PRESS RELEASE                                                

For Immediate Release
August 11, 2009

Cecil County Launches New Geographic Information Systems Website

                 Elkton, MD - The Board of Cecil County Commissioners are pleased to announce the launch of "Cecil Maps," the County's new, interactive geographic information systems (GIS) website. Available online at http://cecilmaps.ccdps.org, the site will enable emergency response personnel, Sheriff's Deputies, and the general public to access a wealth of Cecil County specific maps and data via the internet.

                     "This site will prove extremely useful to our field personnel," said Richard K. Brooks, III,Director of the Cecil County Department of Emergency Services. "With a laptop and wireless Internet connection, field personnel will now have access to information previously only available to dispatchers. A picture, or a map, in this case, is worth a thousand words." Users of the site will be able to view aerial and topographic maps, property owner information, environmental features, the locations of various forms of infrastructure, and a wide variety of other available data from the Department of Emergency Services, Office of Planning & Zoning, and Department of Public Works.  A variety of measurement tools, data searches, and links to other information services are also available to users of the site.

                  "From day one of the County's GIS program, our major goal has been to provide the public with quick and easy access to the plethora of geographic data we have available," said Eric Sennstrom, director of the Office of Planning & Zoning. "The Cecil Maps website will do just that."

                 With funding for the site coming from a grant from the Maryland Emergency Numbers System Board, County staff and contractors created the site at little to no cost to taxpayers. The Board thanks Sheriff's office employees Rob Worrall and Bob Mitchell for their contributions to the site's development, and asks interested parties to contact David R. Black, the County's GIS Coordinator, at 410-996-5220 for more information.

Contact:
David R. Black, AICP
GIS Coordinator
Cecil County Government
200 Chesapeake Boulevard, Suite 2300
Elkton, MD 21921
410-996-5220
dblack@ccgov.org