Commission discusses mapping priorities and possible county/ESRI support for the comprehensive plan

Commissioners and OBCA members discussed mapping and GIS as tools to inform the comprehensive plan. Chair Greer said she would draft research questions before asking the county or consultants for map products, and that useful layers might include town/county/state land ownership, riparian zones and future land-use maps rather than overly detailed or hard-to-maintain layers.

Commission staff and a commissioner noted the town and county have access to ESRI software and a higher-level county analyst (Tom Broklebrod) who can produce both maps and data layers for town use, though county services may carry a fee. "Visualizing data is really helpful to people," Greer said; commissioners agreed to focus on data layers that can be maintained and queried over time and to avoid gathering information that would quickly go out of date or be difficult to sustain.