HCGUG ArcIMS SIG HCGUG's ArcIMS SIG was formed to address the potential for creating common internet mapping solutions for the County's GIS users. The SIG members wanted to discuss ways for facilitating the exchange of GIS information using the internet, especially for entities that might not have the expertise or resources to do so on their own. After determining that there was a need and an interest to explore possible solutions, the group decided to focus on a "Parkfinder" idea as a pilot project. Hennepin County GIS has agreed to host the application and take the lead on development and data collection.

To assist Hennepin County and its local cities to design, develop and deploy county-wide ArcIMS Internet applications that will aid in these entities' ability to conduct their business more effectively. To help create common county-wide data sets that facilitates these ArcIMS applications. To improve the public's ability to easily find the most commonly sought-after services within Hennepin County. To provide a forum that discusses and collects ideas for new county-wide web mapping applications.

Parks - Create a county-wide "ParkFinder" application so internet users can easily find a park or park facility within Hennepin County. County / Municipal Buildings - Similar to the ParkFinder concept, but this application would allow users to find County or City buildings such as City Halls, Police Stations, Public Works buildings, etc. Restaurants or Businesses - Perhaps an application could be made to allow someone to look up any business in operation in Hennepin County? Might need to be limited to specific types of businesses. Post Office Drop Boxes - Locate Post Offices and secured mail drop-off locations. Other ideas?

ParkFinder is an internet application that allows a user to locate a park, usually by name, location, or the type of amenities it contains. Several entities across the United State have created a "Park Finder" as a means of distributing park information to the public. Some examples are: St Louis Park, MN Cary, North Carolina Albuquerque, New Mexico Pierce County, Washington Indianapolis, Indiana Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Vancouver, British Columbia One of the first questions raised by the SIG group was: Which amenities should be included in a Hennepin County ParkFinder? After some discussion, the group realized that it would be impossible to include all potential amenities one might encounter at the various parks across the County. Some simplification and classification would be necessary to make the project workable. A list of amenities to be included in the application was circulated to municipalities and park organizations for review, and a final list applicable amenities was created.

Click here to View the Amenity List

Numerous hurdles and discussions remain regarding the proper way to handle these amenities. These include, but are not limited to, whether it would be helpful to have more categories, are there too many, should information be given as to how many of a given amenity are at a park or simply state that the amenity exists there (i.e. there are two ball diamonds at Arneson Acres Park vs there are ball diamonds at Arneson Acres Park), do some categories need to be further sub-categorized (i.e. is it ok to lump all pools together, or should a distinction be made between kiddie pools, indoor swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, etc). The Interface A view of the initial screen. The application will allow for a quick search by park name or facility, or a user may use the pan/zoom tools to find a park on the map. Users can do a search for all parks with certain facilities within a specified distance of an inputted address. In the example above, the map shows all parks with picnic areas within five miles of 11309 Toledo Ave N, Brooklyn Park. Once a park is identified, the user can see its location on the map and the list of amenities the visitor will find at the park. The application also has a 'site map' function that allows the user to print out the map in a cleanly laid out format. The application is in the development stage at this time. Hennepin County GIS is currently developing the application functionality and collecting the park data from each municipality and park entity. Both efforts are proving to be difficult and time consuming. If you wish to contribute to this project, please contact Scott Simmer at Hennepin County GIS. More information, including an estimated release date and links to a test site, will be added here as it becomes available.

Minutes of the HCGUG ArcIMS SIG Meetings: February 08, 2006