GIS News

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There's an app for that - from CitySourced

GIS Cafe'
February 17, 2012
By: Susan Smith

Residents of Longview, TX (reported on earlier this week – “There’s an app for that – citizen pothole reporting”) with smartphones can get a new mobile app called “CitySend“ created by CitySourced (didn’t credit that company in the first blog) to inform public works officials of their public issues. The mobile app, unveiled by Longview GIS Manager Justin Cure, allows users to take photos, record video and audio of a problem, and automatically provide GPS coordinates. After the report is submitted, users can track all reported problems on a map as well.

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Longview, TX Launches CitySend Mobile 311 App

CitySourced Blog
February 17, 2012
By: Andrew Kirk

Longview, TX residents now have a more high-tech way of reporting potholes, dead animals, sewer leaks or other problems to the local overnment. Residents with smartphones can get a new mobile app called “CitySend“ to inform public works officials of their public issues. The mobile app, unveiled by Longview GIS Manager Justin Cure, allows users to take photos, record video and audio of a problem, and automatically provide GPS coordinates. After the report is submitted, users can track all reported problems on a map as well.

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Longview to launch mobile service request system

Longview News-Journal
February 14, 2012
By: Christina Lane

Want to report a pothole on a street, litter along a road, or graffiti on a wall? Starting Wednesday, Longview residents will be able to do so directly from a smartphone.

The City of Longview is launching a mobile application and online service — CitySend — that enables residents to report and track service requests, city officials said Monday.

Using CitySend, residents can snap a photo or video of an issue, pinpoint the location on a map, and then submit the concern directly to the city. After the issue is submitted, residents are able to track the response.

“It will allow us to gain efficiency,” Assistant City Manager Chuck Ewings said. “It is a new way to communicate.”

Anyone can download the free smartphone application, city spokesman Shawn Hara said. It is being launched on iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices. It will be available soon on Windows mobile devices, he said. Residents without smartphones can use an online version the city’s website. The program will cost the city about $12,000 annually.

Read More

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Need to report a pot hole?  There's an app for that!

KLTV ABC 7
February 13, 2012
By: Elizabeth Thomas

LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) -It's aimed at making problems in one East Texas town a lot shorter.

This week, a smart phone app will be available to Longview residents, where your pictures and video could speed up the solutions to problems in the city.

This app is going to change the way folks in Longview see their city.

Starting Wednesday, if you see a problem, you can log on, take a picture or video of it, note your location and send it to the city.

The city wants to hear from you.  but, there's one type of problem the city wants you to handle the old fashioned way. If it's a true emergency, city officials urge citizens to call 911.

The app is already available for download. It's scheduled to be up and running for you to use Wednesday.

View the Video

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Longview kicks off "City Send"

KYTX CBS 19
February 13, 2012
By: Richard Trelles

LONGVIEW (KYTX) --  Darwin Winfield just downloaded the new, free app called City Send.

"I've been able to download it on my Android phone," he said. "Snap a pic, take it and write a comment and they'll be able to download it at City Hall."

It allows the people of Longview to report issues like potholes and trash directly to the city to keep it safe and tidy.

"We keep our city clean and this is going to be an important tool in doing that."

People can access the app, fill out a form for their complaint and write any other comment they want to leave -- about a whole array of problems such as abandoned vehicles, animal control and recycling sanitation.

You can do the same thing at the city's website from you computer. 

Justin Cure with the city says it's an efficient way to stay connected with the people of Longview.

"If we don't know about a pothole, we have a hard time repairing it," Cure said.

Along with pictures, you can also post video and even leave voice messages then monitor the city's progress fixing a problem.

"You can not only track the status of your report, you can look at other reports and see what the city has done to correct it," Cure said. "And you can see reports in your neighborhood."

For city emergencies you still need to call 911, but this is a step toward improving people's lives.

View the Video

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Back On Track

Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine
January 2012
By: Peter Litterski

Sixteen years ago, the wastewater collection system in Longview, Texas, was aging badly. The city had been financing maintenance and line replacement with bonds rather than regular revenue, and the capacity and condition of its infrastructure were becoming problems.

In 1995, the city council authorized funding for a consultant study of the wastewater system and the development of a 15-year master plan for the rehabilitation of the infrastructure. Four years later, the council approved a similar process for the city’s water supply system. In addition to finding extensive problems with damaged sewer lines, “The first study reflected a lot of lines under capacity,” recalls Rolin McPhee, assistant director of public works.

In 2008, the city authorized a follow-up study as part of a 20-year wastewater facilities plan. It showed some lines that needed possible upgrades in the near future, but generally reflected the need for proactive maintenance, rather than recovery. “It’s more of what you’d see for a growing city that needs to improve capacities and maintain its assets, instead of what you’d see for an aging system with a lot of problems that need replacement,” McPhee says.

In other words, Longview’s Public Works Department had resolved the most serious problems identified by the original study more than 15 years ago — by sticking to the original master plan, aggressively repairing and replacing substandard and damaged lines, and being more proactive about maintenance, with help from a new software tool.

Continue Reading - Back On Track

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Revised Longview City Council Districts a Work in Progress

Longview News-Journal
June 2, 2011
By: Jimmy Isaac

It could take several months for city geographic information systems officials and an outside consulting firm to determine new municipal district boundaries for Longview, according to city spokesman Shawn Hara.

The city has until next year’s municipal elections to complete a new map of Longview’s six City Council districts, Hara said. Redistricting will be based on population from the 2010 U.S. Census.

San Antonio-based Rolando L. Rios & Associates has contracted with Longview to provide the services at a rate of $30,000, plus additional costs not to exceed $3,000, Hara said.

“The plan will be presented, and there will be at least one public hearing before it is voted on, then sent to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval,” he said. “The tentative goal would be to have it done in time for next year’s election, but I don’t think you are absolutely required to have it done until 2014. But we would like to have it done by next year, if possible.”

The Tyler City Council set new boundaries for its council districts one week ago and is awaiting federal approval, according to a news release.

Hara said he is not sure whether Longview’s new council boundaries will significantly change from the past decade. Between 2000 and 2010, the city grew from 73,344 residents to 80,455 residents, marking a 9.7 percent increase, according to census data.

The consulting firm and city GIS officials likely will submit multiple options for City Council members to consider, he said.

“Your goal is to get the populations relatively equal among the districts,” Hara said.

In 2012, the city will hold elections for districts 1 (west) and 2 (southwest). District 2 Councilman Daryl Williams is serving his third and final term in office, while District 1 Councilman John Sims is eligible for another term in office when his second term ends. Their two districts are separated by Loop 281 in the Greggton area.

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Longview, Texas: The Benefits of Cityworks GIS-Centric Enterprise Solution

Cityworks InPrint
Spring 2011
By: Laura Carr, GIS Project Manager, NTB Associates; Justin Cure, GIS Manager, City of Longview

The City of Longview, Texas, recently implemented Cityworks and is already experiencing substantial benefits with the system. Longview first implemented Cityworks in their Public Works Department (Water, Sewer, Streets, Traffic,
and Drainage Divisions) and soon after expanded to Parks, Buildings/Facilities, Warehouse, and Wastewater Treatment Plant. The many positive outcomes resulting from Cityworks include increased GIS capabilities, better reporting, time and cost savings, and improved communication throughout the enterprise.  Moreover, staff are very enthusiastic with the results and future potential of the system.

Cityworks - Longview, Texas: The Benefits of Cityworks GIS-Centric Enterprise Solution

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Some Honorary Street, Road Names Seldom Catch On

Longview News-Journal
December 6, 2010
By: Jimmy Isaac

Before Target, Hollywood Theater and Buffalo Wild Wings, before the University of Texas at Tyler-Longview Center and back when the Northeast Longview skyline was dominated with tall pine trees, there was the sign denoting U.S. 259 North as Sam Mc-Kelvey Parkway.

The designation has existed since the 1970s, when Gregg County named its busiest road for Sam Newton McKelvey, a farmer and conservationist who lived in the Judson community sliced by U.S. 259.

Sam McKelvey Parkway has become hot property in the past decade, with the development of Longview Towne Center igniting a flurry of retail, education and specialty outlets.

However, many businesses list their address as U.S. 259 North. Some, like Target, list their address as North Eastman Road, even though the Eastman designation applies only to U.S. 259 south of Loop 281 and not where Target is located.

Laverne Browning-Mc-Kelvey, 89, said she is among the last survivors of the McKelvey family.

“Sam McKelvey is dead, and his son is dead, and all of them except me, they’re dead,” she said from her room at a local assisted-living residence. “I was his daughter-in-law.”

Sam McKelvey was born June 11, 1889. After his death on June 21, 1974, he was buried in Alpine Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Tryon Road.

Browning-McKelvey said her father-in-law was one of the older, established men in the Judson community.

Other than being a farmer, she said she never knew exactly how McKelvey received the county’s honor.

“He was a dirt farmer, you might say,” she said, “and then my husband was a dairy farmer.”

Despite the name confusion, Longview geo-information systems manager Justin Cure said roads like Sam McKelvey Parkway cause no problems for local law enforcement.

He compared Sam Mc-Kelvey Parkway to Loop 281, which is named Tomlinson Parkway through much of north Longview in honor of 1950s city mayor J. Clyde Tomlinson. Only Longview High School, however, identifies Tomlinson Parkway in its address.

Another such roadway in Gregg County is Texas 322 in Lakeport, also known as Gardiner Mitchell Parkway.

Roads with honorary names are no different from expressway designations in larger cities, such as Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway for Interstate 20 in North Texas or Tom Landry Parkway for Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth, Cure said.

When programming streets and addresses into public service databases, Cure said names like Sam McKelvey and Tomlinson are linked to certain streets, so if someone in an emergency situation lists those seldom-used names, emergency dispatchers can still find their location.

“It won’t cause any kind of confusion,” Cure said. “We actually keep that information in an alias field, kind of like a secondary name field, so that (dispatchers) would be able to find it.”

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GIS Day 2010

November 17, 2010

The City of Longview GIS Division presented a three-day geographic extravaganza this year by taking GIS Day 2010 on the road. Almost 700 students at Pine Tree Intermediate and Middle Schools (4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades) were treated to an informative, fun, and enjoyable presentation that incorporated various GIS-related components. Two educational short films were shown that presented an abbreviated history of GIS as well as some of the current uses of GIS in the municipal sense. Interactive WebMap, GPS, iPad, and BlackBerry were utilized to demonstrate the many uses of GIS in our rapidly changing technological world. During the course of each presentation, the children were encouraged to ask questions, and they excitedly did so while showing unbridled enthusiasm for all things geographic. At presentation’s end, the students and teachers were given earth-shaped stress balls as a keepsake reminder of the wonderful world of GIS. A rewarding experience for all involved! – Roger Moser, Jr., City of Longview GIS Data Specialist

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Council Approves $100k for Public Works Software

Longview News-Journal
February 16, 2009
By: Jimmy Isaac

A new streamlined software program could mean faster response to Longview infrastructure problems and shorter wait times for residents who need water or sewer repairs, authorities said Friday.

The City Council on Thursday authorized spending up to $100,000 for a work order management system based on the city's Geographic Information System.

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