The city-parish Information Services Department is seeking approval from the Metro Council to spend $94,327 to update its Geographic Information System mapping data and include a new “bird’s-eye view” of the buildings in the city-parish, says IS Interim Director Eric Romero
“We update the map with new aerial photography every two years, but what’s different this go round is that we’re getting what’s called oblique photography, which are angled shots from a number of different angles,” Romero explains. “It’s not 3D, but it does allow you to see the building heights in a way the maps don’t provide for now.”
The Metro Council will vote on the funding request at its meeting Wednesday. If approved, the city-parish will hire Pictometry International Corp. to provide the aerial images. Romero says the city-parish has twice received its aerial images for its GIS maps from the firm. PIC would conduct a flyover of the city-parish during a single day in January and the GIS maps would be updated soon after, likely before next spring.
“All agencies in the city-parish will have access to both the regular aerial maps and the oblique maps,” says GIS Manager Warren Kron, adding that the cost of the contract with PIC would be split with the East Baton Rouge Parish Assessor’s Office, which also relies on the data for its work. “It’s really helpful for the public safety departments and responders to be able to see the building heights that this will provide.”
The Information Services Department rebranded and updated its GIS website in July to provide for increased public access to the mapping data. While the public will not be able to access the new oblique aerial shots, Romero says, the updated regular aerial photography will be updated on the site’s maps. Romero says he doesn’t anticipate the council having any objections to the funding request.
“We went through a little demonstration with the council aides and some of the council members when we rebranded the site to make them aware of the benefits of the GIS program,” Romero says. “So this is just one more tool and it’s going to be used by everybody in the city-parish, as well as the public.”
Also at this week’s council meeting, the members will take up a request from Mayor Kip Holden’s office to approve a $95,000 contract with Michigan-based Health Management Associates for a comprehensive study of the parish prison’s medical operations. The council also recently approved a $100,000 contract with Loop Capital Financial Consulting Services to lead an advisory committee in evaluating the current and future needs at the parish prison and present a report to the Metro Council.
The council will also introduce a measure to eliminate a pair of Capital Area Transit System routes serving downtown and adopt other route changes—as unanimously approved by the CATS board last week—and set a public hearing on the matter for its Nov. 10 meeting. And the council will hold a public hearing and vote for a second time on creating a tax increment financing district for the South Carolina-based developers of a proposed Courtyard Marriott at the corner of Third and Florida streets. In July the Metro Council rejected by a 5-4 vote a nearly identical TIF measure.
The council convenes at 4 p.m. on Wednesday on the third floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda.
—Steve Sanoski
