GeoTX Consulting

Summary
    The Gary Softball Complex is a 42-acre recreational facility managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation in San Marcos, Texas. The complex has two facilities built at different stages. The first facility was built in 1983 and the second facility built in 2012. Both facilities in the complex have three softball diamonds and other amenities for visitors, such as bleachers, concessions, restrooms, and picnic tables, and each facility within the Gary Sports Complex contains its own set of utilities such as irrigation systems, light poles, breaker boxes, and water valves. The discrepancies between the newer and outdated facilities is a big driver in the city of San Marcos’s request for a comprehensive spatial inventory. With half of the complex remaining outdated, the inventorying of amenities and utilities helps the park and recreation department make informed decisions when planning for expansion and renovation.

Purpose
    GeoTX will seek to create an effective and efficient geodatabase for the Gary Softball Complex that provides a platform for the city of San Marcos’s development of a proactive approach to asset management. GeoTX will also create a geodatabase that merges spatial data and non-spatial data from the Gary Softball Complex and the Soccer Complex. The merged database will be easily applied, accessed and edited for future inventories of features present in other parks in San Marcos. An extensive spatial inventory including data for all parks allows the city to proactively, consistently, and efficiently manage park improvements, expansions, repairs, and maintain a quality experience for its users. Finally, the GeoTX is seeking to provide the city of San Marcos with a visualization of the absolute location of all amenities and utilizes located in the Gary Softball Complex. A visualization of the Gary Sports Complex allows for easier identification of features, which helps during daily park maintenance, and planning for future improvements.

Methods
    In order to create a comprehensive geodatabase for the Gary Sports Complex, GeoTX used a Trimble XT GPS unit to collect locational data for all pertinent features in the complex. Post-processing of GPS data allowed GeoTX to achieve data accuracy of less than one meter. After data files were differentially corrected to improve accuracy, .COR files were exported from Pathfinder Office into ArcMap as shapefiles. Polygon features were not collected using a GPS unit, but instead were digitized using a georeferenced orthographic aerial image. After all necessary data was collected, created, or digitized shapefiles were organized into feature classes, which were further organized into feature datasets. Once a comprehensive and well organized geodatabase was designed for the Gary Sports Complex, three models were created for visualization of features located in the Gary Sports Complex. The three models designed include a impervious and pervious cover map, an amenities and utilities map, and an irrigation map.

Conclusion
    All project outcomes, including geodatabase and model creation were met, and the final products show that combining GPS data collection techniques, and geographic information systems (GIS) data management, storage and modeling capabilities is an effective way to create an accurate and comprehensive spatial inventory created in a short period of time, and with basic GPS equipment, that can be used for efficient and well informed park management by the City of San Marcos. The final project deliverables include raw GPS data collected for the Gary Softball Complex, a geodatabase of all feature classes organized by feature datasets, a merged geodatabase with the Five Mile Dam soccer complex, and maps of various features of the complex. The group produced three maps of the complex; a cover map, an irrigation map and a utilities and amenities map. The cover map shows the location of impervious and pervious surfaces covering the Gary Sports Complex. The irrigation map models the valve boxes and sprinkler heads for the entire complex. The utilities and amenities map displays features such as parking, lighting, waste disposal, hazard safety, water valves, electrical features, and flag poles.