Crafting an enterprise GIS: An enterprising craft
Marilyn Vargas
IT Operations Manager Information Technology Department
City of Killeen P. O. Box 1329
Voice: 254-501-7893, FAX: 254-501-3496
Email: mvargas@ci.killeen.tx.us
Kathy H. Spiveyl
Vice President IT Nexus, Inc.
15144 SE 139th Street Newalla, OK 74857
Voice: 405-386-4850, FAX: 405-386-4851
Email: khspivey@it-nexus.com
Abstract
Killeen, Texas, home to Fort Hood, one of the largest military bases in the country, is a dynamic
and fast-growing city with a population of 92,000 and an expected growth rate of 23% over the
next 10-15 years. With this growth potential, Killeen realized a need for improved citywide
mapping and spatial analysis capabilities and began an implementation of an enterprise-wide GIS
to greatly enhance their CAD-based, single-department mapping effort. With the implementation,
however, came hurdles and issues that arise with any such project of this size. Killeen has taken
an enterprising approach to make sure the implementation goes forward and is successful. This
presentation discusses such common GIS program hurdles and how Killeen overcame them, such
as: 1) acquiring a high-level GIS champion to promote and lead the program, 2) constructing a
well thought-out and structured implementation plan to guide the City through the multi-year
project, 3) achieving city council buyoff of the plan and budget by providing clear and relevant
information, 4) providing a tangible product at every step of the implementation process to keep
enthusiasm for the project high, and 5) other creative ideas to help the City implement its GIS in
an efficient and timely manner.
Building a History
Introduction
The City of Killeen is the largest city in Bell County, Texas, with a population of about 92,000
people covering an area of 35.45 square miles, 22% of that area undeveloped. Located 79 miles
north of Austin, Texas, Killeen is home to Fort Hood, the largest military post in the free world.
Killeen currently has an extraterritorial jurisdiction boundary that extends approximately 3.5
miles out from the current city limits, encompassing a large area into which the City can grow.
Killeen’s population growth has been steady since the City was established in 1882, with a large
spurt in the 1940s with the establishment of Fort Hood and increasing an average of 12% per
decade in the past. Population growth is expected to bring the City to a population of almost
115,000 by 2015. The City is home to Tarleton State University and Central Texas College and
is in the process of building a new joint-use airport with Fort Hood that will have the capability
of handling both military and civilian jet aircraft.
The Mapping Program History
All mapping needs within the City have been provided by either the Mapping Section of the
City’s Planning Department or outside consultants hired by the various City departments to
produce maps for specific projects. Nearly all the maps used by City staff are paper maps. The
Mapping Section currently maintains a few maps in AutoCAD, but the primary focus of the
City’s map automation to date has been generating specialty map exhibits for many of the City’s
departments and decision makers. The Mapping Section currently has three mapping technicians
who maintain both the paper and digital maps for many of the departments within the City.
Before the mid-1990s, the Mapping Section staff consisted of two mapping technicians who
created and updated all required maps by hand. Two primary sets of map sheets which served as
the City’s land base maps were maintained by the Mapping Section: 1) zoning maps attributed
with lots, blocks, zoning classifications, and street names, and 2) block maps attributed with
subdivision names, lots, blocks, parcel addresses and easement information. Both map sets were
divided based on a grid system established for easy reference.
By 1995, it had become obvious that map maintenance times could be cut in half by combining
these two sets of maps containing a good amount of duplicate information into one map and
converting the map sets into digital format. The Mapping Section named the paper-to-digital
map conversion initiative “Genesis” to signify the rebirth of their mapping project. For Genesis,
the City hired an additional staff person to support the conversion project and selected AutoCAD
to create their digital land base map in. Parcel boundaries were drawn from submitted plats and
attributed with data from the Bell County Appraisal District’s tax roll and from the original
zoning maps and block maps. The parcels were rectified to the 2002 digital orthophotos. This
project was completed in 2002.
Other primary maps used by the City include the Public Works Department’s Water System and
Sewer System paper maps prepared by a consultant in the 1990s, but are no longer complete and
accurate. Public Works Department stores and maintains a number of paper maps that are used
to support engineering design, development review and capital improvement projects. The
Aviation Department currently has a consultant maintain a few paper maps to assist with the
management of the airport.
Realizing the Need
In 1994, the Mapping Section purchased its first copy of ESRI’s desktop software, ArcView and
the mapping technicians received one week of training on the software’s functionality. While the
Mapping Section recognized the inherent benefits of GIS, the City was not ready to commit to
the acquisition of any additional GIS resources. The Mapping Section, with its limited resources,
continued to struggle to keep up with routine maintenance on the digital land base map while
trying to fill all requests for specialty maps and information related to maps.
By 1999, some senior staff realized the City needed to implement GIS. Both the incoming
Information Technology (IT) Director and the Planning Division Director had prior exposure to
and experience with GIS and realized GIS would provide a significantly better tool for
performing many of the mapping and information management tasks that were critical for the
City’s operations. In addition, they recognized the negative impact the lack of a dedicated,
centralized mapping program was having on decision-making in the City, often resulting in staff
running around looking for disparate maps and data to help with a decision or for a city council
meeting.
A GIS needs assessment and master plan was included in the first proposed budget submitted by
the new IT Director in 1999. In November 2000, a request was made to issue a Request for
Proposal (RFP), which was integrated into the Information Technology Master Plan in December
2000. During this timeframe, multiple briefings on GIS technology were given by the IT
Department to the Council to promote understanding of the need and benefits of such a program.
However, it became evident that the council and city managers still did not reach a comfortable
understanding of GIS, and GIS was still referred to as the Great White Elephant, something that
was going to cost the City a lot of money with few tangible results realized in some distant
future.
Identifying a champion
In early 2001, Planning and IT staff were still convinced the City could benefit greatly from
implementing GIS as an enterprise-wide initiative, but had not yet been able to convince City
Council to give the approval of the IT Master Plan and GIS. The arrival of a new Deputy City
Manager in 2001 gave GIS at the City of Killeen the high-level champion it needed to get off the
ground. Mr. David Hall had served as a commander at Fort Hood prior to coming to the City of
Killeen and was very familiar with GIS technology and its potential benefits. Fort Hood, at this
time, had an operational GIS that served as a tool in many base operations.
Mr. Hall worked with Council members to understand what issues were at the heart of the
Council’s hesitance to proceed with GIS. It became clear that besides the concern over the cost
of the program, the council members were still unsure of what GIS would do for them. Mr. Hall
worked to get the Council together for a few more technology sessions and demos, and explained
to the Council the benefit to bringing in an experienced GIS consultant who would assess
whether GIS would be beneficial to the City. The City Council approved the Information
Technology Master Plan in April 2001 and an RFP for the GIS needs assessment and
implementation plan project was issued June 2001. A GIS consultant was chosen in November
2001 to conduct the needs assessment and create a GIS implementation plan.
