PRESS

Woolpert Signs 6-year Deal to Map Maine

January 12, 2017

BANGOR, Maine (Jan. 12, 2017) — Woolpert has signed a contract to collect high-resolution, four-band orthoimagery throughout the state of Maine. The six-year deal, which has a three-year initial term and a three-year renewal option, has an estimated value of $1.7 million.

The imagery will be used by the Maine GeoLibrary to maintain its mission to provide geospatial data products to all levels of government, the University of Maine, and private and nonprofit businesses.

These up-to-date, digitally accessible maps will be used for property assessment, planning, code enforcement, impervious surface mapping, engineering studies, emergency management, public works, environmental studies, natural resource management, agriculture management or other topographic needs.

Sam Moffat, Woolpert project manager, said this is the second consecutive multiyear orthoimagery contract Maine has awarded to Woolpert and the firm’s Bangor-based subcontractors Kappa Mapping and Shyka, Sheppard & Garster Land Surveyors.

“We have a good working relationship with the state of Maine, and they have increasingly seen the value of this geospatial data throughout the state,” Moffat said. “They’ve also done a great job at modifying the program to fit their needs.”

Maine GIS Administrator Joe Young said that prior to the 2012-16 collection, only around a dozen communities across the state had purchased high-resolution imagery. But in the last five years, 77 communities purchased high-resolution imagery and at least half a dozen had done it more than once.

Maine has more than 13,000 miles of unorganized territory, or a third of the state, which is sparsely populated.

“The 2017-22 program has been adapted to better meet county needs,” Young said. “During this period, the counties will be asked to share base imagery acquisition costs for just the organized communities. This will reduce acquisition costs for counties with large areas of unorganized territories.”

Young added that counties also will be offered an opportunity to purchase 12-inch resolution imagery for a nominal premium over the base-level 18-inch resolution.

“We are hopeful other funding partners will be found to meet the needs for higher-resolution, leaf-off imagery in the unorganized territories,” he said.

The Maine GeoLibrary Board also has developed a OneMAP for Me program to respond to the growing need for this kind of up-to-date, authoritative mapping data. It is proposing a $6 million bond to support the continuing investment in geospatial data that is important to the development community and the management of Maine’s assets.

“The work we’re doing at the state level provides significant benefits to the private sector and their work in economic development opportunities, as well as engineers and surveyors who use this data on a regular basis for their clients developing new roads and subdivisions,” Young said. “This data is a great benefit to the communities and the state of Maine.”

About Woolpert

Woolpert is a national architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm that delivers value to clients by strategically blending engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial applications. With a dynamic R&D department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners like Google; operates a fleet of planes, sensors and unmanned aerial systems (UAS); and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and sustainable design. Woolpert’s mission is to help its clients progress—and become more progressive. For over 100 years and with 23 offices across the United States, Woolpert serves the needs of federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the United States Armed Forces. The firm currently is doing business in all 50 states and in five foreign countries. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258.