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Liaison Division
June 10, 2006

ACSM/NSPS
(Click Above Link for Report)
 

GENERAL LAND OFFICE
 

No activity other than inviting Commissioner Patterson to the Picnic / Auction on June 10, 2006.  He will be out of town that day and not attend, but is sending a map as a donation to the auction.

(Henry Mayo)

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:              
 Jon Hodde                            

Gary Hudson                                                             

Lynn Savory                          

Richard Worthey                  

Coleen Johnson

Bill Coleman             

Paul Easley

Robert Young

Maxey Sheppard, Co-chair
 

Committee Tasks:

• Work with Standards Committee to establish guidelines for use of GPS in GIS Projects.  To include a checklist that could be used by Client & Provider to determine the scope of the work, deliverables, procedures and anticipated levels of accuracy.

• Continue development of GIS curriculum for use by Education Committee

• Continue to monitor the relationship between GIS and Surveying industries

•  Work with TBPLS after legislative session to create and adopt Rules for inclusion and exclusions

This committee will work to accomplish the following specific tasks:
 

• Create GIS Development course for the 2007 Spring Symposium

• Work with the Membership Committee to recruit GIS members and investigate possible GIS Membership Category

• Work with the Government Affairs committee to include GIS in the definition of surveying

• Assist Board in review of Chapter boundaries by providing an up to date map showing the number of TSPS members in each county

The GIS 101 course was presented at the 2006 Spring Symposium in Odessa.  There were 22 students in attendance.  This is comparable to past years’ attendance (45 students at the 2004 Symposium in College Station and 25 students at the 2005 Symposium in Tyler).  Gary Hudson and Maxey Sheppard said the course went very well. 

We are continuing to work on the GIS Development course.  Specific portions of the course outline were assigned to individuals at our February committee meeting.  We hope to have this course completed in time for the 2007 Spring Symposium.

There was a quarterly meeting of the Texas Geographic Information Council (TGIC) on February 2, 2006.  The agenda included presentations on the following:

• Consideration of the Texas Base Map Plan

• Crash Records Information System

• Texas Height Modernization Program

• 2005 GIS Technology Trends

Coleen Johnson and Maxey are representatives to this council and can hopefully give us a more complete report of that meeting.  The next TGIC meeting is scheduled for June 15, 2006.

There was a GIS Symposium held at the April ACSM Convention in Florida.  Several TSPS members were in attendance.  Robert Young will be giving our committee a report on this event.

Attached is a map of the current TSPS members across the state.  The map also shows the current TSPS Chapter boundaries, a table with the current members per chapter, and the major cities in each chapter.  Please let our committee know if there is any further information needed.

A committee meeting is planned for June 10, 2006 from 9:00a.m. until 11:00a.m.

Respectfully Submitted by:

Brianne Bernsen, Chair

View Texas Distribution of TSPS Members Graphic - CLICK HERE
 

REAL ESTATE
(Real Estate Liaison)

No activity since last report.

If anyone knows of anything that needs attention or needs to be addressed by this committee, please let me know.

I welcome any input and suggestions from past committee members and the general membership. Listed below is the committee charge and various tasks assigned to this committee:

 Committee Charge:

Continue to represent the objectives of TSPS before TAR. Keep TSPS Executive Committee and Board of Directors informed of any actions required by TSPS.  Develop a liaison contact at TAR and hold a minimum of once-a-month discussions concerning TSPS objectives and joint issues.  Coordinate with other TSPS committees, as required by issues of concern.

Tasks:

• Consider expanding this committee to have five Co-Chairs to correspond to the five TSPS chapter areas...See link with TLTA Liaison and five co-chairs;

• Prepare outline for TSPS Speakers at Real Estate meetings;

• Invitation for Real Estate Liaison to have exhibit at TSPS convention;

• Deliver a report at each quarterly board meeting responding to committee charges and task. Discussing actions, no action, problems, contacts made, input or concerns from other organization;

• Through out the year develop a short report to be presented and included in the annual business meeting concerning the objects and concerns of this organization;

REAL ESTATE DIVISION OF STATE BAR

The Committee continues to monitor recent Texas real estate law cases and summaries prepared by the Real Estate Section of the State Bar of Texas and publishes cases of interest in The Texas Surveyor.

TEXAS BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYING
 

The Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying held its first regular Board Meeting at its new Austin location on April 7, 2006.  Only six Board members were present, just enough for a quorum.

Highlights from the meeting were:

• David Collins made a presentation to the Board regarding the expiration of his license.  He had recently obtained CEUs and requested the Board allow him to re-new his license.  The Board voted to accept the CEUs and imposed the required fees for the license re-newal.

• Bill Ethridge of CDS Murray appeared before the Board on behalf of one of his employees; the employee is a registered surveyor in the State of Mississippi and his application for the Reciprocal Exam in Texas was denied by the Board.  The Board will reconsider the application.

• Garey Gilley, Complaints Officer, gave his report regarding complaints and actions taken.

• The complaint made against the TBPLS staff was dismissed as recommended by the Attorney General’s representative.

• Oil and Gas Committee (Osborn) – 1493 oil and gas wells were staked in Jan. 2006

• LSLS Committee (Smyth) report – the exam is ready and the study guide prepared by Bill Merten  was submitted for review.

• Legislative needs Committee (Smyth): a) the issue of a change in the Land Surveying Practices Act to provide for a Journeyman's license or certification for Party Chiefs was tabled after lengthy discussion.  b) the Board will draft legislation regarding the registration of surveying firms; the State of Florida has a provision in its Surveying Act that will be used as a model.

• Rules (Thomson): a) Pat Smith, Chairman of the TSPS Governmental Affairs Committee, spoke regarding the proposed rule for monumentation of subdivisions; the Board voted not to publish the rule that was discussed during the previous meeting. b) the proposed rules regarding Inactive Status, Frivolous Complaints, Certifications, and Surveying Firms, were not adopted because of a mix up when printing the packets for the Board Members; the proposed rules will go past the six month time limit before being adopted.

• Continuing Education Credit for attending Chapter Meetings – after lengthy discussion this topic was suspended and tabled until further discussion; the Board is seeking more information on the issue and will re-consider next meeting.

• HB 207 – regarding reduced fees for RPLS over the age of 65: tabled after lengthy discussion for future study; being actively considered.

The next TBPLS Board meeting is set for June 16, 2006..

Respectfully submitted,

Bill O’Hara, RPLS, LSLS

Liaison Committee Chairman
 

TxDOT

Since our last report there have been two Standing Committee On Surveying (SCOS) meetings, plus the annual TxDOT Surveyors’ Conference. On February 16, 2006 SCOS met with nine members (including the outgoing member and his replacement) and the sponsor present. There were also two guests present.  Subcommittee reports were presented including the following: 

ROW Mapping Standards/ROW Map Checklist, Chapter 5, Right-of-Way Surveying, MicroStation Graphic Files Standardization Guide of the TxDOT Survey Manual is under review and will updated to match the rollout of MircoStation V8.

Pre-certification transition from James Woods to Jon Cox is moving along.

Revised Survey Manual is complete and is on line at the TxDOT internet at the following address:  www.dot.state.tx.us/business/manuals_publications.htm

Click on TxDOT Manual System, then click on any of the manuals listed, including the Survey Manual, GPS Users’ Guide, any of the ten ROW Manuals, or any other manual that strikes your interest.

GPS Manual has received a few comments; revisions will be made after NGS changes are received.  CST committee is focusing on level II, plus two districts will increase the percentage for having CST’s on staff during the Short List Period;  Survey Control Documentation has a lot of confusion in the districts, hopefully will be cleared up at the Conference. Austin, Corpus Christi, Odessa and Waco District have not converted to MircoStation V8 and the GEOPACK.smd file is being updated to include all of the new feature codes are incorporated.

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to the upcoming TxDOT Surveyors’ Conference program, speaker’s gifts, the updated SCOS representation map and the District Survey Coordinator Workshop.

The TxDOT Surveyors’ Conference occurred on March 28 and 29, with an excellent program including Joan Kilpatrick and Galen Greaser of the GLO. Garey Gilley and Doug Turner of TBPLS, Tony Cavell of the Louisiana State University and several attorneys and RPLS’s from within TxDOT gave very interesting presentations. 

SCOS meet on Friday, May 12, 2006; there were eight members, the sponsor, and two guests present. The main focus was on review of the past Conference evaluations sheets and comments.  Committee reports were made, including the Survey Manual committee is looking at revising Chapter 5, Aviation, and adding a new chapter on Railroads as TxDOT is taking over railroads from the Railroad Commission. Problems with control in the Main Street, Texas program were discussed. Dean Wilkerson head of Surveying and Engineering applications within ISD discussed the recent workshop on the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Height Motorization Program present to TXDOT by the NGS advisors. The ultimate goal is to have NGS First Order, Class II accuracy on all vertical control monuments. A date for the 2007 TxDOT Surveyors’ Conference was set as March 27 and 28, 2007, with the District Survey Coordinators on March 29, 2009.  It has been requested that TSPS Spring Symposium be moved to earlier in March such as the second week or later in April like the third week. There are some TxDOT surveyors who would like to attend both function but due to the short time frame between can- not. Planning for next years conference topics was discussed and a preliminary list put together for further study.

It is amazing the ideas that come from the RPLS’s on the TxDOT Standing Committee On Surveying.

Having served as the TSPS liaison to SCOS for several years, I believe much credit for the success of this committee must go to the Director of TxDOT’s Information System Division Judy Skeen, P.E. who sponsors the committee.

The next committee meeting is August 18, 2006.

(Submitted by John Pierce)
 

TEXAS LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION

TSFI

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