San Luis Obispo User Group Meeting Report 9/8/11
San Luis Obispo GIS User Group Report
The SLO GIS User Group met on Thursday September 9, 2011 at the downtown library. Andy Richardson hosted the meeting and it was well attended with lively conversation. There was an excellent presentation on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airports-GIS Program by Matt Cunningham of Volbrecht Surveys. He discussed the nationwide FAA mapping efforts and their support of better and more efficient airport operations. Discussion after the presentation revolved around the quality of data, data standards, airport priority mapping and survey issues that may affect the progress and cost of the project.
After the first presentation, Bud Rice (Central Cal URISA Chapter President) discussed URISA, chapter membership, the upcoming Map Design and Cartography class and how people can get involved. Following those remarks, members of the user group discussed what they learned and the trends observed at the ESRI International User Conference in San Diego in July. Discussion of upcoming ArcGIS 10.1 changes, beta issues and ArcGIS.com cloud based tools sparked an energetic exchange and highlighted the reason that these get-togethers are so valuable.
The discussion then moved into the possibility of forming a regional GIS council in the San Luis Obispo area. Andy led the discussion of the need for a mechanism for acquisition of imagery, possible collaboration with CIRGIS (Channel Islands Regional GIS) or CCJDC (Central Coast Joint Data Committee), and what role a Regional GIS Council could play. Discussion also moved to the purpose of a council in meeting other needs and supporting local user data sharing and informal user groups. More discussion was scheduled and time for input from members of the SLO GIS User Group was allocated.
All in all, it was a beautiful day in San Luis Obispo and a demonstration of the benefit and power of communication and collaboration among GIS practitioners.
