Call to Order
Committee Chairman Jonathan Perry, Bureau of Disaster Services, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

Attendance:
Members/Designates Present:
Mike Beaty, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nathan Bentley, ITRMC Staff; Sheldon Bluestein, Ada County (designate); Bart Butterfield, Department of Fish and Game; Linda Davis, Department of Water Resources; Gail Ewart, GeoNexus; Tracy Fuller, U.S. Geological Survey; Nancy Glenn, Idaho State University; Roger Hirschman, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS); Frank Mynar, Idaho Power; Karen Parsons, Idaho State Library (designate); Jonathan Perry, Bureau of Disaster Services; Frank Roberts, Coeur d'Alene Tribe

Members Absent:
Dr. Charles Bolles, Idaho State Library; Senator Hal Bunderson, Idaho State Senate; Dennis Hill, City of Pocatello; Mike McDowell, Kootenai County; Craig Rindlisbacher, Madison County/City of Rexburg

Others Present:
Michael Ciscell, Department of Water Resources; Rich Elwood, ITRMC Staff; Emily Gales, ITRMC Staff; Bruce Godfrey, University of Idaho; Bruce Tuttle, Department of Water Resources; Toni Williams, U.S. Farm Service Agency

Approval of Minutes
There was group consensus to approve the December 4, 2003, Idaho Geospatial Committee meeting minutes.

IGC/ITRMC relationship
Rich Elwood, Statewide Information Technology (IT) Coordinator and ITRMC Staff, addressed the Committee. A revised State IT Strategic Plan had been approved at the February 18 Information Technology Resource Management Council (ITRMC) meeting. Rich briefly touched on the Plan revision process. It was hoped an introduction from Governor Dirk Kempthorne would be included in the Plan, which was available at: http://www2.state.id.us/itrmc/plan&policies/itplan.htm. Rich then reviewed Plan action steps that were geographic information system (GIS)-related, advising the IGC was critical to their actualization. ITRMC members were being asked to actively support Plan goals and action items, and to develop implementation plans for them. Rich added that he saw future expansion and recognition of the role of the IGC.

Questions:
In answer to a question from Mike Beaty of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Rich advised it was hoped the groups responsible for implementing Plan goals would develop performance standards. Further, this would be an opportunity for the state to establish long-term direction.

Tracy Fuller, U.S. Geological Survey, wondered, with the planned creation of a group responsible for implementation of the GIS-related action steps, if the mechanism for the IGC to make recommendations to the ITRMC would change. Per Rich, this process would not change. He further explained the role of the anticipated steering groups that would handle Plan goals. As IGC chair, Jonathan would most likely be a key component in reporting to such a committee, if created.
Responding to a question from audience member Michael Ciscell of the Department of Water Resources, Rich advised there were many routes available to facilitate implementation of Plan goals and action steps, including legislative initiatives, memorandums of understanding, etc.

Nancy Glenn, Idaho State University (ISU), asked if the revised Plan was short or long-term. Per Rich, the goals were long-term. The Plan itself was a living document with a five-year direction. He added, "It is not a business-as-usual plan."

Introductions
Jonathan introduced new Committee member Linda Davis of the Department of Water Resources (IDWR) (replacing Tony Morse, IDWR). He pointed out that Frank Roberts of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe was in attendance; Frank normally attended IGC meetings via teleconference. Guest speaker Toni Williams of the U.S. Farm Service Agency was also introduced.

Local Initiative
Sheldon Bluestein, Ada County (sitting in for Mike McDowell, Kootenai County), addressed the Committee. According to Sheldon, Mike M. "set the tone in Kootenai County," and was chairman of the Idaho Association of County Assessors Mapping Committee. The Mapping Committee had discussed providing guidance to the State Tax Commission in the areas of training, and producing manuals and standards for parcel mapping data.

Sheldon provided background information regarding the drafting of "The Real Estate Information Technology (REIT) Plan" and accompanying legislation (for more information, refer to: http://www2.state.id.us/itrmc/committees/igc/minutes/m030903.htm#localgovtlegislation). The REIT Plan had been presented to county assessors, but the group had not taken any action on it. Sheldon felt he could not move the plan forward until there was support from the assessors. Committee members discussed other possible avenues of support, including county commissioners. Said Jonathan, this issue would be a long-term discussion. He then suggested some kind of resolution could be drafted for signatures.

MOTION: Ewart moved and Roberts seconded a motion for the IGC to draft a letter recognizing the importance of parcel-based geographic information, as expressed in the Idaho I-Plan, and that the IGC supported the efforts to improve the quality, availability, currentness, and uniformity of parcel data, and the motion passed unanimously.

NAIP
Toni presented on the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) (refer to presentation: http://www2.state.id.us/itrmc/committees/igc/minutes/m040311/naip.pdf). She then answered some technical questions regarding the program. The initial product would be available within the first 60 days of flight. This data would be guaranteed to be ortho-rectified within one year. Annual flights would take place at two meters, but only for agricultural areas. Border-to-border coverage would be flown every five years. Per Toni, if there were insufficient funds collected for the entire state, flight areas would be prioritized. As of March 11, $313,000 of $440,000 had been pledged. Nathan Bentley, Statewide GIS Coordinator and ITRMC Staff, then reviewed the payment mechanism for the project.

National Map - Addendum to Data-Sharing MOU
Tracy explained that the USGS would like to modify the state's data-sharing memorandum of understanding (http://www2.state.id.us/itrmc/committees/igc/mou_insideidaho.pdf) to add a phrase that supported The National Map (TNM) efforts. USGS TNM had helped fund the Interactive Numeric and Spatial Information Data Engine for Idaho (INSIDE Idaho) the last two years; without the proposed modification, Fuller was unsure he would be able to continue this support.

Nathan would distribute the amended language to members via e-mail.

Personal Data
Per Nathan, Senator Hal Bunderson requested a standard be developed regarding what kind of/how much personal information (pertaining to cadastral data) would be available on the Internet. Further, he wanted to know if it needed to be legislated.

MOTION: Ewart moved and Fuller seconded a motion to refer the issue of the development of a standard dealing with the sharing of personal information pertaining to cadastral data, to the IGC Cadastral and Geodetic Control Technical Working Group, and the motion passed unanimously.

Holistic GIS Message
Nathan presented a graphic (in draft form) representing the Idaho State Map Active Resource Technology (SMART) Map. SMART Map was an effort taken on by Gail, Nathan, and Tracy pursuant to a December 2003, IGC meeting discussion and suggestion to "establish a promotional/education effort (marketing plan)" for Idaho GIS activities. Per Gail, this would be a simple, unified, high-level, non-technical introduction about the overall message of Idaho's GIS community, to be used in presentations to non-GIS professionals. The information would be included in a limited number of slides, and would communicate the importance of shared, fully funded GIS activities. As much as was practical, images would be used to convey the message. A brochure could be developed to echo the presentation, which should be used every time a GIS professional had the opportunity to speak to a group.

There was some discussion regarding the name of the effort (SMART MAP), and possible conflicts. Said Gail, she, Nathan, and Tracy welcomed contributing ideas.

New Business
Roundtable Discussion:
Linda mentioned the IDWR had projected all of its data into the 'new' IDTM (Idaho Transverse Mercator) projection. Many of the Department's datasets in this new projection had been placed on the state file transfer protocol (FTP) site, and the web interface from its GIS data site to the FTP site was being work on. The projected data was also on a portable data drive, which allowed the IDWR to share large amounts of data more quickly and easily than using the FTP site. Anyone interested in obtaining the IDWR's data in this manner can contact Linda or Michael.

Per Nancy, the State Board of Education approved ISU's proposal for a master of science GIScience program, to be managed through its Department of Geosciences. The next step was to have it approved by ISU's Curriculum Council. The program could be in place as early as next fall.

Nathan advised he was looking for a group to help review NASA/Western Governors' Association scholarship applications for summer internships in remote sensing and satellite imagery.

Nathan also mentioned an April 2 remote sensing awareness workshop to be held in Boise. He would post the information to the geotech listserv.

Next Meeting
There were no objections to the proposed meeting date and time: June 10, 2004 at 10:00 a.m.

Adjourn
Jonathan adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m.