Town council was given an update on the Fort Frances Web site at Monday night’s regular meeting, as well as a demonstration of the first phase of the G.I.S. computer-mapping program.
The G.I.S. (geographical information system) is a complex program that is based on a series of maps of the town, including streets, power lines, fire hydrants, water mains, property lines, and other features.
The G.I.S. is a three-year, $500,000 project that logs all of the town’s systems and structures, and will be used to log every metre of Fort Frances–above and below ground.
Doug Jordens of Jordens Consulting Services, which is installing the system, made the presentation. The company has just finished setting up G.I.S. for Dryden.
The G.I.S. will be used to inventory the systems the town has, to priorize services that need replacement or repair, and to keep current, easily accessible storage of any changes in town structure or systems over the coming years and decades.
“We’re quite pleased with how we will be able to put this to use,” said CAO Bill Naturkach.
Meanwhile, Administration and Finance manager Darryl Allan presented the town’s new Web site to council. Located at www.fort-frances.com, it continues to expand and is now connected to numerous commercial sites around town.
In other news from Monday night’s meeting, council discussed two options for a connecting link from the new Canada Customs facility here, which will be presented to the MTO for approval.
One is the designation of Church Street between Mowat Avenue and Central Avenue while the other is Mowat Avenue between Church Street and Scott Street.
At the end of Monday’s meeting, Mayor Glenn Witherspoon suggested Bell would be making a much-anticipated announcement sometime in the next two weeks.
While the mayor wouldn’t divulge any details, the town has been pushing for the installation of an upgraded Bell switch to increase phone and Internet speed here.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
