March 5, 2013
03/06/13 The Marshall County Commissioners approved the request of NIPSCO to get additional information from the County’s GIS data.
A couple of weeks ago NIPSCO made a request to be able to access names and addresses from the GIS so that once they have selected a couple of possible routes for the Reynolds to Topeka over-head transmission line they could contact prospective property owners and let them know of the public open houses for the project.
The current county ordinance does not allow for names and addresses to be released. After reviewing the request with the county’s GIS staff and the IT Department it was determined that such information can be obtained without much issue.
The Commissioners agreed to allow NIPSCO the names and addresses for the parcels the power lines may use in the 100 mile project. NIPSCO will pay the county $15,000 for the complete data base including names and addresses. NIPSCO has also agreed to use the data for this specific project and not sell the information to a third party.
County Attorney Jim Clevenger suggested the commissioners “revisit” the ordinance and update it for data that is now available from the County’s GIS and review the fees charged to see if they are in-line with other communities who have the capability to share GIS data.