Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-03-31-minutes-it-study-sessionCreated on 6/1/2026 3:46:19 PM KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IT Study Session Special Meeting Tuesday March 31, 2026 - 1:00 PM BOCC Conference Room 205 West 5th Room 108 - Ellensburg 1. Call to Order 2. Citizen Comments (1 min. time limit) 3. Requesting for Direction of GIS Resources 4. Discussion: Public Website/Intranet Update 5. Other Business - No Action to be taken 6. Concluded 2026-03-31 MINUTES 1 KITTITAS COUNTY IT STUDY SESSION MINUTES BOCC CONFERENCE ROOM, 205 WEST 5TH ROOM 108 - ELLENSBURG Special Meeting TUESDAY 1:00 PM March 31, 2026 Board members present: Commissioner Cory Wright, Commissioner Brett Wachsmith Absent: Commissioner Laura Osiadacz Others: IT Director Doug Fessler, Assistant IT Director Zane Kinney, Infrastructure Manager Bill Davis, Administrative Assistant Grant Shimada Call to order at 1:00 p.m. Citizen Comments – There were no citizen comments. IT Department’s Request for Board Direction of GIS Resources IT Director Doug Fessler and Assistant IT Director Zane Kinney both gave an overview of the current GIS climate. Due to the growing needs for GIS support within multiple departments, IT has put together a couple solutions: 1) Hire new staff with a broad set of experience ranging from application troubleshooting to GIS support, 2) Train internal staff, 3) Use 3rd party consultants to handle the County’s growing support needs, 4) Use a hybrid approach of internal training and 3rd party consultants. Mr. Fessler and Mr. Kinney requested Board feedback on the presented options and direction for next steps. The Board expressed their understanding that the growing GIS need is a high priority affecting multiple departments and directed Mr. Fessler and Mr. Kinney to continue researching into hiring new talent. Public Website/Intranet – Discussion Assistant IT Director Zane Kinney reported that Diagram Inc. is making steady progress on the new public website and commended their work. Mr. Kinney will soon begin setting up training and department data migration. Mr. Kinney commented that they might have a demo of the new website ready by the next study session in April. Mr. Kinney informed the Board of a cloud-hosted web-based agentic AI that can assist users with their inquiries by pulling information from specific websites instead of searching the entire internet. The Board expressed their support for this idea. Mr. Kinney informed the Board that this will go on a budget amendment. 2026-03-31 MINUTES 2 OTHER BUSINESS SharePoint – Discussion Mr. Fessler and Mr. Kinney informed the Board that this project will be tabled to allow them to focus on other department matters. Meeting adjourned at 1:57 p.m. KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON Grant Shimada, Administrative Assistant Cory Wright, Chairman Page 1 of 3 Information Technology “Study Session Staff Report”, 3/31/2026 KITTITAS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STAFF REPORT FOR STUDY SESSION Information Technology STUDY SESSION DATE: 3/31/2026 TOPIC: GIS Resourcing Discussion and Direction ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff LEAD STAFF: Zane Kinney RECOMMENDATION: Provide direction to the IT Department on the preferred resourcing model for Kittitas County’s GIS program to ensure continuity of service and timely modernization of the County’s ArcGIS Enterprise environment. BRIEFING SUMMARY: • The County currently has a vacancy in its sole GIS Analyst position and continues to experience capacity and continuity constraints within the GIS program. • Prior staffing changes in 2023 led IT to augment GIS support through an outside GIS consulting firm to provide escalated technical support when needed. • The current model has been effective for continuity in some areas, but the County is falling behind in several key GIS program needs and planned modernization work. • A major shift in GIS resourcing is needed to meet service expectations, reduce operational risk, and complete the required upgrade path to ArcGIS Enterprise 11. BACKGROUND: Kittitas County’s GIS program provides critical support to County operations and to departments that rely on accurate spatial data, mapping services, and GIS-enabled business processes. In 2023, the County’s GIS Coordinator position was vacated abruptly. At that time, IT identified significant challenges in recruiting a qualified replacement within the constraints of the prevailing GIS job market and the County wage scale. With Board approval, IT implemented an alternative support model by contracting with an outside GIS consulting firm to provide an escalation path for advanced GIS needs and continuity of expertise. Under that model, the IT Assistant Director (Zane Kinney) provided supervision and direction to GIS staff and served as a key point of continuity due to institutional familiarity with the County’s GIS environment. While this provided stability and helped Page 2 of 3 Information Technology “Study Session Staff Report”, 3/31/2026 maintain operations, this approach has not been a successful substitute for internal GIS architectural capacity and long-term program development. More recently, the County has experienced a vacancy in its sole GIS Analyst position. IT believes refilling that position “as-is” will not, by itself, provide the level of knowledge and skill needed to meet service level expectations and complete upcoming modernization work on required timelines. DISCUSSION: Current Condition and Service Impacts Our current mix of in-house staffing and consulting support has kept GIS services running. However, we still have trouble providing steady, predictable service, and we do not have enough in-house expertise to plan ahead and improve the program—much of our work is focused on responding to issues as they come up. IT must plan and execute an upgrade path to ArcGIS Enterprise version 11, as version 10 is reaching its end of support. IT believes the County’s GIS resourcing approach must align with the complexity and timeline expectations of this modernization work, while also strengthening day-to-day support and program direction. To address these needs, IT is presenting three potential models for Board discussion and direction. These options are intentionally presented at a high level to support in-person dialogue and refinement at the study session. Option A — Hire a Senior GIS Specialist/Architect; minimize consultant reliance • Concept: Recruit a senior-level GIS Solution Architect to provide primary technical leadership, system architecture ownership, and program development capacity. Use the consultant selectively for specialized or time-limited work. General advantages: Strong internal ownership; improved continuity; reduced dependency on third-party availability for core functions; improved ability to prioritize and execute modernization work. General considerations: Higher recruitment difficulty and compensation requirements. Even with a highly qualified senior hire, relying heavily on one person to understand and maintain a complex GIS environment can recreate a “single point of failure.” If that employee leaves or is unavailable, the County could again face an urgent scramble to maintain continuity and recover key knowledge. Option B — Hire a GIS Solution Architect I/II; continue consultant for escalations Concept: Recruit an intermediate-level GIS Solution Architect to rebuild internal capacity while retaining the consulting firm as an escalation path and for advanced Page 3 of 3 Information Technology “Study Session Staff Report”, 3/31/2026 technical support. General advantages: Balances internal capacity with external backstop; may improve recruitment feasibility; supports phased transition of knowledge and responsibility. General considerations: Ongoing dependency for higher-complexity work; requires active coordination to avoid split ownership or unclear accountability. Option C — Expand consultant-managed model; IT provides front-line administration and liaison Concept: “Lean in” to the consulting firm to manage, direct, and develop the GIS program, with County IT continuing to provide front-line support such as licensing administration, ticket triage, and coordination between departments and the consultant. This would continue to require involvement from the IT Assistant Director and the GIS Support Technician. General advantages: Potentially faster access to specialized expertise; reduced recruitment burden; may accelerate certain project-based deliverables. General considerations: Higher long-term vendor dependency; continuity and institutional knowledge remain partly externalized; requires strong contract management, clear deliverables, and defined governance to ensure responsiveness and cost control. The county stakeholders may need to align expectations to the consultant’s SLA. FISCAL IMPACTS: Regardless of the chosen direction, the IT department sees no way forward that does not require the county to increase spending to provide adequate support for the GIS program. ATTACHMENTS: Legal consultation? No Finance consulted? Yes Page 1 of 1 Information Technology “Study Session Staff Report”, 3/31/2026 KITTITAS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STAFF REPORT FOR STUDY SESSION Information Technology STUDY SESSION DATE: 3/31/26 TOPIC: Discussion of the Public Website/Intranet Update ACTION REQUESTED: No Action - Information Only LEAD STAFF: Zane Kinney RECOMMENDATION: No recommendation requested. BRIEFING SUMMARY: Work with Diagram on the county public website is progressing according to the timeline. BACKGROUND: In 2023 the Board directed IT to work on modernizing CAMAS. Since that time, IT has developed a project plan, and progress has been made to reach our goals. DISCUSSION: • CAMAS features currently being addressed are: o Preliminary Site Analysis (stalled), o Purchasing & Vouchering (blocked), o Claim for Reduction of Assessment (awaiting user adoption), o Asset Management (pending user training) • IT has received a quote for the StoneShare TownSquare SharePoint Intranet Package, $65,000. IT is recommending that we table further consideration of this project until adequate IT resources can be assigned. • Website project core team, and the Diagram team are meeting weekly. Each weekly meeting is dedicated to reviewing the progress being made. • Diagram presented a proposal for an AI agent solution to assist the public to search the website for challenging topics, such as construction and development projects. IT is coordinating with an ad-hoc workgroup, comprised of Environmental Health, Public Works, and CDS to consider this option. This product would be an additional annual cost for the new website. • Diagram has offered to provide a “how-to” guide that can assist users through the data migration process. IT will request a budgetary quote when ready.