gis background and implementation plan

THE CORPORATION OF THE

TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE

GIS Background and Implementation Plan

Approved by Council on October 6, 2010

Motion 10-TC-114

The Corporation of the Town of Bracebridge


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 What is GIS 3

2.1 GIS Mapping 3 2.2 GIS Data/Attributes 3 2.3 Other GIS Database Components 4

3.0 History of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge 6

3.1 Start of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge 6 3.2 Introduction of Computerized GIS in the Town of 7

Bracebridge 3.2.1 Software and Data 7 3.2.2 Staffing 8

3.3 Development of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge 8 3.3.1 Software 8 3.3.2 Staffing 9 3.3.3 Staffing Compared to Other Muskoka 10

Municipalities

4.0 Current GIS Inventory 10 4.1 Data 10

4.1.1 Administrative Data 11 4.1.2 Raster Data 12 4.1.3 Natural Feature Data 13 4.1.4 Infrastructure Data 14 4.1.5 Points of Interest Data 15 4.1.6 Property Fabric 15

4.2 Hardware 16 4.1.1 Desktop Units and Servers 16 4.1.2 Plotters and Scanners 16

5.0 Data Sharing 17 5.1 Existing Data Sharing Agreements 17

5.1.1 District of Muskoka 17 5.1.2 Lakeland Power Distribution Limited 17 5.1.3 Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange 18 5.1.4 Archaeological Data Agreement 18

5.2 Proposed Data Sharing Agreements 19



6.0 Current Benefits of GIS 19 6.1 Development Services Department 19

6.1.1 Projects 19 6.1.2 Daily Tasks 25

6.2 Public Works Department 26 6.3 Administration and Finance Department 26 6.4 Economic Development Department 28 6.5 Fire Department 28 6.6 Culture and Recreational Department 31 6.7 Library 31 6.8 Other Government Agencies 31 6.8.1 District of Muskoka 32 6.8.2 Lakeland Power Distribution Limited 32 6.8.3 Neighbouring Municipalities 32 6.9 Public 32

7.0 Future Benefits of GIS 33

7.1 Development Services Department 33 7.2 Public Works Department 34 7.3 Administration and Finance Department 35

7.3.1 Clerk’s Branch 36 7.3.2 Finance and Taxation Branch 37 7.3.3 By-law Enforcement Branch 37

7.4 Economic Development Department 37 7.5 Fire Department 38 7.6 Culture and Recreational Department 39 7.7 Library 39 7.8 Other Government Agencies 39 7.9 Public 39

8.0 Recommendations, Implementation and Timing 40

8.1 Software 40 8.1.1 MapInfo and ESRI 40 8.1.2 Municipal Software 41 8.1.3 Web Mapping Software 41

8.2 Hardware 42 8.3 Administrative 42 8.4 Staffing 43 8.5 Budget 43 8.6 Timing 44

9.0 Summary 44



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1.0 INTRODUCTION The Town of Bracebridge is a lower tier municipality within the District Municipality of Muskoka. Bracebridge, branded as “The Heart of Muskoka” is strategically situated in the centre of Muskoka and is the headquarters for the District Government. The Town of Bracebridge has a permanent population over 16,000 and a seasonal population of over 7,000 residences. The Town of Bracebridge contains an urban centre, which is bordered by Provincial Highway #11 to the east. Provincial Highway #118, Muskoka Road #118 West and Muskoka Road #117 also travel through the Town of Bracebridge. In addition to the Bracebridge Urban Centre, the Town also contains a large rural area with the total area of the limits of the Town of Bracebridge exceeding 67,000 hectares (Figure 1.0). Bracebridge boast over fourteen kilometers of main land frontage on Lake Muskoka and contains the two largest water access only islands, being Eilean Gowan Island and Browning Island, on the lake. Over sixty kilometers of the Muskoka River is also located in the Town of Bracebridge and dozens of lakes are located north, east and south of the urban centre providing Bracebridge with strong waterfront assets. The Town of Bracebridge is a diverse economic base with strong Industrial, Institutional and Commercial sectors. The Town has experienced a number of large projects that have benefited the community over the past few years including the construction of a new Sportsplex and Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, the relocation of expansion of Nipissing University and Georgian College campus, the expansion of the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, and the construction of Peake Fields at Verena Acres baseball complex. The Town has also experienced higher than average Residential growth over the past decade. There are a number of multiple residential developments that have occurred within the Town and three large single detached dwelling residential subdivisions are currently being constructed. Given all the geographic, economic and social assets that Bracebridge has to offer and the growth within the Town, it is important to ensure that the Corporation of the Town of Bracebridge is able to continue to provide the services necessary to support these assets. One of the tools that the Corporation of the Town of Bracebridge can use to keep up with the challenges of a strong growing community, is the development of a comprehensive Geographic Information System.



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Figure 1.0 Limits of the Town of Bracebridge



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2.0 WHAT IS GIS A Geographic Information System, known hence forth in this document as GIS, is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages and presents data that are linked to location. GIS in non-computerized form has been around for centuries in the form of paper maps and written documents. GIS, in a computerized form, is a relatively new technology that has only been around for a few decades. As a municipal resource tool, GIS has been widely use in most municipalities for less than a decade, with a number of municipalities within the Province of Ontario barely touching on the surface of the technology. The essence of GIS is the ability to quickly analyze data that is linked to a geographic reference. This analysis of data can provide results in many forms such as reports, data tables, graphs or charts with the most common and widely used function being the ability to produce maps based on this data. 2.1 GIS Mapping Mapping is the key, and typically starting component, of any GIS database. In today’s municipal settings, these maps would be created, viewed and manipulated on GIS applications such as MapInfo, ArcView, or AutoCAD Map. For a municipal GIS database, the mapping includes features, know as layers, such as property, road, natural features and infrastructure locations. Using a GIS application these layers could be combined in numerous ways, to view the spatial relationship between each feature on a layer. The end result would typically be a hardcopy or a digital map, called a “Workspace”, showing a number of these layers, with certain aspects of some layers being the forefront of the map. For an example, a municipal road map may show roads, waterbodies, watercourses, landmarks and property boundaries with the road names and landmarks labeled on the map (Figure 2.0). 2.2 GIS Data/Attributes Once spatial data has been established in a GIS application, data can then be added to the individual objects within a layer. The data attached to any individual object on a map is known as an “Attribute”. Attributes are the backbone of a GIS database. The better the quantity and quality of the attributes in a GIS database, the more useful that database will be to an organization (Figure 2.0).



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For an example, a road layer on the map could have attributes such as road name, municipal address range, surface and type of road. These attributes allow the user of the GIS database to quickly locate or sort objects based on this data. In a more complex database, attributes could be used to gather information for reports and make corporate decisions. Using the example of a road feature, if there were attributes associated with each road that stated the length of road and plow runs by year, it could quickly be determined which areas used more municipal road maintenance resources or how much sand or salt may be needed for an upcoming season. 2.3 Other GIS Database Components Although spatial data and attributes may be the core components of a GIS database, there are other components that can be intergraded to enhance a GIS database. One component is the use of aerial photography within a GIS database. Aerial photography gives a GIS user an accurate depiction of items “on the ground.” Aerial photography is a very effective tool for presentation purposes and for verifying the accuracy of data. Another component of a GIS database that is becoming more widely use is web mapping. Web mapping allows GIS users to access information from any internet connection. The type and amount of information can be regulated using login and permission functions. An additional GIS component is the ability to attach digital documents to a GIS database. Using a GIS program, a user could select an object on a map and see a link for each digital file associated with that object. As an example, if a user were to select an individual property, that property may have a link to photographs from a site visit, original building permit applications, copies of a site plan agreement, letters of correspondences, plans, etc.



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Figure 2.0 Sample of a GIS layout

Workspace

Layers

Attributes



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3.0 HISTORY OF GIS IN THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE In the Town of Bracebridge, as in most municipalities, the use of GIS has greatly expanded over the past decade. GIS in the Town of Bracebridge has developed from using hardcopy maps, a little more than a decade ago to being able to use a fully computerized mapping system with a number of data sources available almost instantaneously. 3.1 Start of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge Prior to late 1990s, the Town of Bracebridge relied heavily on hardcopy assessment maps, old subdivision plans and zoning maps that originated in the early 1970s. Use of these paper maps was very time consuming and not an exact science. As an example, if a member of the public were interested in obtaining the zoning for a parcel of property, a staff member would have to obtain the assessment ward map and determine, which area specific map within that ward the property was located. Once the staff member determined where the property was specifically located using the area specific assessment map, the staff member would then cross-reference that location with the zoning map for that ward. This was not always an easy task, as the zoning maps contained no property boundaries and the staff member had to rely on natural references such as lakes or rivers, road boundaries, or proximity to lot and concession boundaries. These were good case scenarios if the member of the public knew the location of the property. If the member of the public only knew a general area of the property, the staff member would then use a process of elimination, using an approximate lot area and lot frontage. Another example of how difficult it was to use paper maps and plans is the requirement to circulate planning applications to neighbouring property owners. Prior to the late 1990s, when a staff member had to prepare a map indicating the properties located within 400 feet of a property to circulate a rezoning notice of public meeting, they were required to use intricate “hands-on” scaling of assessment maps. The staff member would again locate the general location of the subject lands of the rezoning on the ward map and then determine which area specific map contained the subject lands.



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Once the subject lands were located, the staff member would make a photocopy of the section of the assessment map showing the subject lands. Using the scale of the assessment map and a scale ruler, the staff member would have to check all the properties in the surrounding area of the subject lands to determine if the properties were located within 400 feet of the subject lands. This task was made much more difficult if the subject lands were located on the edge of area specific map or the boundary of a ward. If this was the case, a reference point was needed to tie two or more maps together, especially if there were at different scales. Once all the roll numbers were determined from the assessment maps, the staff member would gather the owner name and address for each property from the assessment books in the tax department. Later on, when the Development Services Department received access to the Town’s Vailtech Tax System, this process became easier as the roll number could be individually entered into the Vailtech Tax System to determine the owner name and address for each property. 3.2 Introduction of Computerized GIS in the Town of Bracebridge 3.2.1 Software and Data In the late 1990s, the Town of Bracebridge purchased licenses for MapInfo Professional version 4.6. In addition to the MapInfo application, the Town of Bracebridge hired a consultant in conjunction with other area municipalities to digitize assessment maps and tie them to the digitized Ontario Base Maps.. The property fabric layer contained much of the same information that could be obtained in the Vailtech Tax System such as owner names and address, street address, legal description, lot area and lot frontage, however the Vailtech information was not directly associated with spatial data. The use of the property fabric layer improved the accuracy and reduce the time spent on tasks such as property inquiries and preparation of circulation maps from the prior examples. The Town of Bracebridge also received layers that had been developed from the Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario Base Maps (OBMs) from 1986. These layers included drainage (all water features), culture (buildings, pits, bridges, etc.), contours, and transportation. These layers were a good starting point for the Town, however not many attributes were associated with these layers from a municipal aspect.



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3.2.2 Staffing In 1999, the Town of Bracebridge began the process of consolidating and updating their two Comprehensive Zoning By-laws 71-9 and 73-60. This large project had two components, the consolidation and updating of the text and the creation of new zoning schedules. The Town of Bracebridge hired the firm the Planning Partnership, later known as Meridian Planning, as a consultant on the creation of a New Comprehensive Zoning By-law. In discussions between the Planning Partnership and the Town, it was determined that the most beneficial route for the Town to take would be to prepare the new zoning schedules “in house.” In late 1999, the Town of Bracebridge contracted the services of a Planning Technician for a six-month period, who among other duties and responsibilities was to prepare the new zoning schedules. After two contract extensions, the Town determined that a Planning Technician was needed on a full time basis that would be responsible for the maintenance of the Town of Bracebridge GIS database. 3.3 Development of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge 3.3.1 Software In the year 2000, the Town of Bracebridge purchased licenses for MapInfo 6.0 to ensure that the Town had the lastest software for the new Comprehensive Zoning By-law. In 2001, the Town of Bracebridge purchased three licenses for an ESRI product called ArcView GIS 3.2. The purpose of the conversion from MapInfo to ESRI was to ensure compliance with District of Muskoka Mapping, as the District was making the conversion to ESRI at the time and could not ensure accuracy of shared information for MapInfo products. The Town of Bracebridge was able to use both ArcView 3.2 and MapInfo 6.0 for the upkeep of the GIS database, as each program had benefits and drawbacks. Also in 2001, the Town of Bracebridge, in conjunction with the Town of Huntsville’s Geomatics Department developed a GIS database program that was Microsoft Access based named “Town of Bracebridge Municipal Geographical Information System” (Town MGIS). This program allowed the Development Services Department the ability to input and track data on buildings permits and planning applications based on individual properties.



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Shortly after purchasing ArcView 3.2, the Development Services Department was able to obtain versions of ArcExplorer. ArcExplorer was a free software that allowed the user who did not have ArcView software to view and print out previously prepared workspaces. The workspace that was used by the Development Services Department, and certain members of the Public Works Department and Administrative and Finance Department showed property fabric, road networks, water bodies and watercourses. In 2007, ArcExplorer was no longer available and the District of Muskoka had indicated that they would be using MapInfo products more prevelantly. At this time the Town of Bracebridge purchase licenses for MapInfo 8.2, which is the current software used by the Town of Bracebridge for GIS maintenance along with the Town MGIS program. To solve the issue of being able to provide a range of staff the ability to view and print previously prepared workspaces, the Town has been using MapInfo ProViewer 8.5. This program has all the same functions as ArcExplorer and performs better on a network platform. The District of Muskoka has recently purchased new licenses for both MapInfo and ESRI products and their Geomatics Departments has stated that it will continue to support and use both platforms. 3.3.2 Staff Support Since the late 1990s the maintenance and updating of the Town of Bracebridge GIS database has been the responsibility of the Development Services Department. Currently there are two Development Services Department staff members that deal with the responsibility of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge. Historically, Kim Horrigan, Director of Development Services has dealt with the administrative responsibilities of the GIS in the Town of Bracebridge. These responsibilities include preparing and review data sharing agreements with other government agencies as well as meeting with other Town Departments and government agencies to discuss GIS needs. Since 1999, Matt Holmes, now Planner III, has been responsible for maintaining and updating the GIS database and preparing mapping for Town business. Currently ten staff in the Development Services Department, five staff in the Public Works Department and two staff in the Administration and Finance Department are able to prepare mapping for planning application circulation, staff reports and other matters.



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3.3.3 Staffing Compared to Other Muskoka Municipalities The District of Muskoka is comprised of seven municipalities. There is one upper tier municipality being the District of Muskoka and six lower tier municipalities being the Towns of Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville and the Townships of Georgian Bay, Lake of Bays and Muskoka Lakes. The District of Muskoka has Manager of Geomatics and two technical staff whose primary responsibilities are GIS and 911 emergency numbering. Of the six lower tier municipalities, only the Town of Huntsville has a full time dedicated GIS staff member, with the Town of Gravenhurst relying partly on Town staff, partly on consultants and partly on the District of Muskoka for updates. The three townships primarily rely on the District of Muskoka for GIS data. 4.0 CURRENT GIS INVENTORY 4.1 Data Since the inception of computerized GIS at the Town of Bracebridge, the Development Services Department has been able to create a number of layers that have benefited not only the Town but other government agencies. All current GIS data has been categorized into five categories being Administrative Data, Raster Data, Natural Feature Data, Infrastructure Data, and Points of Interest Data. The following definitions will be applicable for the purposed of this section: Point – a dot or symbol that indicates the location or centre of the location of an object Polygon – an object with three or more sides, which is enclosed, that represents the area occupied by a single object Polyline – a single line or a series of joined single lines that are unenclosed that represent one object Raster – a series of individual lines, composed of individual pixels or dots to form an image



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4.1.1 Administrative Data Administrative Data are layers that have boundaries that are not defined by physical features such as land uses or property boundaries. The following table is a list of the current Administrative Data layers (see table 1): Table 1: Administrative Data Layers

Name of Layer Description Type

Parcel Fabric Property Boundaries Polygon

Official Plan Designations

Designations from Approved 2005 Official Plan

Polygon

Proposed Official Plan Designations

Draft Official Plan Designations from 2010 Official Plan Review

Polygon

Urban and Near Urban Areas

Boundaries from Approved 2005 Official Plan

Polyline

Full Urban Services

Area where development is except on municipal water and sewer from the Official Plan

Polygon

Water Service Area

Area where development is except on municipal water and private septic from the Official Plan

Polygon

Zoning Zoning Boundaries from Comprehensive Zoning By-law 2006-120, as amended

Polyline

Past Zoning Zoning Boundaries from Comprehensive Zoning By-laws 71-9 and 73-60, as amended

Polyline

Municipal Boundary

Limits of the Town of Bracebridge Polyline

Wards Ward Boundaries Polyline

Lot and Concessions

Town of Bracebridge Lot and Concession boundaries

Polyline

Business Improvement Area

Limits of the Business Improvement Area as determined by the Town of Bracebridge

Polyline

Public Lands Property Boundaries of Town, District, Provincial and Federal Lands

Polygon

Built Up Area Limit of densely developed area Polygon



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4.1.2 Raster Data Raster Data are image files such as aerial photography, scanned documents, digital photographs and digital video. The following table is a list of the current Raster Data (see table 2): Table 2: Raster Data


Aerial Photography – 10 cm resolution

Aerial Photography of the Urban Area at a resolution of 10 cm

Raster

Aerial Photography – 30 cm resolution

Aerial Photography of the Town of Bracebridge at a resolution of 30 cm

Raster


Greenfield Area Limit of underdeveloped area in the Urban Area

Polygon

Airport Approach Zones

Limited height and development area to protect Muskoka Airport Approaches

Polygon

Fire Agreement Zones

Limits of Fire Zones from Agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Town of Gravenhurst

Polygon

Firearms Discharge Area

Limits of areas where firearms can be discharged as determined by the Town of Bracebridge

Polygon

Plans of Subdivision

Location and Name of Plan of Subdivsions

Point

Condominiums Location of condominiums Point

Assessment Codes

Properties categorized by assessment code

Polygon

Vacant Lands Vacant lands categorized by Official Plan designations

Polygon



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4.1.3 Natural Features Data Natural Features Data are layers that represent environmental features or characteristics. The following table is a list of the current Natural Features Data layers (see table 3): Table 3: Natural Features Data Layers


Water Bodies Lakes and navigable rivers Polygon

Watercourses Seasonal and year round streams, creeks, and non-navigable rivers

Polyline

Wetlands As identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources

Polygon

Provincially Significant Wetlands

As identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources

Polygon

Cold Water Lakes As identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources

Polygon

Narrow Water Bodies and Bays

Minimum shoreline to shoreline distance as identified in the District of Muskoka Official Plan

Polygon

Natural Heritage Areas

As identified by the District of Muskoka Official Plan

Polygon

Flood Plain Limits of floodway and flood fringe on the Muskoka River

Polygon

Conservation Reserves


Polygon

Deer Wintering Areas


Polygon

Scenic Corridor Proposed protect corridors along main routes into the Urban Centre in the draft 2010 Official Plan

Polygon

Aggregate Mineral Resources

Location of Primary and Secondary Aggregate deposits as identified by Ministry of Natural Resources

Polygon

Licenses Aggregate Operations

Aggregate Operations licensed under the Aggregate Resources Act

Point

Abandoned Pits Abandoned Aggregate Pits Point

Contours Elevation of land Polyline



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4.1.4 Infrastructure Data Infrastructure Data are layers that are related to transportation and servicing. The following table is a list of the current Infrastructure Data layers (see table 4): Table 4: Infrastructure Data Layers


Roads Road network identified by maintenance type

Polyline

Municipal Addresses

Range of Muncipal Address based on road network intersections

Point

Hydro Lines Location of main hydro corridors Polyline

Water Services Location of municipal water lines main holes, valves and hydrants

Polyline and Point

Sewer Services Location of municipal water lines main holes, and valves

Polyline and Point

TransCanada Pipeline

Location of TransCanada Pipeline main line

Polyline

Recreational Trails

Location of municipal recreational trails

Polyline

Snowmobile Trail Location of main snowmobile trails Polyline

Sidewalks Location of municipal sidewalks Polyline

Proposed Trail Linkages

Proposed trail linkages as identified in the Recreational Trails Plan

Polyline

Parking Meters Limits of parking metres on downtown streets

Polygon

Parking Lots Municipal parking lots in the Urban Area

Point

Street Lights As identified by Lakeland Power Distribution Limited

Point

Railroad Location of Canadian National Rail line

Polyline



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4.1.5 Points of Interest Data Points of Interest Data are layers that are related to a spatial feature and are tourism, commerce, recreational or municipal service in nature. The following table is a list of the current Points of Interest Data layers (see table 5): Table 5: Points of Interest Data Layers


Community Facilities

Location of Municipal Town Office, Arena, Library, Sportsplex and Fire Halls

Point

Schools Location of all public and private schools

Point

Cemeteries Location of all municipal and private cemeteries

Point

Provincial Parks Limits of Provincial Parks Polygon

Parks Limits of Municipal Parks Polygon

Golf Courses Limits of all golf courses Polygon

Hospital Location of South Muskoka Memorial Hospital

Point

4.1.6 Property Fabric Layer As mentioned in Section 3.2.1 of this document, the property fabric layer is the most heavily used layer. Since 2006, the Town of Bracebridge has updated the property fabric covering the Town of Bracebridge. Updating the property fabric consists of the following:

All completed severances since last update, which includes altering lot area, lot frontage and legal description of retained lands

Any road closings including shore road closing

All registered plans of subdivisions

Updating owner names and addresses

Ensuring street address and legal description are the most current

The District of Muskoka does provide the Town with information three or four times a year from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). However, a number of import data items are not included and the projection of the data does not always line up with existing mapping.



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4.2 Hardware 4.2.1 Desktop Units and Servers Currently the Town of Bracebridge has four (4) MapInfo licenses that run on four Dell desktop units. The majority of maintenance, development and updating is performed on the Planner III destktop unit, which has a 2.20 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 1.95 GB of RAM. The second licenses is located on the Planning Technician desktop unit, which also has a 2.20 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor but with 980 MB of RAM. The third license is located on the computer used by the Director of Development Services, which also has a 3.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor but with 990 MB of RAM. The fourth license is located on the computer used by the Municipal Engineer, which has a 2.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor but with 1.00 GB of RAM. All four desktop units run Windows XP Professional. All data and projects for the Town of Bracebridge GIS system are located on the Town server referred to as Bra5. The Bra5 server contains all the electronic documents for the Development Services Department, Administrative and Finance Department, Economic Development Department and the Public Works Department. The Bra5 server also contains all electronic documents pertaining to Management Team, Health and Safety, Council and all other Town Committees. 4.2.2 Plotters and Scanners The Development Services Department has a Hewlett Packard DesignJet 450 C plotter that was purchased in 2000. This plotter has the capacity to provide both colour and monochrome prints at a maximum width of 36 inches. The DesignJet 450 C has a maximum monochrome resolution of 600 dpi and a maximum colour resolution of 300 dpi. A typical architectural size E (36”x48”) print would take 30 minutes to an hour to produce with a dry time of 1.5 to 4 minutes. In 2009, the Development Services Department purchased a Canon Image PROGRAF 710 (iPF710) plotter. As with the DesignJet 450 C, the Canon iPF710 plotter has the capacity to provide both colour and monochrome prints at a maximum width of 36 inches. The Canon iPF710 however has a maximum resolution of 1200 dpi for colour and monochrome prints. As well a typical architectural size E print can be produce on the Canon iPF710 in less than two minutes.



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In addition to the Canon iPF710, the Development Services Department purchased a Contex SD4450 scanner. The Contex SD4450 has the ability to scan documents in both colour and monochrome, up to a maximum width of 44 inches. With the scanner came an Acer desktop unit with a 3.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3.0 GB of RAM that runs Windows Vista. The Acer desktop unit is run using a touch screen Firebox monitor. Using the JETimage Touch Screen software on the Acer desktop unit, the Contex SD4450 scanner and the Canon iPF710 plotter, a user has the ability with a just few screen touches to copy a document at normal size to enlarge or decrease the document by either scale or output paper size. Using this feature the user may also collate documents or make multiple prints. A user also has the ability to scan a document to be used in digital form or print an existing digital file. 5.0 DATA SHARING The Town of Bracebridge is currently entered into four data sharing agreements and the Town is currently exploring one additional data sharing agreement opportunity. Although useful information has been obtained through existing data sharing agreements, historically the Town of Bracebridge has provided more information than has been received. 5.1 Existing Data Sharing Agreements The Town of Bracebridge is currently entered into data sharing agreements with the District of Muskoka and Lakeland Power Distribution Limited. The Town of Bracebridge has also entered into the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange. 5.1.1 District of Muskoka The data sharing agreement with the District of Muskoka includes the District and the six lower tier municipalities. The main premise of the District of Muskoka data sharing agreement is that all municipalities will promote the sharing of digital municipal data, especially the sharing of data that is necessary for municipal business. It is required that each municipality distribute updated digital data as it becomes available and that all municipalities will notify the original creator of the data for any errors or emissions and will not modify original data layers. 5.1.2 Lakeland Power Distribution Limited Thus far with Lakeland Power Distribution Limited the Town has provided Lakeland Power with property fabric along with current updates. From Lakeland Power, the Town has received digitized street light locations.



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5.1.3 Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange In May of 2010, the Town of Bracebridge entered into the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange (ODGE). The ODGE agreement is an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources that permits a number of agencies and government departments the ability to access digital Ministry of Natural Resources data. The groups able to enter into the ODGE agreement are Ministries of the Ontario Government, Federal Agencies and Departments, Regional and Local Municipalities, Conservation Authorities, School Boards, Post Secondary Educational Institutions, First Nations and Aboriginal communities, Ministries of provinces outside Ontario, and Agencies and Departments of the Government of the United States. The ODGE agreement originally had a cost for a municipality with an annual operating budget of $100 million or less, of $1,000 per year, however this cost has since been waived. The ODGE agreement allows a party to the agreement to use and make copies of the geospatial data for internal of non-commercial end-use only. The agreement allows for access to over 750 datasets, however some data sets are restricted and a number of datasets would not be beneficial or located within the Town of Bracebridge. Some datasets that are beneficial to the Town include the following:

Contours

Den Sites

Breeding Areas

Fish Spawning Areas

Fire Management Zones

Wetlands

Drainage

Pits & Quarries

Trails

Utility Lines

5.1.4 Archaeological Data Agreement In September of 2010, the Town of Bracebridge entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to obtain data on archaeological sites within the Town of Bracebridge. The archaeological data with be used for background on the Official Plan review for the Town of Bracebridge and the processing of planning applications. As part of the agreement Town staff that can access the archaeological data will be required to go through data sensitivity training.



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5.2 Proposed Data Sharing Agreements The Town is exploring entering into is the Ontario Parcel Master Agreement, known as the OPMA. The OPMA is an agreement the Town of Bracebridge could enter into with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). This agreement would allow the Town to obtain Ontario Parcel data for lands located in the Town of Bracebridge. Under the OPMA, the municipality would be required to pay an annual fee to receive data and updates of that data. Additionally the Town not be permitted to update the Town of Bracebridge’s own property data using the Ontario Parcel data. The OPMA does permit the sub-licensing of data, provided it has been approved by MPAC in support of municipal business practices. 6.0 CURRENT GIS BENEFITS In the past decade the Town of Bracebridge has evolved to use GIS in every department, however the use of GIS varies greatly from department to department. 6.1 Development Services Department The Development Services Department is the manager and primary users of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge. The Development Services Department uses GIS in many aspects of the Department’s business such as aiding in completing daily task like public inquires to completely large projects like the Town of Bracebridge Comprehensive Zoning By-law. 6.1.1 Projects The Development Services Department has used GIS extensively in the past to complete a variety of important projects. Some of the projects completed for the Development Services Department include the Comprehensive Zoning By-law, Housekeeping By-law, and Official Plan five-year review. Comprehensive Zoning By-law The most complex and largest project from a GIS standpoint was the consolidation and update of the Town of Bracebridge’s Comprehensive Zoning By-law that was completed in 2006. The final product included producing twelve (12) large schedules and a schedule book with fifty (50) ledger size maps (Figure 3.0).



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Figure 3.0 A Schedule from Zoning By-law 2006-120 Zoning Schedule Book



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Numerous other maps were created and data analysis provided for background purposes as part of the process, such as:

Cross referencing Official Plan schedules to ensure compliance with Official Plan

Importing Natural Heritage Areas to comply with the District Official Plan

Identifying all parks, schools, and cemeteries

Locating all non-residential uses within residential areas

Determining lot sizes in the rural areas of Monck Ward to determine whether a Rural (RU) or Rural Residential (RR) Zone is appropriate

Official Plan Five-Year Reviews In 2005, the Town of Bracebridge completed the five-year review of the Town of Bracebridge Official Plan. As with the Comprehensive Zoning By-law, the schedules for the Official Plan were previously not digitized. The first step was to digitize all the existing schedules creating different layers for designations, Urban and Near Urban boundaries, road hierarchy, serviced areas and schedule labels. Once digitized data was complete, a number of maps were created and data analysis conducted for background purposes. These included such items as:

Vacant Commercial, Industrial and Residential lands

Open Space and Recreational Trails

Public and Private Land Ownership

Identify utility lands such as Hydro One, Lakeland Power and TransCanada Pipelines

Cross referencing assessed lands with designations

Comparing existing and proposed designations for area, uses and location

These maps aided in establishing where policy changes were needed. These maps also determined the relocation, creation, expansion, contraction or deletion of Official Plan designations.

During the Official Plan review process a number of draft schedules were prepared for Steering Committee meetings, Open Houses and Public Meetings. The final product was large wall schedules and smaller colour schedules for the Official Plan document (Figure 4.0).



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Figure 4.0 - Schedule A from Town of Bracebridge Official Plan



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In the fall of 2009, the Town of Bracebridge started another five-year review of the Town of Bracebridge Official Plan. Although a consultant has been hired to prepared the policies, all mapping is the responsibility of Town staff. To date seven new schedules have been developed in draft form to replace the existing three schedules. Prior to this current five-year review all the schedules were of the Urban and Near Urban areas. The new Town of Bracebridge Official Plan schedules will encompass the entire municipality. As in 2005, a number of background maps have been prepared to aide in the process of the five-year review. Some of these maps were for presentation at public meetings and some have been for in-house review. The maps include the following:

Rural Lands

Waterfront Lands

Public Lands

Condominium

Subdivisions

Wetlands

Natural Heritage Lands

Airport Approach Areas

Aggregate Lands

Deer Wintering Areas

Narrow Waterbodies

Coldwater Lakes Other Development Services Projects Although the Comprehensive Zoning By-law and the five-year review of the Official Plan have been the two largest projects that have been completed that involved the use of the Town of Bracebridge GIS system, the Development Services Department has used the Town of Bracebridge GIS system for a number of other projects. On many occasions the Development Services Department has used the Town of Bracebridge GIS system to prepare evidence for the Ontario Municipal Board. Typically this evidence has included maps showing the location of the subject lands, location of appellants, surrounding lot areas and frontage, zoning and Official Plan designations. In more recent board hearings, the Development Services Department has also prepared photographs with associated maps showing the location of the photograph (Figure 5.0).



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Figure 5.0 – Sample of Ontario Municipal Board Photograph Exhibit



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Other projects for which the Development Services Department has used the Town of Bracebridge GIS system include:

Mapping for Septic Re-Inspection Program

Background for North and West Arterial Transportation Corridors

Analyzing data for input on District Growth Strategy

Tracking Residential Subdivision and Multiple Residential Development

Providing background data for various commercial developments such as Smart Centers, Your Independent Grocer, and Royal Muskoka

Policy Development for Outdoor Patios, Tree Cutting By-law, and Sign By-law

6.1.2 Daily Tasks The Development Services Department uses GIS on a regular basis to assist in many daily duties. One of the biggest assets that the GIS database has brought to the Development Services Department is the ability to quickly and effectively process public inquires. Using the GIS database, staff are able to assist the public with many simple inquires, such as:

Application preparation

Locating properties

Zoning

Official Plan Designations

Identifying surrounding uses

Legal descriptions

Lot area and lot frontage

911 numbering Development Services staff also use the GIS database to assist in providing the public with information on more complex inquires such as the possibility of a severance or rezoning, and availability of a building permit. Another use of the GIS database by the Development Services Department is the tracking of permits and application. Using the Town of Bracebridge Municipal Geographical Information System database, the Development Services Department is able to track the progress and history of rezonings, severances, minor variances, site plans, plans of subdivision, condominiums, and building permits.



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6.2 Public Works Department The Public Works Department is the secondary user of GIS in the Town of Bracebridge. The Public Works Department currently has one fully licensed version of MapInfo and three other staff members that use the MapInfo Proviewer. The Public Works Department uses GIS to complete a number of daily tasks such as:

Preparing staff reports;

Public inquiries;

Preparing comments for rezoning, site plan, severenace and subdivision applications;

Review of roadway occupancy permits;

Retrieving owner information, street address or legal descriptions for properties; and

Analyzes of trails and parkland In addition to the daily use of GIS, the Public Works Department has also used the Town’s GIS to create layers on recreational trails, future trail linkages and shore road retention, which were used in the Town’s Parkland and Trails Schedules (Figure 6.0). For the summer of 2010, the Public Works Department hired an engineering student, who’s duties included the collecting of data using a hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. The hand held GPS unit is on loan from Lakeland Power Distribution. The student has been working primarily in the urban area collecting data on such items as stormwater catch basins, municipal signage, stormwater management ponds, and culverts. 6.3 Administrative and Finance Department Currently the Administration and Finance Department is utilizing the Town of Bracebridge’s GIS in a limited capacity. The Administration and Finance Department uses GIS for the review of Shore Road Allowance Closing application to determine the location of applications and the ownership of Shore Road Allowance in the vicinity. The Department has also requested mapping from the Development Services Department for General Committee staff reports related to such issues as identifying new parking restriction areas, location maps for Town facilities such as the new Skateboard Park, and site maps for agreements to utilize Town property.



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Figure 6.0 – Schedule ‘A’ for Parkland and Trails



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The By-law Enforcement Branch of the Administration and Finance Department has requested mapping from the Development Services Department to assist them in providing correct information to the public on such matters as firearms discharge, burning, and location of parking meters and public parking lots (Figure 7.0). 6.4 Economic Development Department The Economic Development Department currently does not have any staff that can view the Town’s GIS from their workstation. The extent of the current use of the Town’s GIS from the Economic Development Department has been to request of the Development Services Department to prepare maps for staff information or presentation purposes. Maps requested by the Economic Development Department include those identifying the Business Improvement Area (BIA), comparison of previous and existing Commercial Designations from the Town of Bracebridge’s Official Plan, and location maps for Art in the Heart vendors. 6.5 Fire Department The Bracebridge Fire Department also does not have the ability to view the Town’s GIS from their worksation. The Bracebridge Fire Department has benefiting from the Town’s GIS by having the Development Services Department complete a number of projects for their Department. The largest project completed for the Bracebridge Fire Department by the Development Services Department was a ledger size 911 Road Numbering colour map book consisting of over 50 maps. An index was included at the start of the 911 Road Numbering map book listing every road in the municipality of the Town of Bracebridge, the map number on which the road could be located, and the 911 number range on that map number. Each individual map shows all the roads in that area with different lines types for private roads, public paved roads and public non-paved roads. The maps also contained the location of waterbodies, watercourses and wetland for potential water sources in the rural areas of the municipality. The urban areas maps also indicated fire hydrant locations and the rural area maps indicated structure locations from the 1986 Ontario Base Mapping information. Each individual map also contained a key plan showing the location of that map in the municipality. (Figure 8.0)



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Figure 7.0 – Downtown Parking Town of Bracebridge (2002)



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Figure 8.0 – Example of 911 Road Numbering Mapping



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Other projects completed by the Development Services Department for the Bracebridge Fire Department using the Town’s GIS included:

A map of all responses from the Fire Department in a year and the nature of the call;

Existing response area for Fire Station No. 2 in Vankoughnet and potential response area of a relocated station; and

Large wall maps for both Fire Station No.1 and No.2 indicated road type (public, private, and seasonal), 911 road number, and Fire Area Zones

6.6 Culture and Recreation Department The Culture and Recreation Department has only used the Town’s GIS through maps and projects completed by the Development Services Department. The Culture and Recreation Department has primarily requested maps for directions to or locations of Culture and Recreation facilities such as the Bracebridge Sportsplex and the new Skateboard Park. The Development Services Department has also prepared a series of trails maps for the Culture and Recreation Department based on the trails layer developed by the Municipal Engineer. 6.7 Library To date the Bracebridge Library has not utilized the Town’s GIS. The Development Services Department has provided mapping to the Library for preliminary research on facility expansion or relocation. The Development Services Department, however, has also prepared maps in the past involving the location of the Bracebridge Library such as parking in the vicinity of the Library for the By-law branch of the Administration and Finance Department and location of landmarks in downtown Bracebridge including the Bracebridge Library. 6.8 Other Government Agencies The Town of Bracebridge has provided GIS layers and projects to other agencies as per agreements outlined in Section 5.0 of this GIS Master Plan. The Town has also used to GIS to provided information and comments to the District and neighbouring municipalities.



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6.8.1 District of Muskoka Through the data sharing agreement outlined in Section 5.1 of this GIS Master Plan with the District of Muskoka, the Town has distributed to the District a number of layers. One of the layers distributed to the District was a road centerline layer that indicated the type of road, surface of the road and 911 number range. This layer was distributed to the District for use in their Emergency Plan. The Town has also provided to the District such information as Zoning and Official Plan Designations. Using the Town of Bracebridge GIS database, the Town has been able to provide the District with in depth comments for the District of Muskoka Growth Strategy. 6.8.2 Lakeland Power Distribution Limited As mentioned in Section 5.0, the Town of Bracebridge and Lakeland Power Distribution have exchanged limited data to date. Currently the Town has provided Lakeland Power Distribution Limited with copies of the parcel layers. 6.8.3 Neighbouring Municipalities The Town of Bracebridge has used the existing parcel layers to provided neighbouring municipalities property information and owner addresses when a planning application from a neighbouring municipality has required circulation to properties owners within our municipality. 6.9 Public The Town of Bracebridge currently has three readily accessible mapping items available to the public in hardcopy format. The Development Services Department has prepared a Rural Road map, which is a 24 inch by 36 inch map that lists all the roads located outside the Urban centre of the Town of Bracebridge. The roads are listed alphabetically in an index with a grid on the map to easily located the road. The roads are also distinguished by line type, distinguishing between Town seasonal roads, Town year round maintained road, District roads, Provincial roads, and private roads. Currently this map is sold for $15.00.



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The Town also sells an Urban Centre map, which was originally created for the Town by Totten Sims Hubicki, and is now updated and maintained by the Development Services Department. The Urban Centre map shows all property lines, road names and natural water features located within the Urban Centre. Currently this map is sold for $25.00. The final mapping item the Town has readily accessible for sale to the Public is the 911 Numbering Book, which was produced for the Bracebridge Fire Department. These books are sold for $138.00. The Development Services Department has also prepared a number of special request maps for both individual property owners and groups in the Town of Bracebridge. Typically, for individual property owners, the Development Services Department has prepared maps of their properties shown in relation to neighbouring properties. For groups, the Development Services Department has prepared a number of maps such as a route map for the Terry Fox Run, and road maps for Census Canada. 7.0 FUTURE GIS BENEFITS Although the current GIS database and applications have served the Town of Bracebridge well in many facets, as described earlier in this GIS Master Plan, for the Town to continue to benefit from a comprehensive Geographic Information System, the Town should look at future GIS benefits for all departments in the corporation. 7.1 Development Services Department As the Town of Bracebridge continues to develop, it is important for the Development Services Department to continue to be able to serve the Town with the most reliable current and historical information. With every year, the information being retained by the Development Services Department is growing. This information includes forms, correspondence, or plans related to building permits, planning applications or development inquires. For the Development Services Department to keep up with this growing information, a comprehensive data management system will be required. As mentioned in Section 3.3, in this Plan, the Development Services Department currently relies on a combination of MapInfo, a database created in conjunction with the Town of Huntsville, and hardcopy files to access and store information.



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To able to provide proper and timely customer service a system would need to be created that could handle extensive data collection and digital copies of information in current hardcopy files linked to a mapping application, although a need will always exist to have backup hardcopy files. This system should have the capacity to link digital mapping with property information and the ability to scan and attach hardcopy documents such as applications, plans, photographs, and correspondence. By linking these functions, it would ensure that all information is readily available in one location for proper analysis of planning applications, building permits, and inquiries. In addition to the use of a system that can combine all the above noted functions, the Town needs to consider the provision of web mapping. This web mapping would permit staff to login from any workstation and be able to retrieve data from any internet connection. Different levels of security could be set up to permit varying levels of data to be accessed, depending on whether the user was a member of the public, staff member of administrator. 7.2 Public Works Department As stated earlier the Public Works Department is currently the secondary user of GIS at the Town of Bracebridge, however there is a much greater potential for the additional application of GIS in the Department. In discussions with the Public Work Department’s senior staff, there is a need to have additional features mapped to allow the Public Works Department and the Development Services Department to fully benefit from the Town GIS and greatly assist in capital planning. These features are:

Storm Sewers with attributes such as installation date, maintenance, size and capacity;

Road age, condition, and maintenance information

Culverts with attributes such as size, type and maintenance;

Bridges with attributes such as size, sidewalks, and maintenance ;

Storm Water Management Ponds (both public and private);

Park Attributes such as: o Benches o Washrooms o Fountains o Lighting o Trees o Signage;

Municipal Parking Lots with attributes such as surface type and capacity;



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Boat Launches with attributes such as hours and operation and capacity;

Signage with attributes such as installation date and schedule of maintenance;

Business Improvement Area (BIA) Features such as: o Garbage containers o Planters o Street Trees with species, size and maintenance;

Traffic Counts;

Plans of Subdivisions displayed with a colour coding system;

Road sections with a link to municipal addresses and roll numbers; and

Entrances with attributes such as culvert type and condition linked to municipal address

Similarly to the Development Services Department, the Public Works Department also wants the ability to link information to these mapping features, for example, linking:

Video from developer of storm sewer after installation and prior to use on a section specific section of the storm sewer;

Storm Water Management reports, plans and inspection reports to mapped Storm Water Management Ponds;

Shore Road Closures Documents;

Plans and reports on roads under construction;

Work orders for features such as park attributes, signage and road works with the ability to generate work orders and schedule work when required; and

Entrance Permit information to individual properties. Finally, the Public Works Department’s senior staff has also expressed a need integration of a Global Position System (GPS) and a GIS system that can track the Public Works fleet vehicles. This system would include a live mapping feature with sensors on the Public Works fleet vehicles. These sensors can relay a number of different data including:

Vehicle location;

Vehicle speed;

When plowing had occurred and sand/salt has been applied to the roadway;

Pavement Patching;



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Location of Washouts;

Where street sweeping has occurred; and

Rural grading This data can be displayed in real time and it can be stored for effective data collection to monitor the use of resources for budget, insurance or public inquires. 7.3 Administration and Finance Department 7.3.1 Clerk’s Branch of Administration and Finance Department In discussions with members of the Administration and Finance Department senior staff, it was confirmed that the department would benefit from a GIS system that could combine mapping with accessing documents. Documents that would be beneficial to scan and link to mapping information would include:

Road allowance lease agreements

Encroachment agreements

Funding or grant information linked to features that utilized funds

Documents on road closings such as survey plans and deeds

Any property-based agreements and/or motion of Council, By-laws, etc.

The Town of Bracebridge currently has the ability to store By-laws on-line using FilePro, which is a service provided by iCompass Technologies. The By-laws are stored on the iCompass Technologies servers with the ability to search By-laws by content. The Administration and Finance Department and the Development Services Department would benefit from the ability to link these on-line By-laws to mapping features. Examples of these By-laws and features would be:

Shore Road Closing By-law to specific property

Road Widening By-law to road allowance

Deeming By-law to specific properties

Zoning By-law to specific property

Street Naming By-laws to specific roads. The Administration and Finance Department has also expressed a need to have additional features mapped such as those features shown on the road allowance policy map.



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7.3.2 Finance and Taxation Branch of Administration and Finance Department The Administration and Finance Department would also benefit by a more comprehensive GIS database to assisting in tracking municipal inventory for Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing programs such as the Municipal Performance Measures Program. 7.3.3 By-law Enforcement Branch of Administration and Finance Department In addition to the above the By-law Enforcement Branch of Administration and Finance Department would also benefit from access to an expanded GIS. A benefit to the By-law Enforcement Branch would be the ability to scan and link complaints to specific properties. Currently, the Branch keeps hardcopies of complaints. This limits the ability of staff to search for a previous complaint. By scanning and linking the complaints to the property for which a complaint was received, the By-law Enforcement Branch would be able to quickly retrieve any previous complaints on a specific property and view the status, nature, time and actions taken with the complaint. Depending on the manner in which the complaints are entered electronically, reports would easily be able to be prepared in such areas as number of complaints taken or breakdown by types of complaints. The By-law Branch would also benefit by having additional features mapped such as:

Registered Pit Bulls by address to ensure Officer safety

Meters for tracking of installation and maintenance

Private kennels with attributes such as type of kennel, number of buildings and capacity of animals

7.4 Economic Development Department In discussions with staff in the Economic Development Department, it has been determined that staff would like to access information such as ownership of properties, lot dimensions, assessed value, building information and zoning information. The Economic Development Department has also stated that it would be beneficial to list properties that are for sale for non-residential development on the Town’s website and link these listings to the public web mapping.



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In addition to the accessing the existing information the Economic Development Department would benefit from the following features being mapped:

Façade Improvement Grants

Brownfield Sites

Sidewalks

Walking Trails in addition to the existing mapped Recreational Trails

Public Washrooms

Landmarks

BIA features such as flower baskets, planters, and garbage containers

The Economic Development Department would also like the Town’s GIS database to include additional information from other government agencies such as fiber optic networks in downtown from Lakeland Power and updated water and sewer lines from the District of Muskoka. Similar to other departments, the Economic Development Department would also benefit from a program that would allow them to attach and view data on properties. The Economic Development Department would primarily use this program to track inquires on a property but would also like to see the status of building permits and other inquires received on the property from other departments. 7.5 Fire Department In discussions with the Bracebridge Fire Chief, it has been determined that the Department needs the ability to access the Town of Bracebridge GIS database. The benefits of accessing the GIS database include the ability to quickly check for the most appropriate route to a call, which would include being provided with the status of a road as either being private, year round maintained or summer maintained. The Fire Department would also like the ability to see adjacent municipal road networks for assisting other municipalities and accessing properties on the fringe of the Town of Bracebridge. They would like to be able to view this information both in the office and in the field on a laptop. In addition to the ability to be able to view the existing road network, the Fire Department would also like to map alternative water sources outside the Urban area for accessing water sources in the winter.



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The Fire Department has also expressed an interest in linking the contact information and plans in the fire safety boxes for structures around town to the individual property on which they are located. Using a laptop they could access this information on route and save value time when arriving at the scene. 7.6 Culture and Recreation The Culture and Recreation Department would benefit from a comprehensive mapped trail system and the mapping of parks. Although the maintenance of parks is the responsibility of the Public Works Department, there are facilities at parks, which are rented out or utilized by the Culture and Recreation Department. 7.7 Library In discussion with the Chief Executive Officer of the Bracebridge Library, the Library staff would not have a need to access the Town GIS database on a regular basis. However Library staff would benefit from accessing the Town’s GIS database for background information on staff reports and recommendations to Council. The Chief Executive Officer has expressed an interest in accessing information in the Town GIS database from an information standpoint of the public, which could be achieved through a web mapping application. 7.8 Other Government Agencies Given the existing data sharing agreement with other government agencies, any addition data would benefit not only the Town of Bracebridge but the District of Muskoka, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Lakeland Power Distribution Limited. In particular, District staff have requested mapping from Town staff on numerous occasions to assist in such items as background reports, 911 emergency mapping or evaluation of planning applications. Numerous items listed in the above sections would only further assist the District of Muskoka and other government agencies in these areas. 7.9 Public As indicated in the previous sections, a fully integrated GIS system would not only benefit the internal operations of the Town of Bracebridge but would also assist in improving customer service. By having information more readily available, staff would be able to provide the public with quicker turn around times for information as well as ensure that more information is available.



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As stated in Section 7.1, over the past few years many municipalities have begun to provide web mapping. For web mapping, a member of the public could access the web mapping from any internet connection to view such layers as property fabric, water bodies, water courses and the road network. An example of information that would available to the public would be:

Property roll number

Legal description

Street address

Lot area and frontage

Lake and river names

Road names

Other information, such as zoning or road status, may also be displayed. Although every effort will be made to keep this information as current as possible, this type of information can change over time and it will be appropriate to have a disclaimers that confirms that the information shown for the property is the most current information available and the Town assumes no liability for the information, as is common practice in other municipalities. 8.0 ACTION ITEMS, IMPLEMENTATION and TIMING Based on the existing GIS benefits outlined in Section 6 and future GIS benefits outlined in Section 7, Town staff feel there are a number of initiatives that should be undertaken in the future 8.1 Software 8.1.1 MapInfo and ESRI Based on the relatively new purchase of MapInfo licenses by the Town of Bracebridge and the recent purchase of the lastest MapInfo version licenses by the District of Muskoka, Town staff would not recommend upgrading the existing licenses or the transfer to ESRI products within the next fiscal year. Action Item: 1) That Town staff annually review the existing licenses with respect to the

most recent MapInfo and ESRI products and the use of these products by the District of Muskoka.



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8.1.2 Municipal Software Town staff have begun exploring municipal software programs that will provide the functionality of linking mapping with documents and tracking processes as outlined in Section 7. The programs that have been explored include presentations of software from Vadim, DirectIT, CityView, and MarMak Solutions. The Township of Muskoka Lakes, in conjunction with the District of Muskoka has also presented to the Town of Bracebridge and other neighbouring municipalities, a program developed specifically for their needs by a private programmers. Each of these programs vary greatly with respect to functionality and cost. Other neighbouring municipalities are also viewing presentations by these companies and discussions have begun with respect to reducing costs by purchasing software and licenses in conjunction with the neighbouring municipalities. Action Item: 1) That Town staff continue to review municipal software packages and

prepare a report to Council on the advantages and disadvantages of each program.

8.1.3 Web Mapping Software A number of the products provided by the companies listed in Section 8.1.2 contain a web-mapping component. Town staff have also reviewed web-mapping programs that are currently being used by the District of Muskoka and the Town of Huntsville. Given that a decision has not been made on the purchasing of a municipal software package that may include a web-mapping program it would be premature to recommend a web mapping program or component at this time. Action Item: 1) That staff in the Development Service Department continue to review web

mapping programs in consultation with staff in other Town departments and the District of Muskoka and prepare a report to Development Services Committee, on the advantages and disadvantages of each program with recommendations regarding implementation of a web mapping program.



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8.2 Hardware Currently the Town of Bracebridge has a number of the hardware components required to run the programs outlined in Section 8.1. Once a municipal software package is selected additional server capacity will be required. As part of the core services provided by the District of Muskoka IT department, the District of Muskoka is required to provided adequate server space for all of the Town of Bracebridge’s capacity needs. The Town of Bracebridge will continue to work with the District of Muskoka to ensure hardware is appropriate for software and data storage and back up needs. Action Item: 1) That Town staff review server capacity and hardware needs with the

District of Muskoka. 8.3 Administration As mentioned in Section 3, the Development Services Department has been responsible for the maintenance and updating of the Town of Bracebridge’s GIS database. As the core dataset for the Town of Bracebridge’s GIS database is the properties layer, it is recommended that the responsibility for the maintenance and updating of the Town of Bracebridge GIS database remain the responsibility of the Development Services Department. With the additional applications proposed for the GIS database and the additional data that will be required for the Town of Bracebridge, it is recommended that a Geomatics Branch of the Development Services Department be considered given the inhouse mapping expertise. This Branch would be responsible for the creation of additional data as requested by every department, the updating and maintenance of current and future data, the budgeting of GIS software, hardware and staff, and the maintenance of the web based GIS application. Given the need for consistent and accurate data between departments, it would not be feasible for each department to be solely responsible for their own data. A Geomatics branch would be consistent with the practices of other the local municipalities. To ensure that needs of all Town Departments are met, a Town GIS working group will be created that would include members of different Town Departments to provide input on the development and implementation of an updated and enhanced GIS program.



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Action Item: 1) That the responsibility for the maintenance and updating of the Town of

Bracebridge GIS database remain the responsibility of the Development Services Department.

2) That a Geomatics Branch of the Development Services Department be considered in the future

3) That a Town of Bracebridge GIS working group lead by the Development Services Department and consisting of representatives from other Town departments be created to co-ordinate implementation of GIS related initiatives in the future.

8.4 Staffing As stated in Section 8.3, the upgrading of the Town’s existing GIS database would require increased resources by the Development Services Department. To properly upgrade and maintain the GIS database, there would be a need for additional staff. It is therefore recommended that a GIS technician be employed by the Geomatics Branch of the Development Services Department. It is also recommended that given the extensive work that will be required to set up and update the GIS system that a GIS summer student also be considered. Action Item: 1) That staff review future staffing requirements (including full-time, part-time

and contract staff) and report back to the Development Services Committee as required.

8.5 Budget Implementation of enhanced GIS services for the Town will require additional financial support in the future. Staff will report back to the Development Services Committee for direction as needed on initiatives such as:

Selection of a software package

Selection of a web mapping program

Staffing

Hardware requirements In the long term capital plan $15,000 has been budgeted for GIS.



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8.6 Timing The following is timing for action items set out in Sections 8.1 through 8.4 Phase I - 2010

Review municipal software packages and prepare a report to Council on the advantages and disadvantages of each program.

Phase II - 2011

Create a Town of Bracebridge GIS working group Phase III – 2011

Review web mapping programs and prepare a report to Development Services Committee, on the advantages and disadvantages of each program.

9.0 SUMMARY The GIS Background and Implementation Plan has shown the history of GIS at the Town of Bracebridge, the current GIS resources and appropriate future GIS action items. As outlined in this plan, GIS has been an integral part of the business program at the Town of Bracebridge. The current GIS resources have provided numerous benefits in areas such as providing timely and in-depth customer service, thorough and accurate staff reports to Committees and Council and comprehensive decision-making at a staff level. As the Town of Bracebridge moves ahead, the development and implementation of an updated and enhanced GIS program will be a major component in the business conducted by all Town Departments. For the Town of Bracebridge to continue to provide services necessary to support a strong economic, cultural and social community, a comprehensive GIS program including the resources required to support it will be required.