LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County Council members presented county IT employees with a certificate for implementing Land Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the county’s public portal and data hub at meeting on Wednesday.
The award followed a lengthy presentation by Garrett Johnson and Michael Weeks-Johnson, IT department staff, who provided a history and overview of GIS and LIMS systems, their recent projects, as well as a live demonstration of the site.
Johnson showed council members the county’s Open Data Hub, which aims to make it easier for the county to share information with the public and stay connected with Kaua‘i residents. The hub uses GIS to map and analyze data, including the county’s parks and recreation facilities, farmers markets, garbage and recycling collection, real-time bus routes, flood hazards, tsunami evacuation zones and water quality advisories.
“We have excellent users, like there are a number of firefighters who are super tech savvy, that have just taken the technology and run with it,” said Johnson.
He also explained how county police and fire departments are using the technology to inspect fire hydrants and help with 911 dispatch.
Johnson said the county began using GIS in 2002, but the software was very limited, even through 2006. Its use doubled during the pandemic, and it currently has more than 400 active users.
“Before we had this data, I would get emails just constantly from people looking for data. Now that we’re pushing this data to the public, they can kind of get it themselves,” said Johnson.
”And a lot of studies have shown if you put the data in the hands of citizens, it kind of generates innovation, curiosity, and kind of makes people feel closer to their government,” said Johnson.
Johnson said the county has about five full-time GIS staff now, compared with nine on Maui and 14 on Hawai‘i Island.
The LIMS update was presented by Weeks-Johnson, who explained how the system was used to build the county’s public portal, known as “Connect.” The portal is a management system database with county data, documents and history, and it was built using the softwares ElementsXS and ArcGIS.
“Elements is basically intended to make the county way more streamlined and efficient, and that should translate into better service for the public,” said Weeks-Johnson, adding that the portal has a public and internal side for county employees.
Johnson said the 2023 technology used to build the web-based, mobile friendly portal is “able to interact very well with the County of Kaua‘i and its citizens.”
“No more running around for phone numbers and stuff and go right here and get everything you need,” he said, adding that the portal also has features including a mapping system, online payments capabilities, as well as status updates.
“This is a single, centralized, unified application for everyone to go to interact with the county,” said Weeks-Johnson.
LIMS was first available to the public in early 2021, according to the IT division.
Council Member Felicia Cowden praised the IT division for their work.
“I just was so excited about what you guys have done, and so here we are at the end of June 2023. And I think we’re at a transformative moment for the functioning of our county,” she said. “I’m thankful for the 400 users within the county. I want to be one of those. I want to be 401. I want to be an active user on it.”
The award was also presented by council Member Addison Bulosan, who called the IT department’s work “the coolest thing ever.”
Council Chair Mel Rapozo noted that their needs to be “a muscle behind the technology,” and used the issue of abandoned cars in the county as an example.
“Why is it taking so long to get an abandoned vehicle removed?” he asked. “Why are we even wasting our time posting the car (on the online map) if we aren’t going to pick them up?”
Cowden responded that the IT division is not responsible for the policies.
“This is a certificate of recognition. Might not be a big deal, but we rarely do this for individuals in the county,” she said.
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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.
