable and especially for encoded values.

v  Limitations of use and/or distribution: Augments the intended use with specific use and/or distribution restrictions.

·         Feature type: Geometry type, e.g. point, line, polygon, raster, etc., or combinations thereof.

·         File name:  Name of the digital file(s), as delivered.

·         Projection/coordinate system:  Georeferencing information.

·         Data creation methodologies, processing and oversight: Including equipment used and whether or not an RLS was involved. How was the data created? Once the data was created, was it post-processed in any way that could affect its quality? (key data quality indicator)

·         Completeness:  Geometry AND attribute status in terms of what is missing.

See the following pages for examples.

Example Metadata for Pima County's GIS Parcel Layer

v  Descriptive name/description/abstract:  Pima County GIS parcel boundaries

v  Purpose of the data and intended uses: This GIS layer was created for general reference purposes, along with providing a graphical interface into parcel data that is maintained by the Assessor’s Office.

v  Known errors and qualifications: This layer contains duplicate taxcodes for parcels, e.g. undeveloped subdivisions in which all lots are assigned the same taxcode, until the lots are developed. Further, a relatively small number of other parcels have more than one polygon per parcel resulting in duplicate taxcodes. Subdivision common areas are typical examples. Parcels with duplicate taxcodes in paregion duplicate parcel valuation data. Summing valuations for these duplicated taxcode parcels from paregion will result in inflated totals. Users should normalize their analysis results based on the frequency of duplicate taxcodes.

v  Dates:

o Creation:   01/07/1997

o Maintenance:  Updated  daily

v  Contact(s):  Steve Whitney, steve.whitney@pima.gov, (520) 724-6729.

v  Attribute information:  Field metadata - (key fields)

Field Name	Description	Domain	Values
PARCEL	Parcel tax code	Range	Format: bbbmmppps – bbb = Assessor Book mm = Assessor Map ppp = Assessor Parcel s = Assessor Split
PARCEL_USE	ADOR parcel use code	Enumerated	Refer to the Arizona Department of Revenue’s Property Use Code Manual
TOTALFCV	Assessed total full cash value	Freeform	N/A
MAIL1 through MAIL5 and ZIP9	Owner name and mailing address	Freeform	N/A

o The attribute data for the layer primarily is supplied from the Assessor’s parcel data, along with some GIS overlays for other fields.

v  Limitations of use and/or distribution: This layer should not be used for determining legal boundary locations, surveying, engineering, or uses other than general reference. This layer is not to be distributed for commercial use without the permission of Pima County.

·         Feature type: polygon

·         File name: paregion

·         Projection/coordinate system: NAD83-92 (HARN), State Plane, Arizona Central Zone (FIPS Zone 0202), International Feet.

·         Data creation methodologies, processing and oversight: The majority of the parcel boundaries were tablet digitized from Subdivision Plats and Assessor Record Maps. In 2007 the parcel boundaries in the metropolitan area were rubber sheeted to digital orthophotography. Over time as new subdivision data has been acquired in digital format from development firms, this higher accuracy data has been incorporated into this layer and existing boundaries have been adjusted to this new data. Those involved in the creation of this GIS layer included GIS Managers, Analysts, and Technicians. GIS Technicians currently maintain the data.

·         Completeness: The GIS parcel layer is always incomplete in that there is lag time between the time that parcel data is recorded and the time that it takes to make its way through the recordation and assessment processes then into the GIS layer.  The attribute data is complete, although it may not be totally up-to-date due to lag times the parceling process. The parcel geometry and Assessor’s data is synchronized once a year at the close of the tax roll, producing a one-to-one match between parcel geometry and Assessor attributes.