GIS Expert Contracted to Defend Town against GIS Expert
February 21, 2012West Milford, New Jersey, is looking to a GIS expert to aid the township in its defense against a legal challenge filed by its former in-house GIS specialist, Robert Sparkes, reports NorthJersey.com.
The Township Council is contracting Richard A. Cornell, a licensed engineer and senior associate at Millburn's Hatch Mont MacDonald engineering firm, to provide expert testimony "pertaining to the proper use, interpretation, and modification of GIS information using the ArcExplorer program" used by the local government.
Sparkes, the township's former custodian of GIS data, was indefinitely suspended without pay by the municipal administration in February 2009 for allegedly knowingly and wrongfully altering the township's GIS-based wetland delineation maps on ArcExplorer to permit construction in unauthorized areas the website reports. The charges were investigated, but no charges were filed against the 10-year employee.
According to Township Attorney Fred Semrau, Sparkes has challenged the legality of his separation from the local government, which has resulted in an ongoing trial. Sparkes' attorney said the GIS expert acted within his rights by altering a map to say "suspected wetlands" instead of "wetlands" to ensure that further reviews were conducted. The changes to that map were alleged to have been designed to benefit two homeowners, the website reports.
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