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GIS and communications department outlines data projects, Next Gen 9‑1‑1 work and new public services
Summary
Clay County GIS and Communications reported new staffing capacity, an online section-corner lookup tool, section-corner re‑monumentation progress, updated aerial imagery and plans for improved forms and county code publication.
Mark Sloan, director of GIS and Communications, presented the department’s annual update on Feb. 11, describing staff growth and new services that support county departments and outside partners.
Sloan said the department now has five full‑time staff after recent hires and that communications functions — including streaming and recording board meetings — are housed with GIS. The department added a communications coordinator and converted a GIS technician to full time in the last year, Sloan said, which increased capacity for projects such as a new searchable map application for section corners using BLM identification numbers and a re‑monumentation program contracted through Two North Surveys.
Sloan described re‑monumentation as a multi‑year effort (budgeted at about $42,000 annually) to locate or reestablish original public land survey corners, collect coordinates, and use the results to improve parcel data. The department noted it has completed work in six townships and will continue east‑to‑west work in subsequent years.
GIS staff said Clay County delivered Next Generation 9‑1‑1 (NG9‑1‑1) data — road centerlines, address points and emergency service zones — to Minnesota’s enterprise system and that the data was accepted. The department plans new oblique aerial imagery this spring and recently made high-resolution imagery from April available to staff. Mark said the department is building a new in‑house sign inventory system for county signs, and is cooperating with other counties and the Minnesota County GIS Association to share tools and lower costs.
On communications and digital services, Sloan said the department is rolling out a forms platform to support online payments and expects to republish the county code on a searchable platform, saving about $20,000 by doing the work in‑house. The department also supports digital signage across county facilities and helped equip and brand recent new county buildings.
Sloan credited staff for regional engagement — including presentations at a national conference and hosting biweekly knowledge sessions for Minnesota county GIS staff — and said the department is generally staffed and equipped for current needs, though software licensing and other recurring costs are a concern.
No formal board action was required or taken on the departmental update.
