10
community
august21
2014
Vernonia Geographic Provides Tools
continued from front page
This project is part of a larger project at City
Hall, which consolidated all property files in order
by parcel number rather than street address, using
medical style folders with color coding for zoning and
flood zones. This new system integrates with COVIS
to allow staff to be more efficient when looking for
property information, and when making flood and
other determinations needed for building permits and
other land use actions.
Water Service Connections
The City of Vernonia has recently switched
water billing software. The new software has many
features that will improve reporting on usage, accounts,
and more. “These are features that can be used to the
City’s benefit,” says Fousek. One of the biggest
issues for the City has been the availability of timely
and accurate information when making decisions
about rate increases, as well as long term planning
for system upgrades. “The new system can generate
accurate reports which can provide all kinds of useful
information,” explains Fousek.
The City is using GIS to locate all water
service connections and record important information
such as address and parcel identification. Water service
connections are different from water meters in that they
are the point of sale of water to the customer. Water
meters are simply the metering device at a water service
connection. Water meter information will be stored in a
separate data set and active meters will associate with a
water service connection through a relationship.
With a more robust billing system, which
is integrated with the VGIS, the City will be able to
make better decisions based on facts when adjusting
water rates and long term water system planning. “This
gives the City the ability to adjust rates and be more
This map features the water network in an area of downtown where water service connections and water meters
are currently being verified. Along with accurate locations of water service connections related information is being
collected, which will help the City make better decisions about utility rates and planning future system upgrades,
as well as, provide better asset management.
dynamic,” explains Fousek. Some of the other benefits
include asset management, and institutional memory.
Fousek noted that George Tice and Dale Webb,
both members of the Vernonia Public Works Committee
have been volunteering to help upgrade the City’s
informational data base. Tice and Webb have been
verifying each and every
water connection/meter at
every address in the City.
“We couldn’t have done all
these upgrades without their
help,” said Fousek.
Vernonia Geographic
Website
The City of Vernonia
has updated the www.
vernoniageographic.org
website to be more user
friendly. A new parcel
search and parcel map
make it easy to get parcel
information, including flood
information, and links to
Columbia County Assessor
data and tax maps.
Fousek says citizens
can use the website and
will find it helpful in
many instances. “You can
help city staff help you
by looking up a property,
printing the parcel report,
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and bringing it with you to City Hall when getting a
building/electrical permit or inquiring about land use
development, starting a business, or any other business
you have with the City,” says Fousek. “This is a simple
way to help make things easier.”
Fousek has done much of the work on www.
vernoniageographic.org as a labor of love, and has
spent many of his own hours making the system better
and more user friendly. He says he believes providing
information to the public is one of the most important
functions of the VGIS. “I’m trying to make data
available and give people access to the information
they might need,” says Fousek.
Vernonia Geographic Meetup
On August 28, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the VCLC
Fousek will host a Vernonia Geographic Meet-up for
anyone who wants to learn more about GIS, and how
to use the new Vernonia Geographic website. Bring
your laptop or tablet for hands-on experience and
training. At the Meet-up you will:
• Learn what is a Geographic Information System
(GIS)
• Take a quick look at City GIS projects
• Learn how to use vernoniageographic.org to find
property information
• Ask question and get answers
Ben Fousek and Vernonia Geographic
Informations Systems have helped upgrade the City of
Vernonia’s information systems. These upgrades have
made the City and staff better informed, more efficient,
and given them some tools allowing them to help the
public and answer questions quickly and accurately.
