News

Andrew E. Sturgeon, PLS, Joins Sewall as Director of Business Development
James W. Sewall Company announces today that Andrew E. Sturgeon, PLS, has joined the firm’s Engineering, Surveying, and Utilities group as Director of Business Development.

Formerly President and CEO of The Ames Corporation, a Bangor-based engineering and architectural firm, Mr. Sturgeon owned and established several businesses in the area, most notably A.E. Sturgeon & Company, one of the largest land surveying and planning firms in northern and central Maine. He brings to Sewall 27 years’ experience in business and project management; land development permitting and design; unorganized territory regulatory review; and local, state, and federal permitting.

He also supervised rezoning and concept planning for development projects in the Moosehead Lake region and managed multiple surveying projects in Central Maine for the Maine Department of Transportation. As President of A.E. Sturgeon, he expanded the company’s services from standard boundary surveys to construction layout, topographical and GPS surveys, subdivision design, and municipal and state permitting.

Sewall Vice President Scott Graham, PE, says, “We are especially pleased to welcome Andy to the team. His breadth of experience in business development will be an asset to Sewall’s growth in commercial and industrial markets nationwide.”

A licensed Professional Land Surveyor in Maine and certified for Federal Highway Administration relocation projects, Mr. Sturgeon is Past President of the Maine Society of Land Surveyors and was named 2003 Surveyor of the Year. Today he chairs the Education Committee of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and is a member of the Maine Society of Land Surveyors and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. A Bangor resident for 23 years, he majored in engineering at the University of Maine in Orono.

Founded in 1880, Sewall is an integrated team of geospatial, engineering and natural resource consultants who partner with clients to create practical, sustainable solutions. The company’s diverse portfolio is based on 100 years' experience in surveying, forestry consulting, and civil engineering; 60 years' in aerial mapping; and 20 years' in geospatial systems and software. In the last 10 years, Sewall’s offerings have expanded to include traffic and environmental engineering and, most recently, web services using Geospatial Web and portal technologies. For more information, contact: Scott Graham, PE, Vice President, at 207 827 4456; scott.graham@sewall.com

Rockland County, NY, Deploys Sewall GeoPower™ to Serve Local Communities
GIS Portal Improves Public Access to Geospatial Information, Mapping and Applications

National GIS firm James W. Sewall Company announced today that the Planning Department of Rockland County, New York, has launched the Rockland County GIS Portal on the Sewall GeoPower™ platform, an innovative on-line solution that provides comprehensive shared spatial data, maps, and applications across government departments, to the public and into the private sector. Based on ESRI server technology, GeoPower allows a wide range of users to search through, access, and interact with a centralized, authoritative repository of spatial data with only a standard browser and Internet connection. Rockland County’s GIS professionals are able to post custom web applications, a library of ready-to-print maps, and GIS data files for download.

Rockland County has found that instant, secure web access to parcel data, related information layers, and applications streamlines business processes and frees staff for the true mission of public service. Importantly, the general public has direct access to the same wide variety of high-quality information as government agencies, improving their access to services.

For the public, the GIS Portal provides an interactive mapping application with address lookup, tax parcel data, voting districts, land use, demographics and transportation. Similar data is provided as downloadable shapefiles and as ready-to-print high-quality maps. For government officials at the county, town and village level, the Planning Department has created individual login accounts with specific access rights to an expanded mapping application, as well as data files and maps for restricted or sensitive themes such as emergency response information, utility infrastructure, and delinquent tax parcels.

“We are very excited about the release of the GIS Portal,” said Douglas Schuetz, Rockland County’s Director of GIS. “It allows us to better serve our residents by providing them direct access to a wealth of information whenever they want it. We expect to reap great benefits from the standardization, centralization, and flexibility of the new platform, including cost savings for the County, improvements in process efficiencies, and a wider variety of services to the community.”

Earlier this year, Sewall formed the Geospatial Solutions operating group to leverage broad capabilities in GIS data production and analysis, systems engineering and integration, product development and technical project management for the benefit of clients in government and industry. Since the acquisition of Weiler Mapping in 2003, Sewall has built an extensive presence in New York State, maintaining tax maps and databases for county and local governments that include over 20 percent of all tax parcels in the State. Sewall is currently leveraging this expertise and access to important GIS data to assist local officials in the State in the development of shared services and advanced public administration capabilities.

To obtain more information, please contact: Randall Cercopely, Solutions Manager, at 843 224 6953; cerra@sewall.com; or visit www.co.rockland.ny.us. To view the portal, visit https://geopower.jws.com/rockland

Sewall Hires Professional Wetlands Scientist Chester C. Bigelow, III
James W. Sewall Company is pleased to announce the hire of Chester C. Bigelow, III, PWS, as Senior Environmental Scientist. Mr. Bigelow brings to Sewall 25 years’ experience in aquatic and wetland ecology and environmental engineering, with a specialization in water quality monitoring, wetland restoration, and ecological conservation and management.

Prior to joining Sewall, Mr. Bigelow played a pivotal role in developing, implementing and managing critical water quality and protection programs at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, including the Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Program, Virginia’s Water Protection Permits Program, Wetland Restoration Program, and most recently the Total Maximum Daily Load Program, which established bacterial contamination reduction targets for estuarine shellfish waters. He has extensive grant writing, public speaking, and community outreach experience; and expertise in the ESRI Arc family of software tools. He is currently a member of the Society of Wetland Scientists and the American Ecological Society.

At Sewall, Mr. Bigelow will assist government, industry and commercial clients with environmental assessment, wetland delineation and functional assessment, spill response and damage assessment, field collection and statistical analysis of chemical and biological data, and state and federal environmental permitting.

According to Vice President Scott Graham, PE, “Chet’s background as an ecologist and wetland scientist, plus his experience as a former regulator, makes him a valuable addition to our Environmental Team. He will help Sewall be an even better advocate for our clients in Maine and throughout the eastern United States.”

Mr. Bigelow received an MS and BS in biology from the Virginia Commonwealth University and served in the US Marine Corps as Sergeant in the 2nd and 3rd Reconnaissance Battalions.

Founded in 1880, Sewall is an integrated team of geospatial, engineering and natural resource consultants who partner with clients to create practical, sustainable solutions. The company’s diverse portfolio is based on 100 years' experience in surveying, forestry consulting, and civil engineering; 60 years' in aerial mapping; and 20 years' in geospatial systems and software. In the last 10 years, Sewall’s offerings have expanded to include traffic, environmental, and marine engineering and, most recently, web services using Geospatial Web and portal technologies. For more information, contact: Patrick Graham, PE, Director of Project Development, at 207 827 4456; pgraham@sewall.com

Seneca County Engages Sewall to Develop Online Tax Parcel Solution
eParcel Hub™ to Improve Public Access to Current Assessment, Tax, and Property Sales Data

Seneca County, New York, and national GIS firm James W. Sewall Company announced today at the annual conference of the New York State Association of Directors of Real Property Tax Services the award of a contract to develop and deploy the eParcel Hub™, an innovative on-line solution for delivering tax parcel data to the public and for streamlining tax collection information management and other assessment-related processes. eParcel Hub will enable the County to house comprehensive tax assessment, billing, and payment data in one location and to maintain and monitor this data quickly and efficiently on-line. Importantly, the public can also access the same information on-line, improving the delivery of services and optimizing the effectiveness of County staff resources.

Earlier this year, Sewall formed the Geospatial Solutions operating group to leverage broad capabilities in GIS data production and analysis, systems engineering and integration, product development, and technical project management for the benefit of our clients in government and industry. Since the acquisition of Weiler Mapping in 2003, Sewall has built an extensive presence in New York State, maintaining tax maps and databases for county and local governments that include over 20 percent of all tax parcels in the State. Sewall is currently leveraging this expertise as well as access to important GIS data to assist local officials in New York in the development of shared services and advanced public administration capabilities.

About Sewall: Founded in 1880, Sewall is an integrated team of geospatial, engineering and
natural resource consultants who partner with clients to create practical, sustainable solutions. The company’s diverse portfolio is based on 100 years' experience in surveying and civil engineering; 60 years' in aerial mapping; and 20 years' in GIS and software application development. Sewall has 11 offices in cities nationwide, including Elmira, New York. To obtain more information on Sewall offerings and services, please contact: J. Randall Cercopely, Solutions Manager, at 843 224 6953; cerra@sewall.com

About Seneca County and the Seneca County Real Property Tax Office: Embraced by
Seneca and Cayuga lakes, Seneca County is the essence of the Finger Lakes. Vineyards,
parks, museums, outdoor attractions, unique shopping, plus great food and wine overlook
the lakes. In this great environment for business, residence and recreation, the Seneca
County Real Property Tax Office is dedicated to performing professionally and courteously in
order to better assist taxpayers, assessors and the County Board of Supervisors with all
aspects of real property tax.