Madison Area Surveyors Council

MASC Picnic

2007-07-03T19:36:00.001-07:00

The MASC picnic will be held Tuesday July 10th at 6:00 PM at Indian Lake park in Cross Plains (same place as last year). Please bring your own beverages, meat for grilling, and something to share. MASC will provide paper plates, plastic utensils, Ketchup, Mustard, Relish and the grill on which to cook the food. The business meeting will follow at 7:00 PM.

Hope to see you there!

WSLS Firm Directory

2007-07-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

WSLS is also looking for comments on their Firm Directory Application forms. We will be discussing this at our July and August meetings. If you would like a copy of the application for review prior to the July meeting, please contact Jim Logan or Glen Shaefer.

NSPS Board of Governors

2007-07-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

WSLS is currently looking for members who are willing to run. We will be talking about this at the July and August meetings.

Position Open: to represent WSLS on the Board of Governors (BOG) of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS)—to be selected by the election process

WSLS is a State Affiliate of NSPS. The relationship between NSPS and its 50 State Affiliates is for mutual support and cooperation in matters of legislation, education, public relations, ethics, standards and technical education. There is not a formal legal or financial connection between the Affiliates and NSPS. NSPS has been in existence since 1981 when it became a Member Organization of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM). It operates under a Board of Directors. The fifty state Affiliates are represented by a Board of Governors, whose clout as an advisory body strongly influences the actions of the Board of Directors.

WSLS is now looking for a replacement for Executive Director Harold Charlier who is stepping down beginning in 2008 from representing WSLS on the NSPS BOG. The Society’s tentative plan is to select an individual by the election process for a 3-year term of office. The basic duty is to represent WSLS at the spring and fall meetings of NSPS. In recent years the spring meetings have been at selected cities around the country (e.g., St. Louis in 2007), while the fall meeting has been near NSPS headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD (a Washington, D.C. suburb). In conjunction with the BOG meetings, the delegate is expected to attend other meetings that may be of interest to WSLS members, such as that of the Great Lakes Regional Council, the NSPS Board of Directors, ALTA, Trig Star, as well as other committees and events. Other obligations, assignments and liaisons between WSLS and NSPS may take place during the course of the year.

WSLS reimburses the delegate on the BOG for all travel and lodging expenses, limited to just those items supported by original receipts. All activities funded by WSLS require that the recipient turn in a written report of his or her participation and involvement in such activities.

Individuals wishing to run for this position may develop their own election campaign and promotions for soliciting votes. They must of course be licensed members of the Society (Regular, Fellow or Life members) and be a member of NSPS prior to running for the position.

The election is to take place by ballot, which will accompany the December mailing of the 2008 dues notice and returned via a supplied special envelope, which must be returned and postmarked on or before January 31, 2008. Our Annual Institute is scheduled for February 6-8, 2008.

Where is all the content???

2007-05-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I haven't been posting for a loooonnnngggg time (or attending meetings). I've been in Chicago working on a laser scanning job, and back in the office, processing the data for said job. I'm sure nobody is reading this anyway since we havn't had any new post lately. I am really going to try to post more than I have been, so that we continue to use this communication outlet.

Meeting Tonight!

2007-03-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the agenda for the meeting tonight the additions to the agenda since it was sent out are shown in red:

MADISON AREA SURVEYORS COUNCIL
Meeting 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 13, 2007, at Arnold & O'Sheridan, 1111
Deming Way, Madison.

PROGRAM
MASC Constitution and By-Laws discussion. The discussion will take place
as the last "new business" item.

BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA
- Call to Order
- Introductions
- Additions to Agenda
+ (Usually only informational items will be added and issues requiring a
discussion, motion, and vote will be considered only when urgent action is
required.)
- Approval of the February Meeting Minutes
- Approval of the March Treasurer's Report
- Bulletin Board Status, Dan Frick
- Trig-Star, Joe Gruber. Motion for MASC to provide awards to local
Trig-Star winners?
- CST Exam Report, Dan Birrenkott
- WSLS Reports
+ Plat Advisory Committee, Jim Logan
+ Water Issues Committee, Jim Logan
+ Other WSLS Committee reports
- Scholarship Committee, Curt Sauser
- History report status, Rod Key
- Future Programs
+ Wednesday, April 11 - DOT Safety Information (tentative)
+ Tuesday, May 8 -
+ Wednesday, June 13 -
+ Tuesday, July 10 -
+ Wednesday, August 8 -
+ Tuesday, September 11 -
+ Wednesday, October 10 -
+ Tuesday, November 13 -
+ Wednesday, December 12 -
+ Date TBD: NGS Geodetic Advisor, FEMA, picnic, Dane Zoning, National
Grid, Dane County Surveyor
NEW BUSINESS
- Report on the records and indexes at the Dane County Surveyor's Office by
Dan Rodman and Dan Frick
- Report on the ACSM Conference, Frank Thousand.
+ Federal certification programs for surveyors.
= FEMA certification which was the subject of an article in the last
American Surveyor.
= BLM certification for working on federal lands including Indian
lands.
+ Conference reports by other attendees.
-Greg Jones will talk about the MATC Advisory Board
-Jim Logan will talk about National Surveyors Week
- MASC Constitution and By-Laws discussion.
+ MASC constitution and by-laws currently do not match MASC practices.
Proposed revisions to the constitution and by-laws will be discussed.
Please reread the copy of the current constitution and by-laws which was
attached to the December 2006 agenda. If you do not still have a copy of
the constitution and by-laws, you may have another copy e-mailed to you be
contacting the MASC secretary.

Adjourn

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
April Meeting - DOT Safety Information; Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at MATC

Capitol Monument Plaque

2007-02-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the plaque that will be placed in the capitol to provide some background information on the monument in the floor. The monument is in the lower level of the capitol under the center-ish of the main rotunda. I'm not sure where the plaque will be placed. Click on the picture for a larger image.

Meeting coming up...

2007-02-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

The next MASC meeting is Tuesday, March 13th, at Arnold and O'Sheridan, where we will discuss the MASC constitution and bylaws. Please send in any agenda items to add to the discussion by March 6th.

Blizzard 2007...Digging Out?

2007-02-26T05:20:00.000-08:00

Well the big blizzard is over and it is time to go back to work. Looks like we have anywhere from 12.9" in Madison to 16.8" in De Forest. I'm wondering how other surveyors cope with the snow days and maintain profitability. I able to stay inside and eat doughnuts...er...I mean do engineering work. What do you do? Spend time digging, close traverses in the office (like you still do it by hand), equipment maintenance, or do you just stay home in bed.

A Message From Dan Rodman...

2007-02-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

For my own benefit and company training, I have been gradually compiling a report on the records and indexes at the Dane County Surveyor's Office. I have learned a lot from others in the process, and realize that there are older records that are not indexed in the computerized database but are still relevant.

I think this might make a good MASC project. We could circulate a draft and get information from all the world-wise veterans before they retire, form a committee to draft a report, perhaps including recommendations for minimum survey research depending on the area, and put MASC's stamp of approval on it. It would be a useful resource, shortening learning curves and encouraging better surveying practice (or at least making low-bidders feel guilty about skimping on research!).

I think something around 10-20 pages would be sufficient.

Dan F, I wouldn't want a project like this to overstep your authority, but I also realize you are busy.

Also, it might not be the best idea to have lots more people digging through old records that haven't been scanned and preserved yet.

Any thoughts?
Dan Rodman

WLIA Annual Conference

2007-02-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

The WLIA annual conference will be held March 7-9 in Appleton, WI at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. The preliminary program and registration form will provide more detail on the conference. Here is more information on upcoming WLIA events and the WLIA in general. The Conference has a Surveying and Mapping track with topics that are important to the surveying community. Land Surveyors who are members of WSLS, should also consider joining WLIA. As a Land Surveyor, you are a member of the land information community and they need your input.

WSLS Foundation Reference CD

2007-02-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

Jerry Mahun gave an excellent presentation on the WSLS Foundation Reference CD last night. If you wish to purchase your own copy, or want more information on the WSLS foundation, contact the WSLS foundation.

The MASC Blog Lives!

2007-02-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

I'm just making a quick post to let people know this blog will continue. MASC members seemed enthusiastic about the blog and the ability to post comments on issues of the day. My intent is to post at least three times a week so please send me items of interest to post.

Meeting Tonight!

2007-02-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

The Madison Area Surveyor's Council will be having a meeting tonight at 7:00 PM at Arnold and O'Sheridan's office located at 1111 Deming Way, Madison Wisconsin. The program will include a presentation by Jerry Mahun on the the reference CD put out by the WSLS foundation. CD's will be on sale for a $50 donation to the WSLS foundation at the meeting. The MASC business meeting will follow the presentation the agenda is available here for your reference. For more information on MASC.