Colchester Causeway Reopens
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Journal of the Vermont Society of Land Surveyors Volume 51, Number 2 | Summer 2020 THE SEARCH FOR THE COUNTY ROAD PAGE 10 FALL CONFERENCE GOES VIRTUAL PAGE 26 COLCHESTER CAUSEWAY REOPENS PAGE 9 CONTENTS 10 The Cornerpost Volume 51, No. 2 • Summer 2020 Published by the Vermont Society of Land Surveyors, a professional society dedicated to the advancement of the science of surveying and mapping. 802.229.6358 | www.vsls.org EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mark Day, President 14 Randy Otis, Vice President Lisa Ginett, Secretary Keith Van Iderstine, Treasurer Becky Gilson, Director Paul Hannan, Director Nate Yager, Director GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kelly Collar VSLS Administrator 21 9 SUBMITTING MATERIALS Send any materials to: Email: [email protected] FEATURE ARTICLES OUR ADVERTISERS Vermont Society of Land Surveyors P.O. Box 248 President’s Corner ............................................4 LidarUSA .................................................................2 Montpelier, VT 05601 Association Membership and Maine Technical Source ................................5 the Surveyor .........................................................6 Keystone Precision Instruments ..............8 ADVERTISING RATES Bike Path is Back in Business ....................9 Murphy Sullivan Kronk .................................18 John Grady, L.S. ................................................18 Size Member/Non-memb The Search for the County Road ............10 Tarrant Gillies Richardson Shems ......... 19 Full page $300 yr/$400 yr Doncaster v. Hane and the Half page $150 yr/$225 yr Town of Irasburg ..............................................14 Quarter page $120 yr/$160 yr New Members ...................................................18 SEND IN YOUR NEWS Business card $40 yr/$75/yr Random Notes .................................................20 The success of The Cornerpost • Ad subscriptions are for depends on all of our members. Please one full year (three issues). Meeting Minutes............................................. 22 consider making a contribution to an • Ads must be print-ready. In Memoriam ....................................................24 upcoming issue. Send your articles, Material taken from other Register for the Fall Conference ........... 26 news and photos to [email protected]. publications must have permission to copy. Please include the publication editor’s name and email address so we can request permission. ON THE COVER VSLS Administrator Kelly Collar was bicycling along the newly-rebuilt Colchester Causeway when she noticed new survey markers gleaming along the rocks. She and partner Evan CONTRIBUTE AN ARTICLE Smith stopped for a few photos, and Evan captured the cover shot just as an anonymous Send it to [email protected] cyclist pedaled by. See more photos and a brief about the project on page 9. If you see an interesting survey-related image in your travels, take a picture and send it to [email protected]. THE CORNERPOST | SUMMER 2020 3 PRESIDENT’S CORNER In spite of the disruptions from the pandemic, we’ve managed to get a lot of work done this summer. These are photos from projects in Mallett’s Bay in Colchester and in Milton. he business of Land Surveying has changed so much in the past several months, and I constantly wonder if it will ever get back to any state of normalcy. Accessing land records, meeting with clients, attending public hearings and even obtaining enough continuing education credits to maintain our licenses are Tconstant struggles due to the pandemic that has turned our world upside down. I am hopeful that the funding that is being made If you haven’t visited our website lately, please available (hopefully) to get town land records online will check it out at www.vsls.org. Kelly has worked very speed up the process of getting statewide access over the hard to update it and give it a fresh look. She is also web. It sure is difficult to maintain a good budget for working on creating a “members only” section that will our clients when we can only do research for one-hour allow members to access their continuing education increments and have to travel any distance just to get to information and download certificates straight from the the clerk’s office. website. We’ll let you know as soon as that’s available. For the first time, the VSLS will be trying out I’m looking forward to joining you at our virtual an online format for our Fall Conference. Based on conference on Sept. 10 and 11. Remember to register at member feedback and struggles nailing down a venue, vsls.org/fall-conference. Stay safe and healthy, folks! the Program Committee made the tough decision to go virtual. The NSPS is supporting us in this by providing Sincerely, the VSLS use of their GoToWebinar account at no charge. Plus, all of our scheduled speakers have agreed to Mark Day convert to a virtual format. Thank you! VSLS PRESIDENT 4 THE CORNERPOST | SUMMER 2020 by timothy burch, pls, Association Membership nsps president-elect & the Surveyor The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines membership as follows: Membership noun mem·ber·ship | \'mem-bər-ship plural memberships Definition of membership 1: the state or status of being a member 2: the body of members // an organization with a large membership ased on Merriam-Webster’s definition, "membership" refers to individuals who have something in common and therefore wish to belong to a group or organization that promotes that commonality. This is not a new concept, as Bvarious memberships have existed for centuries. The groups can be formal or informal, business or social, public or private, but the common interest is key to them all. For instance, membership was a status symbol if you representation for not just the licensed practitioner, but or your family belonged to a country club, hunting club anyone who works in surveying. Some of the benefits or equestrian club. Groups have gathered socially in of being a member of state and national surveying automobile and motorcycle clubs for the past century. associations include: Civic clubs, including Kiwanis, Lions Club, and the Jaycees, were created to provide organized assistance Regulation & Advocacy to municipalities and neighborhoods. Museums are well known for their membership programs, and these Part of the association’s role for professional oversight donations help keep the institutions thriving. Other is regulatory advocacy. Professional licensing has come membership organizations were established to help under fire in recent years as deregulation groups seek to people with various causes, including civil liberties, eliminate licensing they see as a barrier to entry rather Second Amendment rights, and retiree programs and than to protect the integrity of the interests. State and discounts. national associations are working together to defend All serve a good and dedicated purpose; however, our profession against these efforts and maintain the the most important one that will most likely provide the regulatory requirements of the surveyor. Another area of advocacy is political representation most benefit is the professional membership. at both the federal and state levels. From UAV uses to MEMBERSHIP IN ASSOCIATIONS fighting back against infringing uses of radio signals used by GNSS satellites, the associations work together Membership in a professional society, especially to represent the surveying profession’s best interest in in times like these, is also important on many levels. potentially damaging policies and lack of funding for For the surveying profession, it provides advocacy and essential surveying and mapping activities. 6 THE CORNERPOST | SUMMER 2020 Various certification programs are available through the national and state 2020-21 NSPS Officers associations, including: ( Certified Survey Technician ( Certified Hydrographic Surveyor ( Certified Floodplain Surveyor present new data services These certifications allow Surveyors to to augment existing promote their skill set further as one who surveying tasks. is specifically trained for a particular task. Technology providers often use these associations for advertising and marketing so members are MARK SARGENT, PRESIDENT Professional Standards exposed to new equipment, software, and processes more directly than Besides advocating for licensing, the simply advertising in trade magazines. associations provide input and guidance Many of these organizations offer for professional standards for technical member discount programs for insurance, documents and services. From working travel, products, and more. They can with the title examiners group to establish provide these discounted options simply a national land title survey standard to because of the buying power of more users, so the savings are passed on directly to the specific guidelines for deliverables, our TIM BURCH, PRESIDENT-ELECT association groups work together to raise Surveyor. the standard of the profession. They also Associations also often offer career advocate for a higher ethical standard for centers for connecting people and open all practitioners in surveying so to be seen positions. Many also offer resume services in a respectable light. to help the job seeker capture their best qualities for inclusion on a job application. Education The Intangibles Surveying associations provide con- tinuing education for all levels and tasks of While the aforementioned are the main AMANDA ALLRED, VICE PRESIDENT surveyors, from introductory field and office examples of the benefits of membership to advanced technology and legal