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Municipal Officials Warm to Franklin County, Pa., GIS

The system allows a person at a computer to look up the location of a property, see the assessed value and get an aerial view of the real estate.

(Tribune News Service) -- Municipal officials are starting to warm to the Franklin County geographic information system less than two weeks after the web-based system was unveiled to the public.

The system allows a person at a computer to look up the location of a property, see the assessed value and get an aerial view of the real estate. Access to the system is free. Most neighboring counties have installed similar systems.

Within 10 years, revenues from the use of GIS and deed recording fees are expected to reimburse the county for its $1.2 million expenditure to create the system.

About 90 employees from police agencies, municipal governments and human service agencies recently attended a training session on how to use the system. Another session is to be scheduled.

The system has simplified notification of neighbors living near a zoning change request, according to Greencastle Borough Manager Susan Armstrong. Previously large maps had to be pulled and the owners of the properties looked up.

Michael Ross, president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp., said the GIS system, coupled with the uniform parcel identifier, is the "most significant investment" that the county has made in advancing the county overall.

FCADC staff was with Burnside Autocyl Ltd. in Ireland and was able to pull up information about real estate in the county. The company elected to open a plant in the Cumberland Valley Business Park.

GIS is helping the county find the best locations for its senior centers based on the concentration of senior citizens, according to Sean Crager, chief of the county's information technology. The Veterans Affairs Department is creating a map, or GIS layer, of cemeteries and veterans' graves that are marked with American flags on holidays.

Crager on Wednesday explained the GIS system to members of the Franklin County Council of Governements. The county GIS office has generated a map of drug and alcohol hot spots, according to Commissioner Robert Thomas.

"It will help police be smarter in how they patrol," Thomas said.

The county's UPI system includes 77,000 real estate parcels and 131,00 buildings. Crager said the system is 98 to 99 percent accurate.

The Public Opinion building, 77 N. Third St., however does not show up as a street address in the system or on UPI listing of addresses on North Third Street. The property's UPI number can be found on the map http://gis.vgsi.com/franklincountypa/Map.aspx, if you know the general location of the building. You then can research the assessment information.

The county and municipalities that have their own GIS are preparing to share data. Southampton Township, the fastest growing municipality in Franklin County, is waiting for the formal agreement and has budgeted for software to make the connection.

"I want to give them our information," Supervisor Samuel Cressler said. "And I hope they reciprocate. We're ready to sign."

Greene Township was waiting to see the county's system so it would not duplicate effort, Supervisor Todd Burns said. Greene has hired a consultant to evaluate the condition of its roads and prepare a maintenance plan. The data and plan will be on GIS.

The county system eventually could include utility lines, such as sewer and water mains and stormwater drainage, but those authorities and municipalities must create and maintain their own data.

Some information will not be available to the public. Rights of way are standardized on the GIS map.

The GIS has limited accuracy and its data is not "survey-grade," according to Craig Eaton, GIS coordinator.

©2015 the Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC